March 2009
An article in the March 2009 edition of Asian Outlook, published by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) for Public Policy Research, calls for a major effort to increase contacts between North Korea and the rest of the world through educational and cultural exchanges. "The North Korean Paradox and the Subversive Truth" argues that "in order to crack the regime's control of information and bring about pressure for change from within, the United States and its allies can combine a seemingly contradictory pair of strategies: engagement and subversion."
At a press conference in Ankara on Saturday, March 7, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan announced the creation of an initiative titled “Young Turkey/Young America: A New Relationship for a New Age.” The program will be designed to foster contact and understanding between young leaders of the two countries:
Two recent articles in the Chronicle of Higher Education examine issues surrounding foreign scholars and students in the United States.
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports today that applications to overseas-study programs this summer and fall are down, and the economy may be to blame. One-third of respondents to a survey conducted by the University of Mary Washington and NAFSA indicated that they have experienced a decrease in fall study abroad applications:
"There has been a great deal of uncertainty about the effect of the global economic crisis on student enrollments in study abroad. On the one hand, belt tightening could cause students and their families to see overseas study as an unaffordable luxury and make students stick close to their campuses, international educators fear.
The Alliance held its ninth annual Advocacy Day last Thursday, February 26, 2009. Seventy-one Alliance members participated in this year’s Advocacy Day, visiting 73 House and Senate offices, and representing 18 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam.
The New York Times Bits Blog posted yesterday on the challenges the federal government faces in its attempts to utilize social networking and various Web 2.0 technology for the purposes of public diplomacy, and other functions. One of the many challenges includes the use of Facebook and tracking "unauthorized" fan pages:
Forbes.com reported yesterday afternoon that a "hire American" provision in the economic stimulus bill is forcing some investment banks to rescind job offers to highly qualified foreign students and immigrant workers under the H-1B visa program:
"The stimulus plan forbids banks that have taken Troubled Asset Relief Program money from hiring foreign workers who require visa sponsorship if they've laid off workers within the last 90 days."
Various reactions to this provision in the stimulus bill can also be found on Forbes.com here and here.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the AMIDEAST offices in Ramallah, West Bank, on March 4 to meet with students participating in the English Access Microscholarship Program. Secretary Clinton also praised the Access program in her remarks to the press, specifically indicating that the Department of State will provide more funding for the Youth Education and Study (YES) program and create more opportunities for Palestinian students to study at U.S. universities:
"This program [Access] has been laying an educational foundation for nearly 4,000 Palestinian students. But it should not be the final chapter in their learning. The students I met today and the others who are in these programs should be able to continue their educations.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has made numerous calls in the past several weeks for the reinvigoration of U.S. public diplomacy, including international exchange programs:
On Friday, the Alliance reported Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to the AMIDEAST office in Ramallah, West Bank, where she called for the creation of more educational opportunities for Palestinian students:
"We will make opportunity grants available for Palestinian students interested in studying at American universities so that a larger pool of capable young men and women from places like the West Bank and Gaza can compete along with students in other countries for the opportunity to further their academic training in America."
