Ann Stock was sworn in yesterday as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs in a ceremony in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the Department of State. The event was presided over by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Stock’s official swearing in comes on the heels of a lengthy confirmation process: her Senate confirmation hearing was held back in February, though she was not actually confirmed until late June as a result of the anonymous “holds” some Senators placed on more than 120 Obama administration nominations.

During her remarks at the ceremony yesterday, Assistant Secretary Stock hailed exchange programs as “a quintessentially American form of diplomacy,“ as well as the key to fueling “an engine for change that is perhaps unprecedented in American democracy”:

Madame Secretary, our exchange programs are an especially important, long-term investment in international understanding and stability. Through the Fulbright Program, and our professional, academic, cultural, youth and sports exchanges, we build the bridges that link our diverse American culture with cultures around the world.

Today, nearly half of the world's population (almost 3 billion people) is under the age of 25. Finding new ways to communicate with and engage these young citizens of the world is critical. We must strengthen our bonds with them —reaching them wherever they are around the globe, by using every tool at our command, particularly new media and technology that are key to modern communication.

And exchanges create such a legacy for us. Today, there are more than a million alumni of our programs worldwide, including many in key leadership positions. In the last six weeks alone, six of our program alumni have become heads of state or heads of government. Through our ongoing contacts with these “alumni”, we foster relationships with new generations and fuel an engine for change that is perhaps unprecedented in American diplomacy.

Working with you, Secretary Clinton and with Under Secretary McHale, we at the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs will continue to develop diverse and innovative exchanges that rely on and engage our single greatest asset – the American citizen. When you meet Americans, you meet American values.

Exchanges, together with other forms of cultural and educational outreach, are a quintessentially American form of diplomacy that I hope to increase, to amplify, and to sustain in a lasting and meaningful way.

Read Assistant Secretary Stock’s full remarks on the Bureau’s website.