SL to host Fulbright regional conference

The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in coordination with the United States-Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission and the US Embassy in Sri Lanka, will host a regional Fulbright Programme workshop in Colombo from 26-28 January.

The professional development workshop will bring together staff from Fulbright Commissions and US embassies in the South and Central Asia region to share best practices and information about Fulbright and other academic exchange programmes in the region, a media note issued Tuesday by the State Department said

US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Patricia A. Butenis and Deputy Assistant Secretary Romanowski will deliver opening remarks in Sri Lanka on 26 January, followed by a key note address on US-Sri Lanka relations from Jayantha Dhanapala, former Ambassador to the United States from Sri Lanka and UN Under Secretary General for Disarmament Affairs. James R. Moore, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs will also give remarks after the plenary.

The South and Central Asia region comprises 13 countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, The Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Almost 1,500 U.S. and non-US scholars, students, teachers, artists, and professionals receive Fulbright and other academic exchange programme awards to and from South and Central Asia each year.

The Fulbright Program, sponsored by the Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is the US government’s flagship international exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world.

Since 1946, the Fulbright Programme has provided more than 300,000 participants from over 155 countries with the opportunity to study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Fulbright Programme participants are among the more than 40,000 academic and professional exchange programme participants supported annually by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.