Americans and Uruguayans share a number
of common values: we both believe that a nation’s stability
depends on a prosperous middle class, combined with respect
for democracy and the rule of law, freedom of the press, and
religious tolerance. We also agree that strategies which promote
exports are a key component of any serious effort to spur
economic growth and eliminate poverty.
Our mutual belief in the importance of education
is another bond Uruguay and the United States share. Statistics
indicate that solid education and wealth usually go hand-in-hand.
Every year, the United States sets aside
a week in November to recognize the importance of international
education. Appropriately called “International Education
Week,” we will devote time during the week of November
12 – 16 to think about ways we can make education
more accessible to everyone.
More than 205,000 American students pursued
their studies in foreign countries in 2004 and 2005, usually
to learn a second language or study a foreign culture. A
growing body of evidence tells us that speakers of two languages
enjoy a faster path to prosperity and other advantages over
monolingual workers. We certainly don’t need statistics
to tell us that education and cultural exchanges are critical
to breaking down barriers between nations and cultures.
Students who master the computer and learn other hi-tech
skills have even greater prospects for advancing professionally.
The United States is investing heavily in
programs that make the international education experience
a reality for both American and foreign students. The Fulbright
Program, our best known and most prestigious international
education initiative, has awarded scholarships and grants
to 279,500 students since its inception 61 years ago. Approximately
174,100 of the recipients were nationals of other countries,
including nearly 950 from Uruguay. The Fulbright Program
awards approximately 6,000 new grants annually, for students
from over 150 countries.
Fulbright Scholarships are just one program
within the array of U.S. initiatives that promote international
education. Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowships, as well as the
Rotary, Gilman Muskie, and Edward R. Murrow scholarship
programs, are the names of some of the others.
For a young student, no experience matches
the satisfaction gained by a summer, semester, or an academic
year spent studying abroad. Unfortunately, not everyone
can receive the benefit of an educational experience in
a foreign country. Many students cannot leave their families
for extended periods, for personal and financial reasons.
Fortunately, new advances in technology enable them to receive
first-class instruction over the Internet, and remain close
to their families and home towns.
The United States recognizes the value of
both distance learning and English-language instruction
today, for the same reasons Senator William Fulbright and
the visionary Americans of his generation promoted international
education and cultural exchanges. They are critical to fostering
the mutual understanding we need to avoid conflict, combat
corruption, create prosperity, and shatter the misconceptions
we have about one another.
Over the coming months, we will expand our
efforts to make the benefits of an international education
available to Uruguayans from throughout this country, from
Montevideo to the departamentos along the border with Argentina
and Brazil.
As Ambassador to Uruguay, I have a responsibility
to make a positive and lasting contribution to our bilateral
relationship, which I feel would be best achieved through
initiatives that bring the benefits of education to the
door step of at least some of those who really deserve it,
but can’t otherwise afford to leave home. English
language instruction and distance learning over the Internet
are two ways in which Americans and Uruguayans can work
together to ensure that future generations of young people
in both countries will have the opportunities they deserve.
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