Hello Everyone, I’m Marie Royce the Assistant Secretary
for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State
and I am so excited to be accompanied by my colleagues from the Peace Corps,
Department of Education and United States Agency for International Development.
Hi everyone, how are you doing?
Well let’s go around and have everyone introduce themselves.
Hi I’m Peace Corps Director Jody Olsen.
Hello, I’m Mick Zais, I'm your Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education.
Greetings everyone, I’m Julie Cram, Deputy Assistant Administrator at USAID,
and I also have the pleasure of serving as the U.S. Government’s Senior Coordinator for International Education.
I’m happy to have everyone here as we kick-off International Education Week 2019.
This week is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchanges worldwide.
Here at the State Department, I oversee a wide range of programs such as the Fulbright program,
the International Visitor Leadership Program and the American English program just to name a few.
These programs help to advance U.S. foreign policy objectives through educational, professional, cultural, and sports exchanges
that promote mutual understanding between the people of the United States and people of other nations.
However, the State Department isn’t the only agency promoting international education,
Jody can you share what the Peace Corps does?
We at Peace Corps are proud to help celebrate International Education Week!
Living in host communities globally, Peace Corps Volunteers learn how other people live their lives, how they work, and more importantly, who they are.
It’s these intercultural exchanges that bring us closer together as humans, build understanding, and cultivate cultural respect and awareness.
In this same spirit, Peace Corps participates in the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs programs.
Key among these programs are the International Visitor Leadership Program, which facilitates short-term visits to the United States
for current and emerging leaders, and American Spaces, supporting people-to-people connections between the United States and foreign audiences.
Lastly, Peace Corps also contributes to Host Country needs in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy English language programs
in a joint effort to improve English Language teaching and learning.
Thanks Jody!
Deputy Secretary Mick Zais, happy to have you here, can you share the Department of Education’s role in international studies?
Thanks, Marie. At the Department of Education, we believe that education should be tailored to fit each student’s unique needs.
Today, it’s important that students have global competencies – competencies they gain from exploring the world,
understanding various cultures, and speaking different languages.
My international experience in the army made me a better soldier and a more effective leader.
And as state superintendent of education in South Carolina, I saw how many students flourished
in foreign language immersion programs in languages such as Mandarin and French.
In my own family, my daughter’s study abroad
made it easier for her to move to Sao Paolo, Brazil and teach English as a second language.
The Department works to support each student’s journey with bold proposals like Education Freedom Scholarships,
which would help students pursue an education that works best for them.
Thanks Mick, and lastly, Julie Cram.
USAID plays a major role in international education, Julie can you share more with us please?
Thanks Marie. USAID is proud to partner with the State Department, the Peace Corps, and the Department of Education,
and six other U.S. Government departments and agencies through a whole-of-government strategy for International Education.
Our work together is critical because improving education in developing countries advances U.S. foreign policy goals,
promotes U.S. and international security, and helps accelerate economic growth both here at home and abroad.
Every day, USAID looks at ways to help lift lives and build communities.
Education is a key part of this work.
When kids have a quality education, new doors are opened and their futures are brighter.
They are more likely to be healthy; more likely to earn a higher wage;
and more likely to be a positive force for good.
As you can see inter-agency collaboration is taking place everyday to help promote exchanges and international education,
for more information on what our agencies are doing to promote international education for international students
and students here in the United States please visit...
eca.state.gov
or www.peacecorps.gov
or ed.gov
or usaid.gov
Thanks for watching and happy International Education Week!