During International Education Week (November 13–17) and year-round, the United States celebrates its tradition of promoting understanding between Americans and citizens of other countries through people-to-people exchanges.
In 1940, the U.S. Department of State launched its first international exchange by inviting 130 Latin American journalists to visit U.S. newsrooms.
That first exchange led to the establishment, in 1946, of the Fulbright Program, which awards 8,000 fellowships annually to qualified applicants from the U.S. and elsewhere.
In 1961, the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs was launched to oversee all of the U.S. government’s academic, cultural, sports and professional exchange programs. Since then, exchanges have served 1.7 million students, researchers, educators and scholars who live all over the world. They include:
- 88 alumni who have since won Nobel prizes.
- 121 who won Pulitzer Prizes.
- 661 current and former heads of state and government.
- 2,079 current and former high-level ministers or Cabinet members.
- 82 Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
- Community leaders in a variety of occupations.
Today, 30 ambassadors to the United States are alumni of U.S. exchange programs. And four heads of government are exchange alumni.
Rishi Sunak, who became prime minister of the United Kingdom in October, received a Fulbright Foreign Student award to support his pursuit of an MBA degree at the Stanford School of Business in 2005. Studying business in California’s Silicon Valley broadened his mindset about what is possible, Sunak said.
North Macedonia’s President Stevo Pendarovski took part in an International Visitor Leadership Program in 2003, while Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema and Slovakia’s President Zuzana Čaputová both are alumni of the 2010 International Visitor Leadership Program.
Learn more about U.S. exchange programs and how to apply as a U.S. citizen or non–U.S. citizen.
A version of this article was originally published November 10, 2022.