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Executive Directors from eight of the East Asia and Pacific
region’s Fulbright commissions met in Auckland in March to discuss
best practices, new initiatives, issues and challenges of Fulbright programmes
across the region. The annual meeting, hosting of which is shared between
Fulbright commissions throughout the region, offers a unique opportunity
for sharing and collaboration across the region.
The meeting began at the US Consulate General with a digital video conference between the group of Executive Directors and key representatives of the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, who administer Fulbright and other US government-funded international exchange programmes globally. The Executive Directors were updated on the changes to the US government administration and implications of the economic downturn as well as administrative aspects of Fulbright awards and policies. On the second day of the meeting, held at the University of Auckland
Business School, the Executive Directors shared ideas about prospects
for collaboration between Fulbright scholars throughout the region, celebration
of commission anniversaries, and participation in “centrally-funded”
programmes such as the International Fulbright Science and Technology
Awards in which some countries including New Zealand have had great success. Numerous recommendations arose from the meeting including that core commission staff be offered the opportunity to visit the US to network with key contacts there and undergo training workshops relevant to their roles. As part of the programme, participants and their families were treated to a sight-seeing tour around Auckland, were hosted for a reception at the home of Fulbright New Zealand Chairperson Barbara Johnson along with current American grantees and New Zealand alumni, and farewelled Fulbright Taiwan Executive Director Wu Jing-Jyi (who is retiring after 32 years) during a dinner in the Auckland Sky Tower’s revolving restaurant. Next year a larger East Asia and Pacific Regional Fulbright Conference will be held in Japan in place of the Executive Directors meeting, involving additional countries from the region whose Fulbright programmes are administered by embassies rather than stand-alone commissions, and a greater number of staff from each country.
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