Sri Lanka to host Biennial Fulbright South and Central Asia Regional Conference

The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in coordination with the United States-Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission and the U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka, will host a regional Fulbright Program workshop in Colombo from January 26-28, 2011, a media note issued Tuesday by the Department of State said.

The professional development workshop will bring together staff from Fulbright Commissions and U.S. embassies in the South and Central Asia region to share best practices and information about Fulbright and other academic exchange programs in the region.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Academic Programs Alina Romanowski will host a moderated conference call from the State Department with media on Thursday, January 20, 2011 from 10:30 ' 11:00 am on the Fulbright Program in South and Central Asia.

U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Patricia A. Butenis and Deputy Assistant Secretary Romanowski will provide opening remarks in Sri Lanka on January 26, followed by a key note address on U.S.-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 thirteen countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, The Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Almost 1,500 U.S. and non-U.S. scholars, students, teachers, artists, and professionals receive Fulbright and other academic exchange program 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 U.S. 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 Program 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 Program participants are among the more than 40,000 academic and professional exchange program participants supported annually by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.