AMINEF Executive Director attended the NAFSA 2013 Conference in St. Louis on May 26-31, where international education experts come from all over the world to network, learn, and share best practices.  It was attended also by Executive Directors of several other Fulbright Commissions in the world.  The conference was attended by representatives of Fulbright’s partner institutions: EducationUSA (U.S. Department of State), Institute of International Education, and the Council of International Exchange Scholars. On attendance are, among others, Meghann Curtis, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Academic Programs, Mary Kirk, Director of the Office of Academic Exchange Programs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. State Department; and Sarah Illchman, Director of the Foreign Fulbright Program and Jenny Wilson, Director of Operations at the Institute of International Education in New York.

70 people attended the NAFSA panel: ‘Fulbright: Assessing the Impact of Global Exchanges’ which discussed the use of educational exchange as a means to facilitate intercultural understanding and cooperation. The Executive Directors expanded upon methods for promoting the impact of their programs and explored how the program maintains its ideology in an everchanging global education environment.

The Webster University which hosted the Fulbright Commission Executive Directors meeting on May29has an important tie with Indonesia as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is her alum earning his Master’s degree in Management in 1991.  President SBY returned to Webster University in September 2005 to receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

The following Executive Directors met at Webster University in St Louis: (l-r)

Rolf Hoffmann, Germany; Luiz Valcov Loureiro, Brazil; David Satterwhite, Japan, Norma Gonzales, Argentina; Michael McCoy, Indonesia; Hazel Blackmore Sanchez, Mexico; Susana Cabeza de Vaca, Ecuador; Julian Schuster, Provost, Otilia Macedo Reis, Portugal; Ann Mason, Columbia; Erica Lutes, Belgium; Nancy Hellerund, Vice Provost; Grant Chapman, Associate VP for Academic Affairs; Lonnie Johnson, Austria.