July 14, 2009

Good morning and it is wonderful to see so many of you assembled with a wonderful view of the Nile and Cairo. It is a great place to be having this meeting and opportunity. Thank you, Mr. Marquis, for your introduction.

I always like talking to this group. I think you are the third cohort of the Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Program, a program that began in 2006. As you know, this is being brought together by the Fulbright Program and organized by the Institute of International Education and the Fulbright Commission here in Egypt.

It is wonderful to see a great diverse mixture of men and women from several different countries, including new participants to this program from Iraq and Qatar. I am sure Egypt’s own Foreign Language Teaching Assistants have already provided you with a warm welcome to this great city and an introduction to the hospitality of Egypt.

Most importantly, I would like to congratulate you on being selected for this program. This is the 40th year of the Fulbright process and it is even more important than ever.
Through the Fulbright FLTA Program, Americans have an opportunity to meet on a personal and professional level with you – more than 95 outstanding young leaders from 16 countries in the Middle East.
You will teach our students your language and your culture. Your presence on our campuses will be intellectually stimulating and you will inspire our young people to look beyond the borders of America.
I know you will make a difference. In the last 6 years, the number of U.S. students studying Arabic in American universities has doubled. Clearly, you are going to have excited students waiting for you who are eager to learn Arabic and eager to hear this beautiful language in the many various dialects and cultural traditions that involve the Arabic culture. In fact, an intern in my office at the embassy started learning his Arabic from one of your predecessors who was participating in a program at the University of South Dakota.
As FLTA Fellows, you will benefit, I hope, as well. We hope that you will be able to improve your teaching skills in the classroom, while also gaining important leadership experience at the same time.
I hope you will be able to tell your family and friends about an America that exists beyond the headlines, beyond television news in your countries and ours.
You are not only teachers, but in many ways, ambassadors for your country, your language and your culture.

In his recent very historic address at Cairo University, President Obama called for a “new beginning” in our relationship with the Muslim world “based upon mutual interest and mutual respect.” Since 1946, the Fulbright program has promoted exactly this type of mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchanges, while also serving as a catalyst for long-term leadership development, partnerships and a shared commitment to peace, prosperity and democracy.
In the aftermath of World War II, Senator Fulbright and the U.S. Congress conceived of the program so that "people would know each other as peoples." These leaders recognized that partnerships built upon the free exchange of people and ideas were absolutely essential to peace and to world understanding.
I am proud to say I am your partner in this effort, but as a rising leader in the Fulbright program, you are going to establish many more relationships with colleagues and students in the United States and these relationships will form the foundation of successful and mutually beneficial cooperation and friendship between our two countries.
It is a simple concept but we know that it works. Everyone in this room knows that if we can dispel misconceptions of who we all are as people, we can foster mutual respect, mutual understanding and together accomplish much more.
I know this not just as a diplomat but because I was a Fulbrighter myself once, a long time ago and I know how very valuable this experience can be for not just your very specific academic interests but for your development as a person and for the way you see the world.

I was a student of history at the University of Tennessee, where I’m from. I noticed that one of you gentlemen from Syria, Mr. Ahmed Jeddeeni, is going to Middle Tennessee State University at Murfreesboro. I know the people of Tennessee will welcome you. Each state in the United States has a motto or slogan and this says, "Tennessee - America at its Best." I’m sure it is but the actual motto of our state is the “Volunteer State” and Tennessee has a very proud tradition of its citizens stepping forward to serve its community and their country, and I think this is something that I see around me in Egypt as well and the rest of the countries in the Middle East where I have worked.

I hope all of you will experience America at its best and that you will give your best in return. I hope to meet you all again as alumni, sometime next year perhaps, and to hear about your experiences.

I’d like to also urge you to take advantage, not just of the academic opportunities that you will have, but to look around the campus and communities that you live in and to really try to get to know these communities. Every college and university in the United States will have opportunities for community service, for athletic participation, for perusing hobbies and interests that have nothing to do with the teaching of English or the or the teaching of Arabic. It really is a wonderfully great opportunity. You are there on your own; you have only yourself to organize your own time and interests. I urge you, as I think students coming to Egypt or to other countries do, to really try to get outside of the university as well, to meet your fellow residents of whatever city or town you are in. I think you will find that Americans can be very, very hospitable. We have different cultures and traditions. Americans generally eat their evening meal very early. I think it is part of our agricultural tradition, so you may find adjusting your daily schedule to be a little bit different, but I think that you will eventually get into the rhythm of doing this. If you all have any questions for me that I can answer before I go, I’d be happy to hear from you, and if not, I’ll wish you all the best.
I know that as I said, you all will have a very successful time, and one of the wonderful things about the new age of media and communications is that you can establish networks and all sorts of opportunities to stay in touch, not only with your families in Egypt, but with each other with Facebook and all the other social networking sites. Again, good luck to all of you and I hope to see you sometime, maybe at the other end of this when you get back to tell me how you found it. Thank you very much.

For more information on the Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Program, see http://flta.fulbrightonline.org/about.html.