08/01/2009

News / Exploring Shared Values of Education and Exchange U.S. and Saudi Arabian exchange programs foster understanding

By Carla Higgins
Staff Writer

Washington — Education is one the most important components of the Obama administration's policy agenda, and President Obama has identified several goals for improving education in America. “There is no stronger weapon against inequality and no better path to opportunity than an education that can unlock a child's God-given potential,” he said recently.

The president said in his June 4 speech in Cairo, Egypt: “The source of America's prosperity has never been merely about the accumulation of wealth, but how well America educates its people. Education is a prerequisite for success in a 21st-century world where jobs can be shipped wherever there's an Internet connection, and where your best job qualification is not what you do, but what you know.”

President Obama also seeks to promote partnerships and exchanges with communities around the world. Technology provides the chance for youth around the globe to learn from America, and in turn, for America to learn from them. Where once students had to travel to the United States to earn a degree from an American university, today they can get a U.S. degree without leaving Saudi Arabia. (See Distance Education on the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia Web site.)

President Obama intends to globally expand educational programs that create understanding and partnerships. In his Cairo speech, he said: “On education, we will expand exchange programs, and increase scholarships, like the one that brought my father to America. At the same time, we will encourage more Americans to study in Muslim communities. And we will match promising Muslim students with internships in America; invest in online learning for teachers and children around the world; and create a new online network, so a young person in Kansas can communicate instantly with a young person in Cairo.”

He values and supports programs that provide opportunities for students and scholars from other countries to come to America. One of the most well known of these is the Fulbright Program, created in 1945 with the aim of increasing understanding between the peoples of the United States and other countries. Today, the Fulbright Program operates in more than 155 countries and has provided more than 285,000 participants with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research in each other’s countries and exchange ideas. Saudi Arabia participates in the Fulbright program — SauLamya Alabdulkarim, professor of language pathology at King Saud University, is a Fulbright Scholar at Smith College in Massachusetts. (More information on the Fulbright Program is available on the State Department Web site.)

Though respect for cultural and educational exchange is a long-standing American value, America is not alone. Other countries have identified the need to develop more global perspectives through exchanges. Saudi Arabia initiated a scholarship program in 2005 to encourage Saudi students to study in America. Students are encouraged to participate in the educational opportunities that America has to offer, as well as to develop a greater understanding of American culture, values and society. And they have, as more than 80 Saudi student clubs exist at language institutes, colleges and universities throughout the United States. These clubs host events to educate American audiences about Saudi culture, and participate in community service projects alongside other university students from the United States.

Competitive sports also create ideal opportunities to bring communities together. In partnership with the National Basketball Players’ Association, the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs sent former Women’s National Basketball Association players Lynette Woodard and Ruthie Bolton to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to conduct clinics and competitions for female basketball players and coaches. Twenty coaches and 47 players traveled from Jeddah, Mecca and Medina to participate. The basketball clinics focused on fitness as well as sportsmanship and teamwork. The clinics were a unique opportunity for the participants to meet role models, learn new skills and benefit from Woodard’s and Bolton’s motivational stories.

English language learning also receives huge interest in Saudi Arabia, as it does elsewhere.

An American English-as-a-second-language instructor, Sue Sroda, from Murray State University in the United States, conducted an English language workshop for 40 English language teachers January 3–7, as well as 120 students from the College of Arts and College of Education January 6–11 at Princess Nora Bint Abdul Rahman University. The topics of the workshop met a clear need in the professional development of the teachers, who expressed a hope that more opportunities for workshops like this might be available in the future. The enthusiastic students commented that they wanted longer workshops. Many students expressed a desire for “Dr. Sue” to teach full time at the university.

Exchanges aren’t limited to the capital city, nor to the elite.

For example, at the request of the local Ministry of Education office, American educator Tom Delaney provided secondary school teachers in Taif with training on individual learning differences, the use of Internet resources and tools for testing and assessment. In al-Baha, an English language specialist, American Robert Lindsey, joined Delaney for the training of nearly 100 secondary school teachers.

Exchanges also may be conducted by nongovernmental organizations.

The Saudi Arabian Boy Scouts Association sponsored a trip by 16 Boy Scouts and their leaders to Camp Daniel Boone in Asheville, North Carolina, in July 2009. Their trip includes stops in Washington and New York. In the true spirit of “exchange,” the Boy Scouts of America will send a group of scouts to Saudi Arabia in September.

Obama said in Moscow on July 7: “The future belongs to young people with an education and the imagination to create.” Through exchanges, youth across the globe can collaborate to see how best to build this future together.
http://www.america.gov/st/educ-english/2009/July/20090728152949kcsniggih0.8877985.html?CP.rss=true

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