Fulbright Canada Board of Directors Dinner, in Atlanta

The Fulbright Program's mission is to increase mutual understanding and support friendly and peaceful relations between the United States and other countries through educational and cultural exchange. Founded by President Harry S. Truman in 1946, it aims to foster a more peaceful world by bringing more knowledge, reason, and compassion into international affairs. This is achieved by providing opportunities for students, scholars, and professionals to study, teach, lecture, and conduct research abroad. This mission is all the more important presently, considering the various attacks on international thinking, the learning of languages, and increasing intercultural competency.

Last night, I was able to see Fulbright ROI at work, sitting across an undergraduate student who, hailing from Georgia, had had the chance to spend a summer doing research in Canada, his first real international experience. At the meeting, CEO of Fulbright Canada Dr. Michael Hawes and his colleagues honored three Atlantans, whose work exemplifies the best of cultural work:

Ryan Gravel (urban designer, author, speaker, and entrepreneur whose work on Atlanta's Beltline has been transformational); Gene Kansas (an amazing cultural entrepreneur who combines brokerage services, historic preservation, digital media, cultural development, and programming to create a more vibrant, culturally rich city; he is also vice-chair of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts Advisory Board), and Robert Barsky (Canada Research Chair in Law, Narrative, and Border Crossing at Vanderbilt University and author of the 68-page poem, The Beltline Chronicles). A wonderful evening with creators of better urban futures and transnational relations.