Croatia marking 25 years of Fulbright program
https://glashrvatske.hrt.hr/en/experience/landscapes/croatia-marking-25-years-of-fulbright-program/
Croatia marking 25 years of Fulbright program
On November 7th and 8th ceremonies will be held to mark the 25th anniversary of one of the most prestigious education programs. Among those that received scholarships under the Fulbright program are President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Croatian National Bank Governor Boris Vujčić and many others.
On the first day, at the “fulBRIGHT.Future.25.Salon,” the importance of the program for the education systems of Croatia and the USA, the wider community as well as the life paths of those that received scholarships and passed through the program, will be discussed. In Croatia, as of 1992, Fulbright scholarships were received by more than 350 students, scientists and prominent experts.
On the second day of celebrations, at a series of panels and expert seminars, united under the title “fulBRIGHT.Future.25.Seminar,” the topic of discussion will be the effect of internationalization on quality of higher education. Vice President for Student Affairs at Duke University, Professor Larry Moneta will present American examples of good practice while Croatian professors and scholarship receivers, Tamara Perišin, Danijela Dolenc, Adrijan Barić and others will speak about their own experiences in working on advancing internationalization and quality of classes, as well as research at their universities.
Besides the host, US Ambassador to Croatia, Julieta Valls Noyes, the celebration will also be attended by Minister of Science and Education Blaženka Divjak, Croatian National bank Governor Boris Vujčić and many other well-known students such as Dubravka Vrgoč, the theatre manager at the Croatian National Theatre and university professor Aleksandar Štulhofer. The celebration is being organized by the US embassy in cooperation with the Croatian Ministry of Science and Education.
Fulbright – the first inter-state agreement signed between Croatia and the USA
The US government initiated the Fulbright program back in 1946 in order to encourage understanding between American citizens and citizens of other countries. Since the international education exchanges have been conducted in 160 countries. 370 000 people have passed through the program and 8 000 scholarships are awarded each year that are used for research and professional development at institutes of higher education throughout the world.
An interesting fact states that the agreement on the implementation of the Fulbright program in Croatia is the first bilateral agreement signed between the Republic of Croatia and the United States of America.
The global list of those that received scholarships currently includes 33 current or former presidents and prime ministers, 54 Nobel Prize winners, 82 Pulitzer Prize winners and thousands of leaders in the public, private and non-government sectors.
President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, former ministers Ivan Šimonović, Milena Žic Fuchs and Vesna Pusić are among the better known alumni in Croatia. The prestigious scholarship was also received by author Slavenka Drakulić, historian Tvrtko Jakovina, political scientist Ivan Grdešić, journalists and editors Daria Marjanović, Tena Perišin and Lamija Alečković, university professor Josip Kregar, Voice of Croatia blogger Cody McClain Brown and others.