| SVU |
CZECHOSLOVAK SOCIETY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES |
SVU Member Honored with Woodrow Wilson Award
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright, the U.S. Embassy has established a Woodrow Wilson Freedom Award. The purpose of the award is to recognize an individual who has advanced US-Czech relations and mutual understanding. The award ceremony took place at the U.S. Ambassador's Residence on Thursday, April 7. The first recipient of this award is Senator Josef Jarab, the first Chairman of the Fulbright Board in the Czech Republic, in recognition of his longstanding promotion of U.S.-Czech relations through his many political, cultural and educational achievements. Congratulations!
The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by former U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. Since its inception nearly sixty years ago almost 260,000 "Fulbrighters," about 100,00 from the United States and 160,000 from other countries, have participated in the Program. The Fulbright Program awards approximately 4,500 new grants annually.
The flagship international educational program sponsored by the United States Government, the Fulbright Program is designed to "increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries..." With this goal, the Fulbright Program provides participants - chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential - with the opportunity to study and teach in each other's countries, exchange ideas, and develop joint solutions to address shared concerns. The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the United States Department of State. Currently, the Program operates in 140 countries.
Although the Fulbright Program's activities in former Czechoslovakia began at the end of the 1970's, Czech citizens could fully participate in this unique program only after the political turnover in 1989. In 1991, the Fulbright Commission, established by an agreement between the United States of America and Czechoslovakia (after 1993 the Czech Republic) started to administer the Fulbright Program. In the Czech Republic, 70% of the costs of the Program are financed by the U.S. and 30% by the CR. From 1992-2003 the Fulbright Commission has supported 310 Czech and 254 U.S. grantees.
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