Members of the press are invited to attend the opening ceremony of the pre-departure orientation for new Fulbright Scholars to be held on Wednesday, June 23th at 9:00 AM in the Embassy's main conference room. Ambassador Carol A. Rodley and H.E. Pheoung Sackana, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, will preside over the opening ceremony. After the opening session, the scholars will be available for individual interviews with the press.
For the 2010-2011 academic year, 17 Cambodian scholars will pursue graduate studies in the United States. This number includes 7 new scholars and 10 scholars currently in the U.S.
The Fulbright Program was established by the U.S. Congress in 1945 as a means “to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.” The Fulbright Fellowship program was re-instituted in Cambodia in 1994. Since that time, 114 Cambodian students have pursued programs of graduate study in the U.S., and more than 30 American Senior Scholars and Specialists have come to Cambodia to work in local universities. For 2010, the U.S. State Department increased the allocation for the Cambodian Fulbright Program to $500,000.
Several Fulbright returnees are working in key positions in the Ministries of Finance, Agriculture and Natural Resources Preservation, and Interior. Many others are lecturers at different universities and national program officers for health and other rural development programs under the auspices of a variety of international and non-governmental organizations.
