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by Ambassador Antonio O. Garza, Jr.
Published in Spanish by Mexican daily La Jornada
Education is a priority for President Bush because this president knows that education is the foundation of our democracy and a powerful force behind our economy. Under his leadership, federal support for public schools has reached unprecedented levels. Investment in education is a commitment to the spread of knowledge and freedom of thought for all people. No other investment has a greater return and no other experience enriches like the discovery of our common humanity while studying overseas.
Now more than ever the United States needs the cultural and intellectual diversity that foreign students bring to our campuses and communities. And more American students are seeking the challenge of an education overseas in order to fully grasp the complex global nature of our economy and politics. International education and cultural exchanges promote mutual understanding that is critical not only for the future of America, but provides the foundation for global peace.
This is the fifth year that the U.S. Departments of State and Education celebrate International Education Week (November 15-19), recognizing the importance of international and cultural exchange. Today there is greater understanding in both the United States and Mexico that it is in our mutual interest to increase scholarly exchange and for our universities to enter productive relationships in support of common economic, environmental and social objectives.
As the global economy grows increasingly competitive, many people here tell me that Mexico must also move quickly and with determination to make education a priority. It is critical to provide people with the most essential tool of economic progress: a quality education that goes beyond basic mathematics and literary skills to be able to encompass today’s technological realities. Mexico's economy has advanced to the point that it no longer competes solely as a low-wage nation, but is now at the stage where it must find a competitive advantage in a skilled and educated workforce. As Mexico looks towards the future, it will increasingly invest in its workforce, preparing highly trained and technologically literate citizens who can compete in global markets.
Educational and cultural exchanges between Mexico and the U.S. build high levels of mutual understanding and expertise. I know this because as a twenty-one-year-old law student in 1982, I studied in Guadalajara and experienced first-hand the excitement and challenge of living in a different culture. It was an experience that helped shape my life and goals.
Mexico is the fifth leading destination for U.S. study abroad with 8,775 Americans students here, and I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many of them. Each year I host the American Fulbright researchers and lecturers whose research into political systems, education, public health, and art history, advance our collective knowledge of the human condition. Since its inception, over 96,000 American students have participated in the legendary Fulbright program throughout the world; we are proud that each year nearly 80 Fulbright scholars are welcomed to Mexico. We know that international exchanges strengthen our countries—goodwill, tolerance and beneficial partnerships are the result.
Nowhere is this more evident to me than when I meet the Mexican alumni of American institutions of higher education and hear first hand their experiences in the U.S. The friendship of future world leaders educated in the United States is one of our most valuable assets and I see the benefit of this everyday.
According to the Institute of International Education’s recently released Open Doors 2004 Report, Mexico ranks as the seventh largest source of international students to the United States. Almost 13,500 Mexican students are studying at prestigious research institutions, bustling urban universities, in rural settings, and at American community colleges.
Why are Mexican students studying in the U.S.? Because they know that they are welcome in my country and there are continuing bilateral efforts to keep the doors of opportunity open. Mexico has the greatest number of U.S. government and U.S. privately-funded scholarship programs available anywhere in the world, from the Fulbright-Garcia Robles program to the Ford-Hewlitt Graduate Fellowship Program, to the U.S. government-supported Training, Internships, Exchanges and Scholarships (TIES) initiative that supports over 750 scholarships and 35 partnerships between Mexican and U.S. universities. This week the U.S. Embassy will announce five more partnerships. To help make their education more affordable, several U.S. colleges offer in-state reduced tuition for Mexican students.
It’s in the national interest of the U.S. to continue to encourage people to visit our country and the last thing we want is for our visa policy to be perceived as a barrier to study in the U.S. by prospective international students. We’ve tried to balance the need to augment U.S. border security with the imperative to keep our nation open to international visitors. And I think we’ve succeeded. Last year in Mexico we issued an extraordinary 14,985 student and exchange visitor visas. If you are considering studying in the United States, the EducationUSA Advising Center located in the Benjamin Franklin Library can assist you with your plans.
As we celebrate International Education Week, it’s useful to review what we have accomplished and recognize the challenges we face. Together we must continue to bring future leaders across borders to gain a deeper understanding of their complex world and their place in it.
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