The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

fosters mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries around the world. It is responsible for the

United States Cultural Exchange Programs United States cultural exchange programs, particularly those programs with ties to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the United States Department of State, seek to develop cultural understanding between United States citiz ...

Lee Satterfield Lee Satterfield is an American diplomat who has served as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs in the Biden administration since November 2021. Early life and education Satterfield is a native of South Carolina. ...

, confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on November 18, 2021, began service as Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs on November 23, 2021.

History

In 1940, Nelson Rockefeller began the exchange of persons program with Latin America, as the Coordinator of Commercial and Cultural Affairs for the American Republics. This program sent 130 journalists from Latin America to the United States. In 1942, The

United States Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

(OWI) was created out of the United States Government's need for a centralized location for information. OWI was disbanded under the Truman administration, though a small element of the original structure was maintained within the State Department as the Office of International Information and Cultural Affairs (OIC), which was renamed the Office of International Information and Educational Exchange. In 1948, the

Smith–Mundt Act The U.S. Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (Public Law 80-402), popularly called the Smith–Mundt Act, was first introduced by Congressman Karl E. Mundt (R-SD) in January 1945 in the 79th Congress. It was subsequently passed by ...

sought to "promote a better understanding of the United States in other countries, and to increase mutual understanding." The educational and cultural exchange aspects of the State Department were removed from the Bureau of Public Affairs and entered the newly created Bureau of Educational and Cultural Relations (CU) in 1959. In 1961, the

87th United States Congress The 87th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 196 ...

passed the Fulbright-Hays Act (Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act) to establish a program to "strengthen the ties which unite us with other nations by demonstrating the educational and cultural interests, developments, and achievements of the people of the United States and other nations". In 1978, the United States International Communication Agency (USICA) absorbed the bureau with the understanding that USICA was in charge of United States public diplomacy. Ronald Reagan renamed USICA to the

United States Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA), which operated from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to " public diplomacy". In 1999, prior to the reorganization of intelligence agencies by President George W. Bush, President Bil ...

in 1982, and in 1999, USIA was absorbed by the State Department.

Programs

* Alumni TIES (Thematic International Exchange Seminars) *

Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX, German name: ''Parlamentarisches Patenschafts-Programm'' or ''PPP'') is a youth student exchange program founded in 1983. The program, which is jointly sponsored by the United States Congress and the G ...

Cultural Heritage Center The Cultural Heritage Centerhttp://eca.state.gov/cultural-heritage-center Cultural Heritage Center website of the American Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs specializes in the protection and preservation of the world's ancient and historic ...

Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program was a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State in 1992–2013. The Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program provided opportunities for gradu ...

EducationUSA EducationUSA is a U.S. Department of State network of international student advising centers in more than 170 countries. EducationUSA is officially a branch in the Office of Global Educational Programs in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Af ...

* ''English Teaching Forum: A Journal for the Teacher of English Outside the United States'' * Fulbright Scholarship *

National Security Language Initiative for Youth National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

(NSLI-Y) *

Future Leaders Exchange Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) is a scholarship student exchange program administered by the U.S. Department of State through funding from the Freedom Support Act. The program provides opportunities for high school students (ages 15–19) from Eu ...

(FLEX) *

Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship is a United States Cultural Exchange Program. Named after the late Congressman Benjamin Gilman, former chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the program is administered by the United States D ...

* Hubert Humphrey Fellowship *

International Visitor Leadership Program The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is a professional exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The mission of IVLP is to offer current and emerging international leader ...

* TechWomen * Youth Exchange and Study (YES) * The Stevens Initiative *

Teachers of Critical Languages Program A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

(TCLP) * CLS Program * Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) * Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI)

References

External links

* *
Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
* {{authority control ECA Education policy in the United States Cultural exchange Government agencies established in 1961

History

Programs

See also

References

External links