Editorial: 70 years of bright minds. Celebrating the 70th anniversary of Fulbright Austria’s first academic exchange

25 May 2021
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Executive director Hermann Agis shares some words on the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the first academic exchange.

For 70 years, Fulbright Austria has facilitated academic exchange between Austria and the United States of America for students, teaching assistants, and scholars to promote mutual understanding between both countries and to bring Austrian and Americans a bit closer together. In 2020, we set out on a journey to celebrate “70 years of bright minds.” A year ago, we started our celebrations with the anniversary of the bilateral agreement between the Republic of Austria and the United States of America. One year later, on 10 June 2021, we will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the first academic exchange that established the Fulbright bridge, a bridge that has connected our two countries ever since. When the first generation of program participants began their journey in 1951, Fulbright Austria became fully alive.

We would have loved to welcome you at the MQ in Vienna to celebrate this wonderful occasion in person; however, the global COVID-19 pandemic does not allow in-person events, and we are dedicated to protecting the most vulnerable members of our community. While I am sure that we all miss the personal interactions, we are looking forward to celebrating with all of you online. On the bright side, the online format will allow us to virtually bridge the Atlantic and celebrate with all members of the Fulbright Austria community—a fitting way to commemorate the year the Fulbright bridge was established between Austria and the US.

Fulbright Austria is very grateful to President Van der Bellen for his honorary patronage for our “70 years of bright minds.” event. I want to also extend a special thanks to the governments of Austria and the United States of America, our partners, and our donors for their substantive contributions and continued support.

We are also very grateful to the generations of Austrians and Americans who have participated in our programs. We would not be able to do this without the courage and enthusiasm of all our students, scholars and teaching assistants, who have become part of a community of more than 6,000 Fulbright alums and 4,000 USTA alums. These alums—our cultural ambassadors of Austria and the US—continue to bring a bit more knowledge and a bit more peace into this world even after they have returned to their home country. This is what we celebrate in June 2021 with the virtual panel discussion “US teaching assistants going into Austrian classrooms: Bringing language and cultural education" on 1 June 2021 and the celebratory and welcoming remarks followed by the virtual panel discussion "Foundations sending funds: Bringing a lasting impact" on 10 June 2021.

Join us from both sides of the Atlantic on Zoom, YouTube, or our social-media channels to continue building this Fulbright bridge, to connect with our community of bright minds, and to help us inspire the future program participants of the next 70 years.

Hermann Agis, PhD
Executive Director