In May 2018, 23 European Fulbright commissions established the European Fulbright Diversity Initiative (EFDI) to address the complex issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Fulbright Program. EFDI is the first-ever project of its kind; it started as a bottom-up process driven by experiences of past and current Fulbright grantees and has since evolved into a communal project that included roundtable workshops, a conference, and the formation of task forces that collected good practices and suggestions on how to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Fulbright Program.

EFDI is now entering its implementation phase in which the work that has been done over the last 1.5 years will be put into practice and professionalized. Fulbright Austria is pleased that Susanne Hamscha (US/Austrian scholar program officer) will be taking the lead on this project and coordinating the implementation phase together with diversity liaison Courtney Moffett-Bateau. Since August 2018, Susanne has served as Fulbright Austria’s point of contact with the initiative and as a task force member. Her familiarity with EFDI, her knowledge of the Fulbright Program, and her background in American cultural studies will be valuable as the initiative moves into the next phase. The Fulbright Austria team wishes Susanne all the best as she seizes this opportunity to contribute to the development of the Fulbright Program.