We need to continue to tell our stories….What this means is….a ten-fold increase in programs such as the Fulbright… (p.238).
Exchange programs are really important in Public Diplomacy. I hope to be presenting a paper on the effectiveness of scholar exchanges in April!
However, there is only one point that I don’t understand in her arguments. She claims that US has been preferring to talk instead of listening for a long time. So will these exchange programs help US to listen? If you want to listen to someone, why don’t you go and listen? Isn’t it obvious that if you invite the scholars to your country, you will be “telling” your story constantly? – In fact, this is why I believe the scholar exchanges are effective communication ways. The scholars will be exposed to several different messages from various resources and at the end of the day leave with an accurate image of the country…
The good news is I am leaving for a Fulbright conference in 3 hours. I will interview some fellow scholars! Let’s see what they think!
Reaching the Public 