This month's newsletter from the Fulbright Academy has a different format.

(1) We start with an update on our upcoming conference in Panama City, Panama on March 1-4.

(2) This is followed by a report on about our upcoming workshop on Digital Libraries. It briefly describes how the subject area was chosen and how the project has evolved. We have included this to show the important role that individual grantees play in our organization - we are truly a grass-roots organization, created by and for alumni. Strong Alumni Associations have passionate leaders and members, who carry out the mission of the Association through projects and events that are goal oriented, and that is the model that we are following.

(3) The newsletter ends with bite-sized highlights about Fulbrighters gleaned from the Alumni.State.Gov website. This website is for people who have participated in programs that are funded or partially funded by the State Department.

It is not too late to for you and your colleagues to play an active role in the Conference. If you would like to present your research, we still have many openings in the poster session. We also are looking for leaders for the round-table discussions, which take place during dinner on Friday. It will be an international program. Currently registered participants have experience in places such as Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, El Salvador, Germany, India, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Nicaragua, Palestine, Panama, Singapore, Ukraine, UK and USA.

The theme for the conference is the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. These goals call for global action in areas such as economic development, environmental sustainability, health and education. We will be discussing the work of Fulbright scholars in these four areas. A list of topics for discussion can be found on our webpage - look at the list of submitted abstracts.

We also will have a special workshop on Forensic Science and International Human Rights. Those who watch CSI on television, you know that solving a crime requires expertise in many scientific disciplines. We are excited about this opportunity to build bridges between forensic specialists and Fulbright scholars in other fields.

Panama is only a short distance from America's shores. It is well known for its canal and its tropical forest. We will visit the canal and the final day of the conference is at the Gamboa Rainforest Resort, where you will see tropical birds, butterflies, plants, snakes, and other wildlife.

Please note that participation is NOT limited to Fulbright scholars and their spouses - we seek to build ties among Fulbrighters and also to recruit other leaders into the Fulbright program. We hope that non-alumni who attend our programs may apply for to be Fulbrighters themselves or will help recruit younger colleagues to apply. (over half of Fulbright grants go to people who have not completed their PhD).

Registration is $400 for the four-day program, and discounts are available to students, members, employees of institutional members and people from low- and middle income countries.

At the end of January, 75 experts from 10 countries will meet in Rabat to discuss the creation of an internet-based system for displaying a wide array of knowledge - information applicable to science, culture and education. The co-hosts are the Fulbright Academy and the Moroccan Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and the focus of meeting is on how such a system can be implemented for the countries of North Africa.

The meeting is happening because a Fulbrighter at the Ministry in Morocco approached the Fulbright Academy in April with a concept (the workshop) and a potential source of funding (US National Science Foundation). FAST had interacted with alumni in Morocco when our executive director attended their annual meeting in November 2005, and earlier this year, FAST provided funds so that two members of the Alumni Association could attend our annual conference in Berlin in March.

During the spring and summer, Dr. Khalid Temsamani and our executive director wrote two grant proposals and approached several organizations for sponsorship. To date, we have received cash funding from the NSF, UNESCO, Thomson Scientific and the American Institute for Maghrib Studies. (Interestingly, the Thomson connection was the result of an email to us from the Fulbright Commission in Chile).

We also have received in-kind support from many sources. For example, a half-day planning meeting at the NSF was attended by staff from the Library of Congress, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Getty Museum in California, the Egyptian Embassy, the State Department, the University of Pittsburgh and others. Their input has made this program a success. On the other side of the Atlantic, our Moroccan partners received advice and support from their government, an economic development agency (R&D Maroc) and other institutions in North Africa.

We have not yet tallied the value of the in-kind contributions. For example, there are at least a dozen self-funded individuals whose employer is paying for their travel and accommodation. We do know that about 92% of the cash funds raided to date have been used for program expenses, with the remaining 8% is going to administration. Program expenses include travel for participants, translation services, food and hotel costs. If we placed a value on people's time, then the percentage of expenditure going to administration would shrink to less than 4%.

This project has helped the Academy by allowing us to develop relationships with Fulbright alumni and with institutions around the world. We consciously recruited Fulbright scholars to participate. In addition, the program introduced us to leaders at institutions, which has led to institutional memberships with Simmons College, Indiana State University, Tufts University, the University of Chicago, Thomson Scientific and the American Institute for Maghrib Studies.

The workshop had to be limited to 75 people - meaning that many qualified and interested people were unable to attend, but you can still participate in the discussion. Many of the participants are writing "white papers" about their research and work, and how it relates to the digital library for the Maghreb (they will be posted starting January 6). This will give you a chance to read the papers and submit comments on-line. We also will have links to projects highlighted at the workshop, such as the Iraqi Virtual Science Library, the US National Library of Medicine, Global Memory-Net, the Perseus Digital Library, the Informedia Digital Video Library, the Getty Museum, and the Alexandria Library.

You are one of a group of subscribers who are getting this special message. We want to know how many people actually read this far down in the newsletter.

PLEASE HIT THE REPLY BUTTON on your email program and send us a message. That way, we know that you read at least to here. Thank you.

And now the rest of the news update ...

In September, Allison Silverman, a US Fulbright Scholar, presented her research on rural electrification using solar energy to a crowd of over 100 academics, local supporters and solar energy fanatics at a Smithsonian program office in Panama.

In October of 2006, Dr. Rafael Vasquez was selected as Panama’s Fulbright Of The Year for his outstanding contributions to the Fulbright Community. It has been his mission to encourage the professional strengthening of chemists as important players in the national development and the protection of the quality of life of their fellow Panamanian citizens. He is currently vice-chair of the Fulbright Alumni group in Panama.

Gerald Germain, the current Minister of Social Affairs of Haiti, is the founder of a highly respected school where he has been instructing students since his experience as a Fulbright exchange program participant. As a teacher, he has trained hundreds of students who have moved on to work in the private and public sectors and even to become elected officials in the current Haitian parliament. He has also been very active in the Fulbright Alumni group in Haiti.

The Honduran Fulbright Association recently coordinated a Leadership Symposium that stressed leadership in the public and private sectors as well as promoted discussion about national identity. The Association raised funds from 28 organizations, including businesses, banks and telecommunications companies, to underwrite program: “A New Breed of Leaders and Their Commitment to Honduras.” This event was attended by over 200 people.

Dr. Dalip Ragoobirsingh (2004 Fulbright Researcher) presented a paper on “Diabetes Education Curriculum for Health Professionals in the Caribbean” at the International Diabetes Federation Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, December 3-7, 2006. Dr. Ragoobirsingh is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica.

On Thursday, October 26, the U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela and the Fulbright Association of Venezuela (FAV) hosted a cocktail to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Fulbright Program in Venezuela. Maria Teresa Romero, the FAV President, announced some upcoming events including the Fulbright's Baseball Cup and the "Get Together" dealing with Michelle Ascencio's book entitled "World, Demon and Flesh".

Human Resource Specialist Dr. Errol Holmes (1988 Fulbright Student) and Consultant Psychiatrist Dr. Winston De La Haye (2002 NIDA Humphrey Fellow) are the new leaders of the Jamaica Fulbright-Humphrey Alumni Association. The group organized a seminar on “Diabetes & Folklore” in November.

Carlos Mota-Mendoza is widely known throughout Mexico as a business analyst. At age 27, Carlos was appointed the Assistant Dean of the Master in Business Administration Program at one of the most prestigious Mexican universities, El Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) , where he continues to build and strength ties with Mexican and U.S. academic communities. His daily editorial in Milenio newspaper is published in 13 major cities throughout Mexico, and his columns have been published daily in several other newspapers since 2002. Mota is also a frequent guest writer at the San Diego Union-Tribune, Expansión, and Gestión de Negocios.

A Fulbright alumna working in the American Embassy in the Dominican Republic, Laura Abreau has been the key mover in reviving a DR Fulbright Association. Laura has also made sure that Fulbrighters were invited to Embassy functions, and suggested the participation of Embassy officials in Fulbright activities, thus ensuring greater and broader contact, leading to great understanding.

On October 25, 2006, nearly 100 alumni gathered at the U.S. Ambassador's residence in Rome, Italy to mark the launching of the alumni program in Italy. Assistant Secretary of State Dina Powell addressed the gather highlighting the key role that exchanges play in building greater mutual understanding.

Osamuede ("Ede") Osemwota, an American of Nigerian origin, is working at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan in Paris to research a particular HIV-1 integrase inhibitor, DKA, that may lead to new forms of HIV medical therapy.

Dr. Kuniko Inoguchi, Japan's Minister of State for Gender Equality and Social Affairs and a former Fulbright Visiting Scholar, spoke at a presentation to Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program participants in Tokyo. Dr. Inoguchi received her Ph.D. in Political Science at Yale University in 1982. She was elected as Member of the House of Representatives in September 2005, and appointed Minister for Gender Equality and Social Affairs in October 2005. She is responsible for policies associated with equal opportunities and social justice including gender equality, youth affairs, and consumer protection.

Fulbright alumnus Nguyen Thien Nhan is Vietnam's Minister of Education and Training. Nguyen Thein Nhan studied Public Policy at the University of Oregon under a Fulbright student grant in 1993, and was appointed Vietnam's Minister of Education and Training early this year.

Fulbright Scholar Surya Singh introduced and demonstrated robots to a kindergarten class of around 30 children at Nedlands Primary School in Perth, Australia on September 8. The basics of levers, gears, and structures were demonstrated using Legos, and it culminated with the construction of a fan and a merry-go-round.

The Fulbright Academy was started by people like you. It is a non-profit membership-based organization that serves scientists, executives, and scholars worldwide. Our sponsors and supporters include individual and institutional members such as universities, corporations, government agencies and foundations. The Fulbright Academy is not affiliated with the US State Department, the US Fulbright Association or the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. We are independently funded, and so your support is very important to us.

By joining the Academy, you will be supporting our work - our conferences, the study committees, and our Fulbright Forums. You will receive invitations to special events, and we also help members link up with other Fulbrighters in their respective fields. Individual memberships start at $60, with reduced rates available for students, retired individuals and those living in low- and middle-income countries.

Institutions in the US and elsewhere are collaborating with the Academy on several projects and programs. As described above, these collaborations typically are funded by a grant or contract from a foundation or agency. The first step is in this process typically is joining as an individual or institutional member. Please join today.

As a fellow grantee of the Fulbright program (Germany '89), I look forward to having you as a member and participant.

Sincerely,

Mr. Eric S. Howard, Executive Director