Martha J. Kanter

The Importance of Education in Cultural Diplomacy By Martha J. Kanter (Under Secretary of Education, US State Department)

The kind of trust we are going to build with countries around the world is going to be critical, and education has got to be the tool for Cultural Diplomacy. … The internet provides an intergenerational opportunity for better education and better understanding of Cultural Diplomacy and the common good in the years to come as soon as we really look at how we use these tools. … It is the exchange of teachers and students; it is why the Fulbright Program is so essential to the United States and to the other countries with whom we work, because it is a model for an exchange that drills down into the kinds of ideas that professors are using to transform the youth who can create the new ideas that will be grounded in the values of Cultural Diplomacy, mutual understanding, respect, and trust. … This really creates that synergy of new ideas, so that we can think about ways to really express what we would all like to see, especially in this country- an increase in the level of trust between Americans and other colleagues around the world. So I think the main message is to stay on course, and reach out and build relationships; it takes many hours of dialogue and discussion and relations.

- The International Symposium on Cultural Diplomacy in the USA 2012; Washington D.C., June 26th, 2012