Germany and the United States have established a number of exchange programs which support the experience of living, studying and working in a foreign country for thousands of students, scientists as well as young professionals each year. The German Academic Exchange Program, the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange, and the Fulbright Program are just a few of them.
But when international ties are cut, exchange programs sometimes are cut as well: In December 2020, Great Britain announced that with leaving the European Union, it will also cut its ties with the Erasmus program, the EU’s student exchange program - a decision criticized by British and European student organizations alike.
Exchange programs impact the lives and biographies of their participants. But they also strive to promote good relations between countries. What exactly are their effects and influence on international relations and diplomacy? How does the establishment of exchange experiences help governments negotiate relationships with one another?
Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering drew the connecting lines between diplomacy and exchange programs in this digital lecture. He was introduced by Richard T. Arndt, 1949 Fulbright Scholar to France and founding member of the Fulbright Association.
Organized by Manfred Philipp, this event was cosponsored by the Connecticut, the Greater New York, the National Capital Area and the San Antonio Chapters of the Fulbright Association, by the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, by the Belle Zeller Scholarship Trust Fund, the CUNY Academy for the Humanities and Sciences, and by the US Alumni Association of the German Academic Exchange Service, DAAD. It is supported by 1014.
Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering served as the US Representative to the United Nations in New York under President George H.W. Bush. He led the U.S. effort to build a global coalition in the UN Security Council during and after the first Gulf War and was Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs under President Bill Clinton.
In a diplomatic career spanning five decades, Ambassador Pickering represented the US to the Russian Federation, India, Israel, El Salvador, Nigeria, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. He also served in Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
He was Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Oceans, Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Executive Secretary of the Department of State, and Special Assistant to Secretaries of State William P. Rogers and Henry A. Kissinger.
His Fulbright Scholarship was to the University of Melbourne in Australia. The State Department has named its Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program in his honor. Pickering believes that these programs are a hidden asset to US diplomacy and diplomatic leadership.
Ambassador Pickering’s appointment as Career Ambassador is the highest in the U.S. Foreign Service and his Distinguished Service Award is the State Department’s highest award.