90 years - A Good Beginning! From the Executive Director This year has brought exciting developments for the Fulbright Center. In January the Center moved to a new location in Helsinki (p. 22). We now enjoy our new surroundings at a landmark building, unofficially called the “Lace Castle”, together with our partners and neighbors: the Centre for International Mobility (CIMO) and the National Board of Education. Together with CIMO, the Fulbright Center has opened a brand new service, the Tietosilta -- a busy information and advising hub in the new premises serving all those interested in international exchanges and study abroad. Simultaneously with its physical move, the Center launched its new visual image and logo, symbolizing the Center’s renewed energy and vigor in the service of its constituents. Once again I am pleased to announce new grants. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of successful cooperation, the Fulbright Center and the Nokia Foundation signed an agreement elevating our jointly sponsored Fulbright award for US scholars onto a new level (p. 6). The new Fulbright-Nokia Distinguished Chair in Information and Communications Technologies was founded to bring senior level US scientists to Finland, and the first grant will be awarded for the academic year 2010–2011. The Center is pleased to announce another new program: the Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching, open for both US and Finnish teachers. For the Fulbright Center, the current year is one of anniversaries. It marks the 90th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Finland and the United States, and the 60th Anniversary of our long-standing ASLA program. These important milestones will be celebrated by a number of major events during 2009, starting with a two-day symposium in Helsinki in May (p. 4). Furthermore, an exhibition honoring the ASLA program and Finnish-American relations will be touring universities throughout Finland during the year. The ASLA-Fulbright program has been of immense importance not only in the arts and sciences but also in the relations between our two countries, and it is quite appropriate that these two anniversaries are celebrated together. To reinforce the recognition that the US and the Finnish governments place on the role of the ASLA-Fulbright, both governments have recently renewed their firm commitment to the future development of the program. We are very pleased to have the Foreign Minister of Finland, Dr. Alexander Stubb as the columnist in this issue of the Fulbright Center News. In his column, the Foreign Minister quite rightly points out the importance of significantly increasing exchanges between Finland and the United States, and the role that the Fulbright Center can have in this effort. The Center eagerly accepts this task. Moving into its 7th decade, the ASLA-Fulbright program continues to grow, and I am inviting all of our partners, sponsors, and alumni to seize the moment and work together with us to raise the number of grants onto another new level, providing even more opportunities for talented individuals ready to make a difference. Indeed, there is no better time than now! Terhi Mölsä Photo: Maria Mölsä
On May 30th 2009 we are celebrating the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Finland and the United States. Looking back, we see the history of our relations based on shared values and traditions. We see a history of two great countries and also a history of people with courageous minds and strong perseverance. The first Finns arrived in America as early as 1637. During the next centuries hundreds of thousands more followed. Settling into the Northern states and earning their living in mining and logging, the Finns soon gained a reputation as a strong and solid work force with fearless minds. Today, we see a great amount of goods, people and ideas moving high-speed across the Atlantic.The connections between our countries are manifold and spread to all sectors of society. The United States and Finland are both known as countries with excellent knowledge in high technology. Also, the cooperation and transfer of ideas in this field has been of great importance for both countries. Over the years, thousands of Finnish students and scholars have studied in the American universities. They have expanded their knowledge in various sciences but also in cross-cultural understanding, which in my view is at least equally important. Starting from personal contacts and building into networks, the gains of these exchanges are countless. There is also a broader picture in this: the knowledge of individual people becomes a larger capital. This increases greater understanding of each other, both here in Finland and also in the United States, and at the same time about the global challenges we both are encountering. The student and research exchanges can also be examined as part of a larger economic picture. In a recent study of ETLA, the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy, commissioned by the Foreign Ministry, it was noted that only 7 percent of Finnish students who were registered abroad studied in American universities, as compared to Sweden with 24 per-
cent and to the OECD countries in general with 30 percent. The result is quite surprising, since the United States is known to have the best universities in the world (13 out of 20 of the world's most prominent universities are in the U.S.). It is also a country which invests more money on research and development than any other country in the world. Therefore, in Finland we have an important task in our hands. We need to encourage our young people to reach out and take advantage of the brilliant possibilities that the American universities offer. In this the Fulbright program offers great opportunities. This year we have a lot to celebrate. In addition to the 90th birthday of our diplomatic relations, the ASLA-Fulbright program turns 60. Congratulations on that! We have a great year ahead of us, since there also is a new administration in the United States, which offers us a fresh start and new possibilities to enhance transatlantic partnership both bilaterally and through the EU. Let me say, the air is full of excitement and good expectations for the future. Let's all celebrate!
Alexander Stubb Minister for Foreign Affairs Photo: Pekka Mustonen/ www.alexstubb.com