In a time of global connectedness, business and globalised culture, any true education for our young people must have a strong international dimension, said US Consul General William Martin while speaking at the International Education Week (IEW) 2011 held at a local hotel on Thursday. The IEW is an annual joint initiative of the US Department of State and the US Department of Education. The theme for IEW 2011 is “Inspiring students locally to succeed globally”. Speaking at the event, Martin said given the world’s interconnectivity both technologically and economically, young people have to learn to think globally as the world is truly a global village. He said the IEW is an opportunity to inspire students to broaden their horizons through global learning, foreign languages and exchanges. “In Pakistan, the US government has the largest Fulbright Fellowship Programme.
Through the programme, hundreds of Pakistanis attend high schools and universities throughout the US every year,” he added. He said over the next year, the US Educational Foundation Pakistan aims to reach out to even more young people and welcome Pakistani students to educational institutions in the US. “We believe that getting to know each other personally and seeing each other’s cultures up close, we can foster better understanding, more tolerance and closer friendship. And it is the young people who will make that happen,” he added. Martin observed that the US encourages more young Pakistanis to bring their ideas, knowledge, culture and perspective to enrich its institutions of learning as well as the country as a whole. “Both our countries benefit from the inspired students and international education,” he added.
