120 US cultural passports ready for Pakistani students

US ambassador terms Pakistani students future of Pakistan, says US universities eager to welcome talent Pakistani students

US Ambassador to Pakistan Richard G Olson has urged Pakistani students to play their proactive role to strengthen people-to-people contacts between Pakistan and the United States, adding that the US universities were eager to welcome talented and dynamic Pakistani students, who in future would lead Pakistan toward peace and prosperity.

Olson was addressing as chief guest to a group of 120 Pakistani students at the pre-departure briefing regarding the US government-funded Global Undergraduate (Global UGRAD) Program, organised by the United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP) in Islamabad.

“We welcome more than 1,000 Pakistanis in the United States each year on our many exchange programs, which clearly demonstrates the depth of our commitment to Pakistan’s youth,” said Olson in his address, while congratulating the students travelling to the United States for undergraduate study as part of this US government-funded program.

“Students are the future of Pakistan, and anyone who spends time with them knows that they continue to aim high for the future of Pakistan,” he further said.

Earlier, USEFP Executive Director Rita Akhtar, in her welcoming address, disclosed that sixty two percent of the students are women and that the 2014-15 groups include 240 principal and 40 alternate candidates, 92 students from Punjab, 74 from Sindh, 46 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 28 from Gilgit-Baltistan, 15 from Balochistan, 9 from AJK, 10 from FATA, and six from Islamabad Capital Territory. A total of 240 students will participate in this program during the 2014-15 academic year.

At the start of the program, each student receives a “Cultural Passport to America”, which is modelled to look loosely like a US passport. For participation in cultural events and activities, Global UGRAD-Pakistan students receive Passport stamps from their university and college advisors, allowing staff to encourage new and diverse experiences for their students. Through the Passport, students present and reflect on how they have explored various aspects of US culture, the linkages they’ve forged with Americans throughout the program and on their plans for sharing U.S. culture with their communities when returning home.