Thank you, Secretary Clinton.

It is an honor to stand with you here today, and to join Under Secretary McHale and your State Department team.

I thank you and President Obama for your trust and confidence.

There are many people for me to thank. I know where to start — with my mother, Carolyn Mayes; my husband, Stuart; my son, Chase, my daughter-in-law, Suvi; and the rest of my family who have traveled from Indiana to be with me. And I share this day not only with my immediate family, but also with my larger family of friends and colleagues of a lifetime. Thank you all for being here.

I also wish to thank the men and women of the State Department, especially the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, often known as ECA, who were my companions through the confirmation process—a process that took perhaps a wee bit longer than I had imagined. My new colleagues have warmly welcomed me to their work that is so important to us all.

Madame Secretary, I am proud today to join you again and to support many of the principles that have guided you your entire life:

• fostering an open and civil society;
• providing education and opportunity for all; and
• ensuring a stable future for young people, especially women and girls.

You have been a champion of these causes and others in the private sector, in the White House, in the Senate, and now at the State Department.

I still recall clearly the first time we met, 17 years ago. We were scheduled for a 15-minute interview; I left an hour and a half later, inspired and awed by your vision and your commitment.

I look forward to furthering that vision and commitment by engaging new communities and cultures in innovative ways to build respect and mutual understanding around the globe.

Madame Secretary, our exchange programs are an especially important, long-term investment in international understanding and stability. Through the Fulbright Program, and our professional, academic, cultural, youth and sports exchanges, we build the bridges that link our diverse American culture with cultures around the world.

Today, nearly half of the world's population (almost 3 billion people) is under the age of 25. Finding new ways to communicate with and engage these young citizens of the world is critical. We must strengthen our bonds with them —reaching them wherever they are around the globe, by using every tool at our command, particularly new media and technology that are key to modern communication.

And exchanges create such a legacy for us. Today, there are more than a million alumni of our programs worldwide, including many in key leadership positions. In the last six weeks alone, six of our program alumni have become heads of state or heads of government. Through our ongoing contacts with these “alumni”, we foster relationships with new generations and fuel an engine for change that is perhaps unprecedented in American diplomacy.

Working with you, Secretary Clinton and with Under Secretary McHale, we at the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs will continue to develop diverse and innovative exchanges that rely on and engage our single greatest asset – the American citizen. When you meet Americans, you meet American values.

Exchanges, together with other forms of cultural and educational outreach, are a quintessentially American form of diplomacy that I hope to increase, to amplify, and to sustain in a lasting and meaningful way.

Thank you.

Ann Stock
Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs
Wednesday, July 14, 2010