Fulbright Foreign Scholars at the Fulbright Enrichment Seminar in Atlanta, GA. Seventy-one Fulbright Visiting Scholars from 34 countries came together in Atlanta, Georgia, from February 27 to March 2 for an enrichment seminar on Public Health & Global Health Issues. The Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program and Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Program bring foreign scholars to lecture and/or conduct post-doctoral research at U.S. colleges and universities. These scholars and international researchers focus on communicable disease eradication, non-communicable disease registration, training for preventive care, and public health management.

The seminar highlighted local initiatives and important work in the field of public health and global health at institutions such as the Carter Center, Emory University, CARE International, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The program opened with a keynote by Kelley Callahan, assistant director of the Carter Center, presenting the Center’s work on the eradication of six preventable diseases including Guinea worm, river blindness and malaria. The keynote was followed by a site visit to the Carter Center the next day.

During a visit to the CDC, the scholars were welcomed by the director, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, who briefed them on toxic substances, disease registry, and prevention training. They also attended break-out sessions on topics such as Non-Communicable Diseases and Public Health Policy, and the Role of the Media, and visited The David J Spencer CDC Museum exhibition, “Design with the Other 90%: CITIES.”

Seminar participants visited public-health organizations, toured the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, and were hosted by members of the Georgia Center for International Visitors for dinner at local restaurants.

Fulbright participants said the seminar was a unique opportunity for them to meet fellow researchers from around the world. Participants shared timely, enlightening, and educational information with one another that can be applied by the scholars upon their return to their home countries and institutions.

The Atlanta, Ga., Fulbright Enrichment Seminar is one of three enrichment seminars for Fulbright Visiting Scholars hosted across the United States by the U.S. Department of State as part of its flagship Fulbright Program in academic year 2012-2013. Through local experts and members of the academic community, the seminar presents different perspectives on the selected topic. Through community outreach activities and discussions, Fulbright Visiting Scholars learn how the selected topic impacts communities in the U.S. and explore its impact on their own home countries.