Nieuws van de Fulbright Commission

Onder de sprekers bevonden zich

Ms. Marja Verloop, Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Mission to the Netherlands

Prof. dr. Anton Pijpers, Voorzitter van het bestuur van de Fulbright Commission

Mr. Gerbert Kunst, Directeur Internationaal Beleid bij het Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap

Ms. Trix Mulder, Fulbright alumna aan de University of Maryland

Mr. Aydan Figaroa, Fulbright alumnus aan Yale University

Dr. Christward Gradenwitz, Executive Director van de Fulbright Commission

“This is the first event we are hosting in the Embassy since the pandemic began and I’m so glad we are using it to honor you,” verwelkomde Chargé d’Affaires Marja Verloop de Fulbright bursalen. “For the last 75 years, Fulbright has been enriching lives, supporting research, and building bridges across the Atlantic. […] Senator Fulbright believed so strongly in the ideal of mutual understanding and people-to-people diplomacy that he did something decidedly American—he went to Congress and requested the establishment of the largest exchange program in history. 75 years later, Fulbright is known as much for academic excellence as it is for bridging cultures and for forming lifelong bonds. From the Cold War, to the rise of the Internet and now into this century, scholars like you have innovated, broadened our understanding of our world, and left their mark on Fulbright. Your Fulbright grants will open doors in ways you cannot imagine, you will gain new perspectives and learn to dream bigger.”

Mr Gerbert Kunst, directeur Internationaal Beleid bij het Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap voegde daar aan toe: “these are experiences you will never forget. And don’t be afraid to dedicate yourself to a better world. You don’t need to be a world leader or nobel prize winner to do that, although you never know what could happen!”

Prof. Dr. Anton Pijpers, voorzitter van het bestuur van de Fulbright Commission, gaf bursalen de volgende boodschap mee: “You will serve as ambassadors for your country, just as the incoming U.S. students and scholars will represent their country. What does it mean to serve as an Ambassador? I would say it means: be authentic, be open-minded, do not shy away from interesting or challenging conversations about either country. Learn and educate. Find common ground and celebrate it, acknowledge difference and try to respect it. As I am sure our speakers will remind us today, our two nations share deep and meaningful historic ties and a promising future. We are delighted that you will be a part of that future.”

Ook onze Fulbright alumni, Aydan en Trix, hadden advies voor de aankomende studenten en onderzoekers. Aydan Figaroa studeerde in 2020-2021 aan Yale Law School en deelde het volgende over zijn ervaringen: “Having this amazing Fulbright experience made me realize what my position was in the world, what my position was with the law, and now I can use the law to make the world hopefully a better place.” Het belangrijkste advies dat hij de nieuwe Fulbright bursalen zou willen meegeven is: “Be open and honest. Be open and honest to yourself – it’s ok to sometimes feel out of place and to miss your friends and family. And also be open and honest to others: talk to your peers, talk to your professors, talk to the people you meet on the streets. It will help you find your position in the world.”

Trix Mulder studeerde in 2019 aan de University of Maryland. Ze vertelde in een video over haar ervaringen en had het volgende advies: “Even if you spend most of your time in academia, make sure you also have time to speak to other Americans. There are different ways to go about this. My way was watching sports. I deliberately chose to go to games on my own. I noticed very quickly that Americans are very curious about the people sitting next to them, especially when they’re sitting alone. I met the nicest people during those games. They told me so much about what it means to be in their city and what it means to be an American. Some of them even invited me for a meal to talk some more. Two years later, I am still in contact with some of them. I truly believe that combining the information I received from the people within academia and the information people outside academia gave me, helped me understand the American culture better. It also helped me understand American law better – because law does not exist on its own.”

Tot slot gaf Christward Gradenwitz, Executive Director van de Fulbright Commission, zijn visie op onze belangrijke missie van wederzijds begrip aan de Fulbright bursalen mee. “One way of looking at mutual understanding is to see the common ground. The U.S. and the Netherlands HAVE a lot of common ground. In essence we share the foundations that can be called the hallmarks of Western society, like freedom, democracy, and human rights. But mutual understanding is not only about what is the same. It is also about what is different. Not only BETWEEN our two countries, but also WITHIN them. If there is no common ground, how can we find the middle ground? We can learn from each other, by looking at how we try to deal with differences in our respective countries. Differences are good; diversity is great. Quite rightly it is a theme that is high on all agendas everywhere. By approaching mutual understanding the way I suggested, as Fulbrighters we can put diversity at the heart of our mission.”

Fulbright bursalen 2021-2022

In het academisch jaar 2021-2022 vertrekken 19 Nederlandse Fulbright bursalen naar de VS voor studie en/of onderzoek. Wij wensen hen een heel succesvolle en inspirerende tijd in de Verenigde Staten.

 

Grantees

Scholar:

Roy Otten, Arizona State University

 

Promovendi:

Dirk Alkemade, New Netherlands Research Center (gesponsord door NNRC)

Rob de Haas, University of Washington (gesponsord door Elsevier)

Freek Heideman, New York University

Eva van der Linden, National Institutes of Health, National Human Genome Research Institute

Kim de Luca, University of California – Berkeley (gesponsord door Elsevier)

Mirjam Meijer, University of California – Los Angeles

Stéphanie Noach, Harvard University

Mieke Slim, Harvard University

Lotte Spreeuwenberg, City University of New York

Simon van der Weele, Johns Hopkins University (gesponsord door Elsevier)

 

Graduate Students:

Yussef Al Tamimi, Yale University

Joosje Bleeker, University of California – Santa Cruz

Georgina Booth, Columbia University

Sjoukje IJlstra, Harvard University (gesponsord door de Netherland-America Foundation)

Justin Lindeboom, Harvard University

Lise Mitsinga, Columbia University (gesponsord door de Netherland-America Foundation)

Inge Oosterhoff, New York University

Jeffrey Sprong, Yale University