Date: Sun, 21 Sep 1997 07:42:05 +0300
From: Lily Diaz <lily@mlab.uiah.fi>
Subject: Re: 11.0273 Fullbright Scholars directory?
Some information regarding how to contact former Fulbrighters:
The Fulbright Alumnae Association is a network of former Fulbright
scholars. One of their projects has been to set up and maintain a database
of names and addresses. The person you are looking for may very well be on
their list.
Here is a copy of their latest press release with information on some of
the activities of the organization and how to contact them.
September 9, 1997
Dear Fulbrighter:
Following is the 1997 J. William Fulbright Prize for International
Understanding press announcement that was released this morning. The
Fulbright Association is delighted that Vaclav Havel, president
of the Czech Republic, will receive the award this year. The award
presentation, lecture, and reception will take place October 3, at the
U.S. State Department. The Fulbright Association 20th Annual Meeting and
Conference will be held October 2-October 5, at the ANA Hotel in
Washington, D.C. Registrations to attend the conference and prize events
are still being accepted. To reserve a special--rate hotel room, contact
the ANA Hotel at 202-492-2400 or 800-262-4683 before midnight September 11.
Information can be obtained from the Fulbright Association at 1130 17th
St., N.W., Suite 310, Washington, D.C. 20036. (telephone) 202-331-1590;
(fax) 202-331-1979; (e-mail) fulalum@ciesnet.cies.org or
fulbright@fulbright.org
___________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jane Anderson
Fulbright Association
202-331-1590
CZECH REPUBLIC PRESIDENT VACLAV HAVEL
WILL RECEIVE 1997 J. WILLIAM FULBRIGHT PRIZE
FOR INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING
Playwright, President Honored For Courage and Vision
WASHINGTON, September 9, 1997 -- The 1997 J. William Fulbright Prize for
International Understanding will be awarded to Vaclav Havel, president of
the Czech Republic, the Fulbright Association announced today. President
Havel will be presented with the award at an Oct. 3 ceremony at the State
Department during the association's annual conference.
"In the long process of ending communist rule and ushering in democracy in
his country, Vaclav Havel has promoted liberty and human dignity
worldwide," said The Honorable James T. Laney, former U.S. ambassador to
Korea and chairman of the international selection committee convened by the
Fulbright Association. "Scholar, diplomat, and leader of his country,
Vaclav Havel is a man of great courage and vision. His eloquence and his
utter fearlessness gave hope to millions in a time of despair."
The Fulbright Association created the J. William Fulbright Prize for
International Understanding in 1993 with a grant from The Coca-Cola
Foundation to recognize individuals who have made extraordinary
contributions toward bringing peoples, cultures, or nations to greater
understanding of others. The prize was awarded to South African President
Nelson Mandela in 1993, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in 1994, former
Austrian Federal Chancellor Franz Vranitzky in 1995, and former Philippines
President Corazon C. Aquino in 1996. It carries a $50,000 award from The
Coca-Cola Foundation.
"President Havel has become a symbol of the vast human potential for
positive transformation of societies," said Dr. Philip O. Geier, president
of the Fulbright Association's Board of Directors and president of Armand
Hammer United World College. "Over recent years, he has unleashed the
momentum of democracy to improve the well-being of the Czech Republic and
its citizens, defending human rights, strengthening the economy, and most
recently, promoting NATO expansion to include the Czech Republic."
For nearly two decades, playwright Vaclav Havel rallied public support for
democracy and social change in Czechoslovakia. He wrote open letters to
the government, centered his literary works on civil society and liberty,
and created a human rights manifesto called Charter 77. In 1989, Havel was
unanimously elected spokesman of the Civic Forum opposition movement, which
brought about the end of communist rule in the country. Havel's leadership
of the peaceful 1989 "Velvet Revolution" resulted in the rise of democracy.
On December 29, 1989, Vaclav Havel was elected president of Czechoslovakia.
In 1990, he was re-elected president by the new Parliament, but resigned
the position in 1992 when it became clear Czechoslovakia would be split.
He became the first president of the Czech Republic on January 26, 1993.
Serving on the committee that selected President Havel for the 1997
Fulbright Prize were Ambassador James T. Laney; Dr. Anton Amon, a Fulbright
Association director and senior vice president, The Coca-Cola Company;
Minister Gudmund Hernes, Minister of Health, Norway; The Honorable Geza
Jeszenszky, member of the Hungarian parliament and president, Hungarian
Atlantic Council; and Sir Ronald Wilson, president, Human Rights and Equal
Opportunity Commission, Australia. Dr. Amon, Minister Hernes, Dr.
Jeszenszky, and Sir Ronald Wilson are all past recipients of Fulbright
awards.
Vaclav Havel was born in Prague on October 5, 1936. After studying at the
Czech Technical University and serving two years of compulsory military
service, Havel studied drama and graduated from the Academy of Performing
Arts in 1967. A prolific playwright and author, Havel has published more
than 20 literary works, which have been performed around the world. He has
received 14 honorary degrees from 10 universities, among many other awards
for both his literary and political accomplishments.
The Fulbright Association is a private, non-profit organization that
supports and promotes the Fulbright Program, an international educational
and cultural exchange initiative created in 1946 through legislation
sponsored by the late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. The
Fulbright Association also runs educational and cultural programs for
foreign Fulbright scholars during their U.S. stay, linking them with U.S.
Fulbright alumni. It collaborates with Fulbright scholars and more than 50
Fulbright alumni organizations in other countries.
Since 1949, there have been more than 200,000 participants in the Fulbright
Program throughout the world. Fulbright exchanges with Czechoslovakia began
in the late 1970s. Since then, approximately 270 Czech citizens have
studied in the United States through the Fulbright Program, and more than
200 scholars from the United States have studied in the Czech Republic and
the former Czechoslovakia on Fulbright grants.
This year, the Fulbright Association celebrates the 20th anniversary of its
founding and the fifth anniversary of the Fulbright Prize.
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