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Corporate Social Responsibility
News
12.02.2008 - 03:41pm ET
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U.S. State Department Teams with Corporate America to Fund Scholarship Programs Overseas
(CSRwire) The U.S. Department of State is pleased to announce partnerships with Dole
Food Company in the Philippines and PT Freeport Indonesia to expand our
groundbreaking English Access Microscholarship Program, to fund
scholarships for young people in these countries to study English starting
in 2009.
Since its inception in 2004, the Access Program has provided scholarships
for English language training to approximately 44,000 students in over 55
countries. Recognizing that English language skills are critical to
economic opportunity and upward mobility, the Program targets
disadvantaged teenagers from underserved communities, building their
skills, self-esteem, and leadership. At the same time, multinational
companies have identified a need for workforce development, including
language training, in a competitive global marketplace. By joining forces
with the private sector to fund Access, the State Department is
encouraging a smart business investment in a proven program that
positively impacts young people's lives.
These public-private partnerships are the outcome of a newly launched
initiative by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) to
engage the private sector in collaborative projects - ones that further
their philanthropic goals through focused investments in our educational,
cultural and professional exchange programs. ECA's mission is to foster
mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other
countries, and our programs often align closely with the corporate social
responsibility goals of multinational companies and foundations.
This new initiative builds on recent past successes, including the Avon
Foundation/State Department Breast Cancer Global Congress, and the
Fortune/State Department Global Women's Mentoring Partnership. We are also
co-sponsoring with the Adobe Foundation an online web contest as part of
our new social networking initiative. Other public/private partnerships
have included our longstanding collaboration with U.S. universities that
host and provide financial support to international Fulbright students and
scholars, as well as the International Visitor Murrow program for
journalists.
We are in discussions with other companies to partner on the Access
Program and other successful ECA programs.
For information on ECA's public-private partnerships and its programs,
including Access, contact Kate Starr at the Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs, (202) 203-5108 and see http://www.exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/eam.html
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