International Education Week Celebrates 12th Year

October 31, 2011

The U.S. Department of State and Department of Education have begun preparations for the upcoming International Education Week. Scheduled between the 14th and 18th of November, the program looks to celebrate and encourage the idea of international cooperation through mutual understanding.

Ambrose Bierce, a famous journalist and satirist from the late 19th century, once said, "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography," after seeing few attempts from his fellow citizens to understand the world around them. The International Education Week hopes to encourage Americans to seek out opportunities to not only learn about other cultures, but to actually experience them.

"With the world’s economies and societies becoming more and more interdependent, it is almost impossible to distinguish between domestic and international issues," U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan explained in a statement on the program. "Therefore, we must work together to give all of our students an outstanding education, which includes learning about our global partners - their cultures, histories, languages, values and viewpoints."

Students' opportunities for such experiences have grown dramatically in recent years as well. Many schools now offer extensive study abroad programs, some touching literally all of the continents around the globe. Cultural exchange organizations have also introduced programs that allow Americans to work abroad, either in their industry or simply as a means to experience another culture.

The Institute of International Education reports that between 2008 and 2009 alone, more than 260,000 American students took advantage of study abroad programs, without even accounting for those who worked abroad.

The number of opportunities for international students to visit the U.S. has also grown. The IIE has similarly seen international enrollment in U.S. schools rise, nearly reaching 203,000 in the 2009 and 2010 school year, and overall the country hosted nearly 691,000 international students that year. The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs helped support more than 40,000 of these students.

Yet universities represent only a portion of the opportunities for people to be exposed to American culture, with other programs available for career training or simply working for a period of time in the country.

Since its inception under President Bill Clinton in 2000, International Education Week has grown dramatically, now celebrated in more than 100 countries around the world with corresponding programs cropping up to help anyone with an interest in better understanding the many cultures around the world.