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May 28, 2010
One to World
I attended the 2010 Fulbright Awards Dinner last night in New York City. Senator William Fulbright initiated the Fulbright Scholars program just after World War II. His idea was simple but revolutionary for an America coming to grips with its new global power and responsibilities. Scholarships would be awarded to American college graduates seeking a year of study abroad; similarly, outstanding foreign students would be given the opportunity to study for a year in the USA. The program was funded by the US Congress in 1946 as an international exchange program that might help to prevent future wars.
Fulbright said, “It doesn’t take many to make a difference. A single leader or a few legislators or writers who know something about what other countries are like can contribute to making a wise decision or to forestalling a disastrous one.” Since its inception, the Fulbright Program has provided funding for 294,000 students and professors to study in 155 countries around the world, Americans and non-Americans alike. The grants are administered by the Institute for International Education, US Department of Agriculture, US Department of Education and Academy for Educational Development, with money coming from the US and partner country governments.
Four present Fulbright Grantees, from Jordan, Pakistan, Bosnia and South Africa, spoke passionately about their experiences in the US. I laughed out loud when Dana Abu Hantash, a Jordanian studying at New York University, related the following story. “I arrived for the first time in New York City about one in the morning. I dropped my bags at the dormitory and took a cab to Times Square. I just ran around the entire Square, my arms up in the air with joy.” Judy Sikuza of South Africa showed a picture of her with Nelson Mandela, whose foundation funded her year at Columbia University. He told her to use the time wisely, to meet many Americans.
The experience for Americans abroad is similarly profound. Rita Dove, the US Poet Laureate, said, “The Fulbright was the hinge that opened up the world to me. So every time I hear Fulbright, I think that’s when this larger life began.” Margaret Brennan, anchor on Bloomberg TV, spoke eloquently about her year in Jordan. She studied Arabic at Yarmouk University. She took advantage of her Fulbright scholarship to visit Syria, Israel and Palestine. “This program helped create the path toward my career as a broadcast journalist. Most people experience the world through what they read and what they see on TV.”
The globalization of business is an accepted fact. I am not convinced that the PR industry is keeping up with the realities of client need. How should a US company cope with a rumored product quality issue that morphs into nationalist response because a local competitor fans the flames? Or how about a US company that wants to double its sales in a developing country but faces protectionism—work with a local partner or complain to the US trade representative? How do you manage posts on bulletin boards that are inflammatory and error-filled?
That is why we are launching the Edelman Fellows program on June 1. We will announce on Tuesday the names of the seven young Edelman executives who will be going for a year starting in the fall to Jakarta, Moscow, Beijing, Shanghai, Mumbai, Delhi, and Sao Paulo. Then in January, we will name seven more who will come from those markets to the US or Europe for a year. We will fund these transfers from the center. Our hope is that like the Fulbright Scholars, the Edelman Fellows will help us to speed the development of our firm into a truly global enterprise. My own experience as president of Edelman Europe for three years was transformational; so it was for David Brain, now president of Edelman Europe, who spent six happy years in Asia (even met his bride!). The future leaders of our industry will have experience outside of home market. I will post the photos of the seven Fellows on Tuesday just after I call them to congratulate them.
Posted by Edelman at May 28, 2010 11:07 AM |
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Comments
The globalization of business is an accepted fact, but with the current large trade surpluses/deficits is “Globalization X.0” (like Capitalism 3.0) unsustainable and on borrowed time? Conventional wisdom holds that protectionism is self-defeating because counterparties will retaliate. This may have been true when protectionism, primarily took the form of blatant tariffs, but 21st century globalization encompasses creatively veiled protectionism. So creative is this protectionism, special interest groups in the deficits countries can maintain a position of denial and continually lobby against retaliator responses.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness’ name implies, prioritizing capital markets competitiveness over systemic (holistic) competitiveness. When the most powerful business lobby group is intoxicated into denial, no wonder even Warren Buffett's 2003 import certificates:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Import_Certificates
proposed solution to the United States trade deficit challenge has meet with seven years of resistance.
Posted by: Hugh Campbell at May 30, 2010 9:27 PM
Thank you for sharing the mission of the Edelman Fellows program and the inspiration, the Fulbright Program. This is a truly promising step to a greater company, as people gain insights in global challenges and shape the path to future success.
I can't wait to see how the Edelman Fellows program transform your company and the future of global talent management. "The future leaders of our industry will have experience outside of home market." reminds me of Gerard Kleisterlee's speech on European Competitiveness. He stated that winning companies provide supportive environments for global talent to work and prosper. Your quote can definitely apply to other industries.
Congrats to the selected fellows!
Posted by: In-Wen Pao at June 13, 2010 2:24 AM