The Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission organized the third edition of the Fulbright Think Tank workshop, which took place on February 18, 2016, bringing together high school teachers of English from across the country. The Fulbright Think Tank initiative was launched in 2013, when American Studies experts and academics came together to discuss the strong and the weak points of the discipline in terms of its future in Romanian universities.

This year’s Fulbright Think Tank workshop was aimed at improving the ways in which American values are acknowledged and integrated in the teaching of English as a foreign language to high school students, as a path to embracing diversity and navigating the challenges of globalization.  

33 Romanian teachers, 4 Fulbright English Teaching Assistants, several Fulbright grantees, as well as distinguished representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest and the Ministry of National Education and Scientific Research, participated in this event, which has become a fixture in our yearly calendar. The event was made possible by a generous grant from the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest.

The workshop, titled "Promoting American Values: Diversity in the English Class", opened with welcome addresses by Ronald E. Hawkins, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Embassy in Romania, dr. Anca-Mariana Pegulescu, Inspector General for English with the Ministry of National Education and Scientific Research, and Prof. Rodica Mihăilă, Executive Director of the Fulbright Commission, who underlined the timeliness and relevance of the workshop, as well the need to create a wider network of specialists in American cultural studies at a high school level.

The Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission organized the second edition of the Fulbright Think Tank workshop, which took place on February 19, 2015, bringing together high school teachers of English from all over Romania. The Fulbright Think Tank initiative was launched in 2013, when American Studies experts and academics came together to discuss the strong and the weak points of the discipline in terms of its future in Romanian universities. In 2015, the Fulbright Think Tank project continued with a workshop dedicated to improving the ways in which American culture and social values are acknowledged and integrated in the teaching of English as a foreign language to high school students, as well as to better informing Romanian teachers about the process of admission to U.S. universities. 31 Romanian teachers, 4 Fulbright English Teaching Assistants, two Fulbright Educational Advising Center - EducationUSA advisers, several Fulbright grantees, as well as distinguished representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest and the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research, participated in a long-awaited event, meant as the stepping stone for future cooperation between the Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission, EducationUSA and Romanian teachers of English. The event was made possible by a generous grant from the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest.

The workshop titled "U.S. Culture & Society in the English Class" opened with welcome addresses by Marjorie Stern, Cultural Affairs Officer, U.S. Embassy in Romania, dr. Anca-Mariana Pegulescu, Inspector General for English with the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research, dr. Luisa Maria Rosu, U.S. Fulbright Scholar, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Prof. Rodica Mihăilă, Executive Director of the Fulbright Commission, who underlined the timeliness and relevance of the workshop, as well the need to create a wider network of specialists in American cultural studies at the high school level. Ms. Jane Thompson, Early Interventionist and Child Development Specialist, delivered a highly-appreciated and engaging keynote lecture, pointing out some of the best-known features of American cultural identity as they stand out in the global context.

Under the umbrella-title of Fulbright Think Tank, the Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission has inaugurated a series of workshops aimed at bringing topical issues of Romanian society to academic, scientific and public discussion, under the prestigious Fulbright aegis.

As it addresses significant topics for the Romanian society, the Fulbright Think Tank has excellent chances to become a long-term project, a brand for open discussions on matters of public concern, focalized on the American model and on the exigencies of the U.S. educational system.

The workshops organized within the framework the Fulbright Think Tank project are addressed to a nationwide public, including but not limited to the higher education environment, and make this project consistent with the mission of the Fulbright program.

In this first project year, we are organizing a one-day workshop on the topic: “American Studies in Romania: Vulnerabilities and Working Solutions”.

This topic addresses several relevant current issues in the Romanian educational system, the institutional future of American Studies in Romania, as well as best forms of cooperation between the Fulbright Commission, American Studies Programs and American Corners.