Ten applicants, five undergraduate students from Timor-Leste (East Timor) and five students (two undergraduate and three graduate) from the South Pacific nations of the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu, will be awarded these competitive merit-based scholarships.
Recipients will complete their academic studies at the University of Hawaii or other U.S. universities focusing on critically needed fields such as agricultural or environmental science, business, communications, economics, education, international relations, political science, and public administration. The EWC will provide academic advising and promote participation in activities designed to enhance the awardees’ understanding of leadership, diverse cultures, democratic processes, and human rights in the United States, including a four-week Washington, D.C. internship, a homestay visit, and community service in their home countries.
The East-West Center has managed the USSP program since 1994 and the USTL program since 1999, producing 80 graduates (57 USSP and 23 USTL) who have returned home with the motivation, knowledge and cultural insights needed to take on leading roles in their nations. Among the many leaders who have emerged from these programs at the East-West Center are former USSP fellow Tokintekai Bakineti and Former USTL Fellows Francisca Maia and Jose Soares Turquel De Jesus. Bakineti now serves as the head of the Kiribati Ministry of Natural Resources and Development; Maia is the acting national Director of Communication and Socialization and serves as the national advisor for social communication to the Council of Ministers; and De Jesus serves as the Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste.
“By investing in tertiary education through initiatives like USSP and USTL,” stated Terance Bigalke, East-West Center Education Program director, “the United States is helping to foster prosperity, good governance, the rule of law, journalistic freedom, and human rights in the Asia Pacific region.”
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The EAST-WEST CENTER is an education and research organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific, and the United States. The Center contributes to a peaceful, prosperous and just Asia Pacific community by serving as a vigorous hub for cooperative research, education and dialogue on critical issues of common concern to the Asia Pacific region and the United States. Funding for the Center comes from the U.S. government, with additional support provided by private agencies, individuals, foundations, corporations, and the governments of the region.
