The Fulbright Austria community celebrates cultural exchange and knowledge transfer in the Billrothhaus.
Vienna (OTS) – On May 23, 2024, Fulbright Austria invited people to the fifth SummerFest in the Billrothhaus. Together with a hundred guests from the USA and Austria as well as current and future program participants, Fulbright Austria sent a lasting, bright signal for cultural understanding and knowledge exchange. Especially in times of omnipresent conflict and fake news, it is the valuable personal encounters through which students, researchers and foreign language assistants strengthen the bridges between the two countries.
The event was ceremoniously opened by Fulbright Austria’s Executive Director Hermann Agis, Counselor for Public Affairs Elizabeth Martin-Shukrun from the US Embassy in Vienna and Ambassador Franziska Honsowitz-Friessnigg from the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs. The current US Fulbright Combined scholarship holder Amanda Riggenbach and the former Austrian Fulbright foreign language assistant Toni Grgic from the 2022/23 program year shared their personal experiences as cultural ambassadors with the Fulbright Austria community in attendance.
“I believe that I am the luckiest person in the world – during my Fulbright Combined Grant I was able to live in three different worlds. I was a foreign language assistant, university student and researcher. All of these experiences have given me a deeper and richer understanding of what life is like in Vienna and Austria. Especially my research as Oral Historian, which aims to document the long-term effects of the Shoah and the Austrian victim myth, brought me together with descendants of survivors and perpetrators in a personal and humble way. “I am incredibly grateful for all these experiences and the opportunity to get to know this complex but beautiful country,” says Amanda Riggenbach.
Toni Grgic summarized his experience in the USA with the following words: “When I heard people say that Fulbright changed their lives, I thought it was just an empty slogan. But I soon learned that it was reality.”
Fulbright Austria Executive Director Hermann Agis emphasized: “The journey that our program participants embark on with us is life-enriching and never ends. Our program participants continue to work as cultural ambassadors long after they return home and remain connected to the spirit of Fulbright Austria. We are all grateful for this gift.”
The value that Austrian institutions attach to this gift is reflected in the large number of co-financed scholarships and partnerships with universities, technical colleges, educational institutions, research centers, museums and foundations in Austria and the USA, which contribute to internationalization on both sides of the Atlantic.
Donations from private individuals, such as those made during SummerFest 2024, help Fulbright Austria to offer future generations the opportunities that have benefited past generations of program participants. Together with the many Bright Minds Fulbright Austria is working towards a bright future.
About Fulbright Austria
The Austrian Fulbright Commission has existed since 1950 on the basis of an agreement between the Republic of Austria and the United States of America with the mandate to promote the mutual transfer of culture and knowledge and bilateral understanding. Fulbright Austria fulfills this mandate on the one hand by supporting the Fulbright programs and on the other hand by managing the BMBWF’s foreign language assistance program. As an EducationUSA Advising Center, Fulbright Austria also informs students and institutions about study opportunities in the USA or Austria.
Further information for interested parties:
Fulbright Austria: https://www.fulbright.at/
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Questions & Contact:
Fulbright Austria
Hermann Agis, PhD
Executive Director
Tel.: 01 236 7878 0
Email: hagis@fulbright.at