The US House of Representatives passed the Freedom Promotion Act of 2002 earlier this year.  It is now waiting to be heard by the Committee on Foreign Relations in the Senate.  This bill is designed to (1) strengthen educational and cultural exchange programs and create a new youth ambassador program (2) administer training to Foreign Service Officers and ambassadors to use public diplomacy and (3) provide broadcast programming and training of international media.  This legislation begins with the idea that “Americans want to learn more about you, and we want you to learn more about us.”

Rotary International is an organization of business and professional leaders that provide services to build global peace and goodwill.  Much like the Freedom Promotion Act, Rotary funds many educational programs with the purpose of global understanding.  These programs provide funding for academic-year ambassadorial scholars, three and six-month cultural scholars, group study exchanges, university grants for teachers, and world peace scholars.

Founded in 1947, the Rotary ambassadorial scholarships program represents the world’s largest privately funded international scholarship program and is designed to foster friendly relations among all people through international study.  World peace scholars, Rotary’s newest scholarship initiative, study peace and conflict resolution in Rotary centers for international studies—a very relevant program in light of recent world events.

As a Rotary ambassadorial scholar, I am closely linked to the tenets of the Freedom Promotion Act by engaging others in dialogue and understanding about the United States.  I am convinced that fostering discussions first requires listening.  Therefore, I must help others to realize that I earnestly care about their concerns before simply delineating my perspective.

The initial American attitude on Iraq and other global concerns does not generally seem to communicate these same values of exchange.  When the United States fails to first work through international organizations, recognize the voices of others and wave the unilateral wand, we do not entice the world to listen.  How can Americans expect world political leaders and media personnel to listen to US public diplomacy if our implicit foreign policy message is “We don’t care about you”?

Saddam Hussein is an authoritarian leader who continues to oppress citizens of his own country.  However, the solution to solving problems of international affairs is not as simple as telling the global community what you want to do; this leads only to back-pedaling to the discussion table once critics get too loud to ignore.  If we begin the political process as an open discussion with the world community, we will likely create an environment in which other nations would be more willing to hear or understanding our stance on certain issues.

Secretary of State Colin Powell has declared Nov. 18-22 as “International Education Week” to promote and celebrate education and exchange.  Sponsored by the US Department of State and Department of Education, this week seeks to encourage more students to study abroad.  However, changes in US foreign policy would give greater legitimacy for all types of educational and cultural exchanges.  US policies need to more seriously support the goals of educational exchanges in order to build global understanding, be it funded through the Freedom Promotion Act, Rotary International, or through other means or organizations.

Our foreign policy attitudes must pattern themselves after the many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that work for peace and cultural appreciation.  Foundations and NGOs such as Rotary International provide a link of peace to the world.  US foreign policy should share these same goals, letting our diplomacy be a policy of known open discussion instead of narrow unilateral views.

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Lucas McMillan is a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar studying international relations at the University of Warwick in Coventry, England. He represents the Rotary Club of Mullins and Rotary District 7770 of South Carolina.

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