Secretary of State Hillary Clinton kicked off the first meeting of the Advisory Committee of the 100,000 Strong Initiative on May 10 by announcing that the Initiative, which receives no U.S. government funding, has already surpassed its annual fundraising target of $7 million. The Advisory Committee is charged with raising the visibility of this important State Department people-to-people Initiative in the private sector and is co-chaired by former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and former Senator Chuck Hagel (Nebraska). Members include university presidents, educators and non-profit and corporate executives.
C-100 Executive Director Angie Tang, who represents the Committee of 100 on the Advisory Committee, said that the goal of the 100,000 Strong Initiative is both “numerical and aspirational. It seeks both to increase and diversify the Americans who study in China: the typical American profile is that of a white female studying in a 4-year undergraduate institution. The initiative seeks to engage more students from community colleges and those from disadvantaged schools.”
As one example of success in broadening the reach of Chinese language instruction, Clinton pointed to Daley’s tenure as Chicago mayor during which “he built a very strong relationship with China that included having Chinese language instruction in the Chicago public schools.” There was discussion of new Initiative projects to expand the number of high school and community college students studying in China. For example, the DC Center for Global Education and Leadership, first announced by First Lady Michelle Obama in January, will support up to 1,000 D.C. public school students for study in China.
The Advisory Committee also learned about innovative ways that entrepreneurs are creating a “virtual infrastructure” to advance the cause of the Initiative. Those seeking study and teaching opportunities in China can select the best program for their needs with Zinch Study in China. Project Pengyou was developed by the Golden Bridges Foundation to form an online community of people who have studied and taught in China.
Ted Dean, Chairman of AmChan China, spoke about the value of the 100,000 Strong Initiative for corporate American competitiveness. Among the companies and foundations that have pledged support are Caterpillar, Citigroup, Coca Cola, Laureate International Universities Ford Foundation, Wanxiang Corporation and the Li Ka- Shing Foundation.
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