Vietnam Today Published in November
2004
Vietnam Today: A Guide to a Nation at a
Crossroads, written by USIEF founder and executive director,
Mark Ashwill (with Thai Ngoc Diep) is published by Intercultural
Press, Inc. The official publication dates in the U.S. and the
UK are November 30 and December 30. Click here
for publisher's information about the book. Vietnam Today will
be available on www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com
and other sites around the world, virtual and physical.
USIEF Hosts Freeman/ASSIST Intern
Last summer, USIEF was pleased and proud to host a Freeman/ASSIST
intern from Vietnam. The intern, who is a student at
Louisiana Tech University, spent two months in the Western New
York area working part-time on FAQ About America and other
USIEF projects.
The Freeman ASSIST
Program, generously sponsored by the Freeman Foundation and
administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE), offers educational allowances to outstanding undergraduate students from China and Southeast Asia who are pursuing summer internships in the U.S. nonprofit sector.
The program seeks to facilitate greater interaction between young Asian students and U.S. non-profit and community groups by creating paths for sharing experiences and enhancing mutual understanding.
The Freeman Foundation's major objectives include strengthening the bonds of friendship between the United States and countries of East Asia. Through education and educational institutes, the Foundation hopes to develop a greater appreciation of Asian cultures, histories, and economies in the United States and a better understanding of the American people and of American institutions and purposes by the peoples of East Asia.
The Institute of International Education is the world leader in the international exchange of people and ideas. An independent, nonprofit organization founded in 1919, the Institute is the world’s most experienced global higher education and professional exchange
organization.
Distinguished Authors Series Features
Chanrithy Him at 2004 NAFSA: Association of International
Educators Annual Conference
Cambodian-American author Chanrithy Him discussed
her experiences of growing up as a young girl in
Cambodia
when the Khmer Rouge was in power. Her book, When
Broken Glass Floats, documents not just the horrors of that
period, but also the courage, compassion, and hope that survived in
so many. Conference attendees called it unique for NAFSA,
helpful to intimately understand other cultures and very important
in thinking about conflict and conflict resolution. The session was
sponsored by T.W. Lord and Associates., an insurance company based
in Atlanta, Georgia.
FAQ About America
This historic project gives people in Vietnam the opportunity to ask questions
about any aspect of U.S. society and culture that interests them. U.S. educators, professionals and others
then provide essay-length answers that are clear, concise and informative. The purpose of this project to teach, inform and strengthen relations between the two countries on a grassroots level.
This is an example of citizen diplomacy.
The editors will select up to 50 questions. Ideally, there will be two to three responses to each question in order to give our readers additional information and insights about the same topic or issue. Both the questions and answers will appear in a bilingual book to be
published by a Vietnamese company in mid-2005. Each essay will feature a glossary of selected words, so that teachers can use the book in advanced English classes. In addition, a brief profile of the author will accompany each contribution.
FAQ About America can be used in a variety of settings and sectors, including educational, governmental,
nonprofit and private, as well as by individuals.
Please contact Dr. Ashwill, USIEF executive director and
co-editor (U.S.), if you would like to submit a
question(s), or are interested in writing one or more responses. Vietnam-related experience,
while helpful in providing a cross-cultural perspective for some
answers, is not required.
USIEF Sponsors Session at National
Conference
USIEF sponsored a panel
discussion entitled Life and Study in the U.S. from a
Vietnamese Perspective at the 2003 annual conference of NAFSA:
Association of International Educators in Salt Lake City, UT.
This unique session gave audience members the rare opportunity to hear from
three Vietnamese students who recently completed graduate degrees at
institutions in Illinois, New York and Oklahoma. NAFSA "promotes the exchange of students and scholars to and from
the United States." Its members "share a belief that
international educational exchange advances learning and
scholarship, builds respect among different peoples and encourages
constructive leadership in a global community."
Foundation Receives $5,000 Grant
USIEF gratefully acknowledges the generosity of
the Buffalo, New York-based Paul J. Koessler
Foundation for a $5,000 grant in support
of the foundation's work during 2003. This brings to $30,000 the
amount that the
Koessler Foundation has donated since 2000.
We welcome donations from individuals,
corporations and private foundations with an interest
in contributing to the development of Cambodia, Laos,
and Vietnam and strengthening ties between this
region and the U.S. through the education
and training of a select group of students. All
contributions are tax-deductible and can be made by personal check,
electronic funds transfer, stock donation or online.
"Born after the war, and full of ambition, a new generation of Vietnamese students sees education abroad as a path to prosperity—and their destination
of choice is the United States."
This cover story article, written by
Mark Ashwill, appeared in the spring 2001 issue of International
Educator (IE). IE is published by NAFSA: Association of International
Educators.
UD Messenger (vol. 9, no. 4, 2000), the alumni magazine of the University of
Delaware. Interview with Mark Ashwill, USIEF founder and executive
director.
This article, written by
Mark Ashwill, appeared in the spring 2000 issue of International
Educator (IE). IE is published by NAFSA: Association of International
Educators.
USIEF Supports Cambodian
Students
USIEF is sponsoring its third Cambodian student. Stay tuned
for information...
Another USIEF grantee, Mr. San Kim, began an intensive English
program at the University at Buffalo in August 2000. (Click on
his name to read a profile.) Mr. Kim is a 1998
graduate of the Faculty of Law and Economics, Royal
University of Phnom Penh. Before leaving for the
U.S., he was employed by MobiTel in Cambodia. Mr. Kim received his
Master's degree in Economics from UB in May 2004. Check out his homepage.
The first USIEF-supported student, Ms. Sokna Heng,
arrived in the U.S. in August 1999. (Click on her
name to read a profile.) She is a 1999 graduate of the
National Institute of Management (NIM) in Phnom Penh and spent the 1999-2000 academic year as a
scholarship student in the English Language Institute
(ELI) at
the University at Buffalo. Sokna completed her MBA at Mississippi State
University in December 2002 and is now working for a
Cambodian-American non-profit organization. .
It is expected that these and other future USIEF
alumni will become bilingual and bicultural
"bridges" who will return home upon
completion of their studies to put their education
and training to productive use for the benefit of
themselves, their families, and their countries.
For further information, contact:
U.S.-Indochina Educational Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 64, Getzville, NY 14068
Telephone/FAX: 716-741-7424
e-mail: usief@yahoo.com
URL: http://www.usief.org
