TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - US Ambassador to ASEAN David L. Carden announced today the first seven Fulbright US-ASEAN Visiting Scholars selected through the Fulbright US-ASEAN Initiative, sponsored by the US Department of State. The visiting scholars will join a distinguished group of Fulbright alumni known for their contributions to government, science, the arts, business, philanthropy, and education.

"Congratulations to the first US-ASEAN Visiting Scholars," stated Ambassador Carden. "The scholars' projects are great representations of ongoing areas of focus in ASEAN, and we wish them well in their research at universities in the United States." The selected Visiting Scholars' areas of research include climate change, food security, public health, US-ASEAN political relations, monetary policy, and law.

Ambassador Carden made the announcement at the 5th ASEAN-US Joint Cooperation Committee Meeting convened today by the ASEAN Committee of Permanent Representatives at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta.

Candidates representing all 10 ASEAN Member States submitted applications under the Fulbright U.S.-ASEAN Initiative and proposed research projects on issues that are central to the US-ASEAN relationship. A review panel that included officials from the US Mission to ASEAN, the ASEAN Committee of Permanent Representatives and the ASEAN Secretariat, then made recommendations to the Presidentially-appointed J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board for consideration.

A reciprocal Fulbright Specialist component will award grants to qualified US faculty and professionals, in select disciplines, to engage in short-term collaborative two to six week projects with peers at host institutions in ASEAN countries that focus on ASEAN priority topics or on the ASEAN-US relationship.

The awardees are:

Ms. Siti Salwah Saim, senior Brunei government officer;

Mr. Faisal Nurdin Idris, Lecturer at the State Islamic University Jakarta in Indonesia;

Dr. Phouphet Kyophilavong, Assistant Professor at the National University of Laos;

Dr. Hla Soe Tint, Deputy Director at the Ministry of Health in Myanmar;

Dr. Charmaine Galos Misalucha, Assistant Professor at De La Salle University in the Philippines;

Dr. Chatchawan Jantasuriyarat, Assistant Professor at Kasetsart University in Thailand;

Ms. Ly Phuong Nguyen, Lecturer at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam – Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright and is sponsored by the United States Department of State in partnership with governments around the world, including ASEAN.