Message for International Education Week 2007
British Ambassador to the United States, Sir Nigel Sheinwald

I would like to wish the US Department of Education, the Department of State, and the many other participants every success in their endeavours for International Education Week this year.

International Education Week provides an excellent opportunity to highlight the importance of embedding an international dimension in education and international exchange worldwide. The US's theme for International Week 2007, "Fostering Global Citizenship and Respect", is an aspiration that we share.

A key part of the UK ‘s international strategy for education is to prepare all learners for the global context, by promoting global citizenship. It is impossible to do this without engaging and working with other countries. International Education Week allows us to celebrate such exchanges.

In particular I would like to highlight the following US-UK activities that will take place this week:

• On 14 November, a US-UK expert dialogue on global citizenship will take place by videoconference between London and Washington. Organised by the US Department of Education, the UK's Department for Children, Schools and Families, and the British Embassy in Washington, this event will bring together experts in a range of fields. They will discuss issues such as how education can play a leading role in creating community cohesion, within and between nations, and how to develop relationships that bind societies across the world together.


• On 13 November students from ten schools in New York and London will meet for the first time via a videoconference hosted by the British Consulate-General in New York and the US Embassy in London. These schools are part of the Transatlantic Schools Innovation Alliance, and the videoconference will kick start a year of exchange and learning between schools and students that is focused on improving adolescent literacy.


• On 14 November, the British-Consulate in New York – in partnership with the Africa-America Institute – will host an event on “Education for All: Teaching the Teachers”. This will focus on helping achieve the Millennium Development Goals.


• On 15 November, the British Consulate-General in Los Angeles will host an event with University of Southern California students to kick off a campaign on “Education for All” grassroots efforts. This project involves using new media to engage legislators on funding for education in Africa.

These exchanges, and the many others taking place during International Education Week and beyond, are invaluable. I would like to commend the commitment of the US Department of State and the US Department of Education to this process of global exchange.