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The Minister of Education, Professor Sibusiso Bengu, and the United States Ambassador, Mr James Joseph, will jointly preside at the inaugural board meeting of the newly formed South Africa/US Binational Fulbright Commission in Cape Town (Cape Sun Hotel on October 14).

The inaugural meeting follows the signing of an agreement authorising the establishment of a Binational Fulbright Commission by the Deputy President, Thabo Mbeki, and the Vice President of the U S, Al Gore, in February 1997.

The commission has been established to enhance a process of bilateral co-operation between the two countries in the field of educational exchange.

A board of the Fulbright Commission, consisting of six South Africans and six US citizens, will meet several times each year to set policies and guidelines for Commission activities. In the first meeting, the board will focus on the required start-up procedures, such as the election of officers and the design of an appropriate structure for the Secretariat.

The Fulbright Commission will plan, publicise, recruit for, and administer the exchange programme in the country.

Some of the activities of the Commission includes the selection of students and faculty candidates for grants, the placement of American scholars and students in South African educational institutions, counseling of local students interested in studying in the U S and arranging orientation progammes for arriving and departing grantees.

A day-long meeting of the newly elected Fulbright Commission Board will take place at the Holiday Inn (Cape Town Waterfront Hotel) on the same day as the inaugural meeting.

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