The EVP was created as part of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (The Fulbright-Hays
Act) to allow foreign nationals to temporarily reside in the United States and participate in a variety of
education or training programs and to promote cultural exchange between the United States and other
countries. The program is grounded in U.S. public diplomacy efforts and its stated purpose is:
to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries
by means of educational and cultural exchange; to strengthen the ties which unite us with other nations by
demonstrating the educational and cultural interests, developments, and achievements of the people of the
United States and other nations, and the contributions being made toward a peaceful and more fruitful life for
people throughout the world; to promote international cooperation for educational and cultural
advancement; and thus to assist in the development of friendly, sympathetic, and peaceful relations between
the United States and the other countries of the world.
