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Spain

King Felipe attends the 60th anniversary of the Fulbright Program in Spain

On Tuesday, His Majesty King Felipe of Spain attended a ceremony to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Fulbright Program in Spain. After arriving at the ceremony, His Majesty was escorted to the auditorium where he got to see the jubilee short movie about the Fulbright Program.

His Majesty the King was accompanied by Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, the Ambassador of the United States of America in Spain and honorary co-chair of the Fulbright Spain Commission, Richard Duke Buchan and other various politicians and business leaders.

His Majesty the King receives the greeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell when he arrived at the ceremony. Photo: Casa de S.M. el Rey.

His Majesty then handed out the plaque of honour of the Order of Isabella to several peoples who have made a great effort to promote the Fulbright Program in Spain. During the ceremony, His Majesty also handed out the prize “A Fulbright Career”.

The Fulbright Program in Spain was established in 1958 by the Commission of Cultural, Educational and Scientific Exchange between Spain and the United States of America. Since 1958 more than 9,000 scholarships to Spanish and American citizens who wanted to study, investigate or teach in the other country and understand their culture have been handed out.

His Majesty the King presents the first edition of the Fulbright Award to Mariano Barbacid. Photo: Casa de S.M. el Rey.

His Majesty the King together with the award winners, Mariano Barbacid, and the co-presidents of the Fulbright Commission Spain. Photo: Casa de S.M. el Rey.

The Fulbright Program is an American Cultural Exchange Program whose goal is to improve intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge, and skills. It is one of the most prestigious and competitive fellowship programmes in the world.

More than 370,000 people have participated in the programme since it began; 59 Fulbright alumni have won Nobel Prizes, and 82 have won Pulitzer Prizes. In 2014, the programme was awarded the Spanish Prince of Asturias Award.

About author

Senior Europe Correspondent Oskar Aanmoen has a master in military and political history of the Nordic countries. He has written six books on historical subjects and more than 1.500 articles for Royal Central. He has also interview both Serbian and Norwegian royals. Aanmoen is based in Oslo, Norway.