Department of State March 6, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of Citizen Exchanges of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State, announces an open competition for multiple grants to support international exchange projects under the rubric ``Faith and Community: A Dialogue.'' This is a continuation of the Office of Citizen Exchanges' ``Religion and Society: A Dialogue'' initiative, conducted over the past several fiscal years. Public and private non-profit organizations or consortia of such organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) may submit proposals to develop and implement multi-phased exchanges involving the travel of clerics, scholars of religion, educators, and community leaders/ activists from countries with significant Muslim populations to the United States and of reciprocal visits by American clerics, scholars of religion, and community leaders/activists. (Note that additional participant categories may be included in projects for Southeast Europe. See below.) Authority: Overall grant-making authority for this program is contained in the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, Public Law 87-256, as amended, also known as the Fulbright-Hays Act. The purpose of the Act is ``to enable the Government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries * * *; 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 thus to assist in the development of friendly, sympathetic and peaceful relations between the United States and the other countries of the world.'' The funding authority for the program above is provided through legislation.