In the lead up to International Education Week 2022, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Lee Satterfield will travel to Athens, Greece from November 5-8, 2022. She will participate in the Pharos Summit 2022 "Greek-U.S. Collaboration in Higher Education," a Government of Greece event that brings together 30 U.S. colleges and universities, rectors from all 24 Greek public universities, and other key stakeholders to promote greater cooperation and collaboration in international educational exchanges. The Assistant Secretary's trip emphasizes the strong bilateral ties between the United States and Greece, as well as the United States' strategic engagement in international education, including through the Fulbright and Gilman Programs, to support increased student mobility and people-to-people diplomacy efforts that are foundational pillars of U.S. foreign policy.
Assistant Secretary Satterfield will join U.S. Ambassador to Greece George Tsunis and Greece's Minister of Education and Religious Affairs Niki Kerameus in addressing and participating in the Pharos Summit. While in Athens the Assistant Secretary will also participate in bilateral engagements to discuss a variety of issues, including cultural heritage.
While in Greece, the Assistant Secretary will meet with NGO partners that implemented special ECA programming to support Ukrainian refugees who were forced to flee their homeland due to Russia's ongoing, unjustified, and unprovoked war against Ukraine. She will also meet with Greek youth who have participated in ECA programs including the Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX), Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellowship (BFTF), TechGirls, the Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative (YTILI), and the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP).
