‘Honored’ to partner with Hornbill Festival: US Embassy

December 11, 2024 6 Views No Comment

Morung Express News
Kohima | December 11

A US delegation comprising of Gloria Berbena, Minister Counselor for Public Diplomacy, US Embassy, New Delhi & Juan Clar, Assistant Public Affairs Officer, US Consulate Kolkata interacted with the media today at Hotel Vivor Kohima while showing keen interest on learning what is specific, special and interesting about Nagaland state.

As one of the country partners for the 25th edition of the 10-day Hornbill Festival, Gloria Berbena, Minister Counselor for Public Diplomacy, US Embassy, New Delhi said, “we were so honoured to be asked to be a partner country” and expressed excitement on her maiden visit to Nagaland. “I’m super excited because I’ve been just hearing so much about all of the cultural manifestations that happen through this Festival”, she said prior to attending the closing ceremony of the Hornbill Festival.

With the United States working across an incredible spectrum of effort in India, she spoke about the US-India Bilateral Relationship in which she stated that in its shared goal for having a stable prosperous region, India is at the center of that with all its tremendous diversity. “There is nothing that’s going on where India cannot play a leadership role and be a constructive player”, she remarked.

Dwelling on the several programmes, initiatives and opportunities in areas such as culture, education, trade, environment, health, etc., she also disclosed that a meeting was held with the Nagaland University Representatives wherein they discussed cultural exchange and educational exchange opportunities. In this regard, she also highlighted about the Fulbright program, and exuded hope to see additional applications from Nagaland.

Highlighting that it is an incredible range of scholarship that is being undertaken, she said, “we would love to see even more people from Nagaland take advantage of that.” She also expressed hope that more women would take advantage of those educational opportunities while pointing out that there are more men that go to the United States than women.

She also spoke about the Nexus incubator that supports small businesses to take it to the next level through incubating, and helping with business plans, marketing plans, looking at supply chains, and connecting with potential investors. “We do a great deal in trying to support women’s empowerment and women’s entrepreneurship”, she added.

‘Students here are just as smart and capable’
With regard to students keen on pursuing further studies in the US, she advised that “if you have identified a program or an area of study”, asking questions such “What would make sense for you as a student? What are your financial resources? Where do you want to be in the country? Do you have a certain element of this discipline that you are really interested in” that would help a student narrow down on the best option.

Highlighting that there are many American universities that have packages of support and financial assistance, she said that one can also work on campus and earn some money. Stating that not everybody is cut out for a big urban campus with 50,000 students, she said that, “some students are going to do much better in a smaller, liberal, arts college with maybe 500 students or 5000 students or maybe where there is a community of Naga people.”

Towards this end, she said, “so, there’s personal fit and then there’s academic fit and there’s financial fit.” There are also any number of ways you can slice that up, she added while pointing out that EducationUSA can be very helpful in helping students get closer to where the best fit might be.

“So I really encourage since it’s free”, she added and urged aspiring students to take advantage of those opportunities. While the number of students studying in the US is underrepresented despite India being the highest sending country of students to the US, she said that, “there’s no reason that should be the case.”

“Students, here are just as smart and just as capable and as interested and it may just be a question of exposure or them feeling like, oh, you know, it’s not for them, we’re not sure how to go about it and those are all obstacles that can be overcome”, she emphasized.

“If they are strong academically and have the desire, then we want to help make that vision a reality. And there are resources to help do that”, she articulated.