WorldChicago awarded the Dee Sarelas Service Award from Fulbright Association Chicago
The 2020 Dee Sarelas Award, established by the Fulbright Association Chicago Chapter in 2010 and named for the founder of the Chicago chapter, Dee Sarelas, was awarded to WorldChicago. This marks the first year that an organization was honored with the award.
WorldChicago is honored to be awarded the 2020 Dee Sarelas Award from the Fulbright Association Chicago Chapter. WorldChicago has an extensive history with the Fulbright Association, especially our continuous partnership in celebration of International Education Week. WorldChicago and the Fulbright Association have co-hosted these events each year exploring diverse topics such as interfaith programs, cybersecurity, and social entrepreneurship. This partnership has helped us bring together citizen diplomats and talk about
The Fulbright Alumni Association shares the same core values as WorldChicago - the way to really build meaningful connections is to bring people together. We value the partnership of the Fulbright Alumni Association – together we have the power to introduce more people to citizen diplomacy than separately, and WorldChicago looks forward to future engagement with the Fulbright Alumni Association.
On January 28, Fulbrighters around the world gathered virtually to honor the 2020 Dee Sarelas Service Award recipients. While the program is currently suspended, they are hoping to “return to normal” in fall of 2021 in the Northen Hemisphere and in early 2022 for the Southern Hemisphere.
Although the program is suspended currently, they continue to receive funding from Congress and encourage their members to advocate for the program. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Fulbright Association is unable to hold their normal in-person advocacy days on Capitol Hill but will be asking its’ members to participate in a digital advocacy campaign.
Additionally, members are promoting global understanding with elementary and secondary students through the "Fulbright in the Classroom" program, which encourages members to share their experiences as Fulbrighters by talking about the culture, food and music of the country they lived in. When the Chicago chapter resumes their in-person work, there will be a strong emphasis on interacting with underrepresented communities.
WorldChicago is honored to have received the Dee Sarelas Service Award and looks forward to future work with the Fulbright Association.
