Cultural Affairs Section
The Cultural Affairs section of the Embassy manages a broad range of activities promoting professional, academic, and cultural relations between the people of Pakistan and the United States, and represents the American Embassy vis-a-vis the Government of Pakistan in official business related to education and culture. The office is led by the Cultural Affairs Officer, sometimes called the Cultural Attaché. The office provides funding for and administrative support to the bi-national Fulbright Commission, established in 1950 as the U.S. Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP). As of 2006, the U.S.-Pakistani Student Fulbright Program is, in terms of funding, the largest worldwide.
Like the cultural missions of other countries, the Cultural Affairs section also sponsors activities in traditional areas such as performing arts, visual arts, and literature.
Beyond the arts, the Cultural Affairs Office supports a wide range of professional exchange and speaker programs. The American speakers who come to Pakistan include government officials, scholars, journalists, business and labor leaders. A number of the Cultural Affairs programs send Pakistani citizens to the United States for educational or professional development purposes. For example, the International Visitor Leadership Program invites current and future foreign leaders to the United States to engage in a short but intensive round of professional meetings and consultations with their American counterparts.
The Cultural Affairs section also provides grants to relevant programs.
