Fulbright Chronicles, Volume 3, Number 3 (2025)
Author
Kevin F. F. Quigley & Bruce B Svare
Abstract
Khun Porntip Kanjananiyot has served in a number of leadership roles supporting international exchanges, including Executive Director of the Thai Fulbright Program (formally known as the Thailand-US Educational Foundation–TUSEF) and Director at Thailand’s Ministry of Higher Education, where she had responsibility
for the Fulbright Program along with other higher education and international exchange programs. Early in her career, Porntip was a participant in an International Exchange Program, the Japan-ASEAN ship, and she has remained connected with the program’s participants throughout her life. Like many Fulbright program staff everywhere, Porntip is indispensable to the successes that so many Fulbrighters to and from Thailand have had. In this interview, Porntip suggests that Fulbright Programs promote personal connections, language learning, and cultural appreciation; all of these are vital responses to the challenges of isolationism, radical nationalism, and the negative impacts of AI.
Keywords
Thailand • international exchange • cultural appreciation • personal connections • global understanding
Introduction
Khun Porntip Kanjananiyot has had a life-time of involvement in international cultural exchange programs both as a participant and as a program administrator including serving as the Executive Director of TUSEF from 2003 to 2014. She previously served as the Fulbright and other international exchange program manager at the Ministry of Higher Education. Porntip was educated at Chulalongkorn University and was the recipient of a Royal Thai Government Scholarship to attend Columbia University for her Master’s in Education.
Fulbright Programs promote personal connections, language learning, and cultural appreciation; all of these are vital responses to the challenges of isolationism, radical nationalism, and the negative impacts of AI.
In this interview, Porntip discussed her experiences with the Fulbright Program and other cultural exchange programs, highlighting their impact on enhancing global relationships and understanding. She suggested that Fulbright Programs promote personal connections, language learning, and cultural appreciation; all of these are vital responses to the challenges of isolationism, radical nationalism, and the negative impacts of AI.
Interview
1. Please tell us a little about your background and how you became involved with the Fulbright Program.
I was born in Bangkok and educated at Chulalongkorn University. After being a teacher for two years, I won a government scholarship to attend Columbia University’s Teachers College. Following that, I started working at the Ministry of Education and later at the National Education Planning Agency and then the Ministry of University Affairs before joining Fulbright Thailand. In fact, while at the University Affairs Ministry Early in my career, I was selected to participate in the Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program, which shaped my views regarding the importance of international exchanges as a means to promoting mutual understanding.
2. Can you talk about your experience on the Ship for Southeast Asian Youth?
This program was established in 1974 by the Government of Japan to address growing concerns with Japanese domination of trade and investment in SE Asia at that time. The Japanese hoped to use this program to promote international understanding of ASEAN and Japan, and helped me developing a greater understanding of ASEAN, and the importance of diversity.
In this program, seven ASEAN countries (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Japan) each sent 35 youth participants, who spent seven plus weeks together on a ship traveling throughout SE Asia and Japan; I was selected as the youth leader for Thailand, which was the first time I took a role as a leader. After this experience, I eventually moved to the Ministry of University Affairs, where I was in the International Affairs Division. I served on Fulbright Board as alternative and interviewed many candidates for the Fulbright Program.
3. What unexpected lesson did you learn from that experience with all those youth participants from seven different Asian countries?
I learned about diversity and how things aren’t always what you assume them to be. One experience illustrates that. My shipmate was an Indonesian. Being Thai, traveling anywhere you have to carry food with you. I brought with me some “moo yang,” barbecued pork. Thinking that my shipmate was Muslim since Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim country and Muslims don’t eat pork, I was reluctant to eat this special treat around her. It turns out that she was Christian, so eating pork was not a concern. And I learned that things aren’t always the way you think they are.
4. What do you think are the greatest strengths (and weaknesses) of the Fulbright Program in Thailand and elsewhere?
I think the three greatest strengths of the Fulbright Program are: 1) the worldwide networks of bright people from many disciplines who care and share, and 2) our Bi-national TUSEF Board, and 3) our staff. TUSEF staff work with their hearts and aren’t simply program administrators. They pay close attention to the Fulbrighters’ well-being and make extra efforts to help grantees network with other grantees, alumni, and relevant governmental agencies, corporations, and institutions.
The greatest weakness is TSUEF (perhaps like many Fulbright programs in other countries) has insufficient resources to support the grantees and to connect them with alumni in ways that strengthen bonds and enhances the program’s impact.
5. You have worked with a whole range of Fulbright Programs (English Teaching Assistant/ETA, junior scholars, senior scholars, etc…), do you have a favorite program? If so, which one and why?
I can’t say what is my favorite Fulbright program. Each program has its unique qualities, and more importantly, it’s about each and every grantee and what they wish to contribute and how connected they are with our TUSEF team and the whole Fulbright community.
6. Although you left your formal role with TUSEF many years ago, why have you stayed closely involved with the Fulbright Program?
Although it seems that I left TUSEF very recently, it has been a decade already. I stay closely involved because it’s the joy of my life to be part of this Fulbright family. I love listening to their views, and what they’ve been doing: that always brings me lots of hope! As you may know, I have a podcast program, which is mainly in the Thai language. It’s amazing how engaged our alumni are with it. They are always willing to be guest speakers despite their super busy-ness. That’s added to my love of the Program because Fulbrighters always bring their best selves to share in whatever they are doing.
7. Do you have a favorite story or experience that you would like to share?
I have so many stories that I could share. If I have only one choice, it would be a story about Ajarn Michael Zager. When asked, Michael promptly said ‘yes’ to composing the Fulbright Thailand song, ‘We Learn to Care.’ This song became the anthem for the 60th Anniversary of the Fulbright Program in Thailand. Besides his musical gift to us, Ajarn Michael and his wife, Jane, every year except during the Covid-19 years, returned to Thailand to reconnect with his Fulbright colleagues, Thai partners, and me.
8. Is there something else we should ask you?
Yes. You should ask: What is the signature activity of Fulbright Thailand? Among all of our activities, we give an especially high importance to our orientation programs. These include one essential activity that we call: รู้รักรากเรา, literally meaning “Knowing our Own Roots.” We learned from multiple survey results and our direct experiences that one learns more about other cultures after they are aware and appreciate their own culture. This signature activity also allows our grantees to get to know each other better and become bonded while learning more about Thailand. This increased self-awareness helps Fulbrighters be better as “cultural ambassadors,’’ an essential step further in learning about other cultures.
9. On a Scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest, how would you rate your love of the Fulbright Thailand Program?
I would rate it as 8.5! I could have given a 10 but nothing is perfect and the program administration depends on other factors like binational board support, the applicants, internal management, as well as external factors.
10. What do you think is the best preparation for a Fulbrighter before they begin their award, whether Fulbrighters are coming to the US or Fulbrighters going to foreign countries like Thailand?
The participants’ openness to new experiences and empathy are essential. In addition, they should be eager to learn about the other country and its people, and not be too quick to judge. They should also feel that it’s okay to ask questions and be either a little less independent or to become more independent for others, depending on the Fulbrighters’ life experiences.
Fubrighters should also practice self-reflection, seeking to better understand how they see the world, and do all they can do to sharpen their cross-cultural skills to minimize bias about their own and the host country. Learn as much of the language as you. Perhaps, most importantly, the most successful Fulbrighters bring their best learning, sharing, and caring self to the Fulbright Program.
11. We live in a world where there seems to be an increase in isolationism that impedes communication and limits mutual understanding. Does this make the Fulbright Program with of its goal of international exchange and cross-cultural understanding more important than ever?
I agree completely. Everywhere we see that social media often inhibits personal connection. For example, last night I attended a reception for the new TUSEF Executive Director. This was a rare face-to-face interaction for many Fulbrighters in Thailand. It was astounding. During the entire reception, nobody was on their phone. We all felt the importance of being together in this special moment. Part of the magic of the Fulbright Program is when deep connections are made. For example, I read palms and signatures for Fulbrighters, if they wish. This technique, along with other ice-breakers, helps people outside of their ordinary self and opens them to new experiences.
This interview was done on Friday, September 13, 2024. Using the transcript from the zoom call and the AI-generated summary, we have edited it for clarity and to assist in reading.
Further Reading
- Fulbright, J. William. The Price of Empire. Pantheon Books, New York, 1989
- Cornwel-Smith, Philip Very Thai: Everyday Popular Culture. River Books, Bangkok, 2005
- Moore, Christopher G. Moore. Heart Talk: Say What You Feel in Thai, Bangkok, Heaven Lake Press, 2000
- Fry, Gerald W., Education in Thailand: An Old Elephant in Search of a New Mahout, Springer. 2018.
- Fulbright Thailand website: www.fulbrightthai.org
