History
of ECA

History
of ECA

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Welcome
ECA
Mission
History
Timeline
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The Firm
Skills
Audience

Welcome to the History &
Mission of ECA

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As part of America’s larger story of respect for
– and interest in – all cultures and faiths, 
ECA’s range of programs exist to encourage 
mutual understanding as well as international, 
educational and cultural exchange, and 
leadership development.

From artists, educators, and athletes to students and the youth in the United States and from almost every other country and territory throughout the world—we engage rising leaders through academic, cultural, sports, and professional exchanges. Striving to reflect the diversity of the United States and global society, ECA programs, funding, and other activities encourage the involvement of American and international participants from traditionally underrepresented groups, including women, racial and ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities.

Mission Statement

To increase mutual understanding between the people of the
United States and the people of other countries by means of
educational and cultural exchange that assist in the
development of peaceful relations.

History

For more than 50 years the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational
and Cultural Affairs (ECA) has sought to cultivate mutual understanding
between the people of the United States and the people of other countries to promote
friendly, and peaceful relations, as mandated by the Mutual Educational
and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961.
ECA exchange program alumni encompass over 1 million people around the world, including more than 75 Nobel Laureates and nearly 450 current and former heads of state and government.

Timeline

1940

Coordinator of Commercial and Cultural Affairs for the American Republics, Nelson Rockefeller, initiates the exchange of persons program with Latin America; inviting 130 Latin American journalists to the United States

1942

Office of War Information (OWI) established to consolidate scattered agencies of domestic and foreign information

1946

President Truman terminates OWI; one section is placed within the Department of State as the Office of International Information and Cultural Affairs (OIC). OIC has a network of 76 branches worldwide; 67 information centers and libraries stock books, display
exhibits and show films.

Fulbright Program is established

1947

OIC is renamed the Office of International Information and Educational Exchange

1948

Rep. Karl Mundt and Sen. H. Alexander Smith introduce the Smith-Mundt Act, establishing a statutory information agency to "promote a better understanding of the United States in other countries, and to increase mutual understanding" between Americans and foreigners

1948

International Visitor Program formally established to engage professionals, intellectuals and opinion leaders in the political and social infrastructure

1953

President Eisenhower establishes the United States Information Agency (USIA) to consolidate information functions administered by the State Department and other agencies. Educational and cultural exchanges remain within the State Department

1959

The exchange function is separated from the State Department’s Bureau of Public Affairs and is assigned to a newly created Bureau of Educational and Cultural Relations (CU)

1961

Congress passes the Fulbright-Hays Act to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. By the end of the year, a Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs is established in the Department of State

1978

President Carter approves a major reorganization of USIA, combining it with the department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to become the United States International Communication Agency (USICA)

President Carter initiates the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Program

1982

President Reagan changes USICA’s name back to USIA

1983

The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program begins

1984

Congress creates the Cultural Property Advisory Committee to help stem illicit trafficking in cultural property. The CPAC secretariat is housed in ECA

1992

Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) Program is established

1999

USIA moves into the State Department where exchange programs and other USIA components comprise the department’s new Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), which maintains its authority under the Fulbright-Hays Act

2000

Congress creates the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation

2001

ECA creates Alumni.State.Gov to connect exchange alumni in Southeastern Europe and Eurasia

2004

ECA establishes the Office of Alumni Affairs and expands Alumni.State.Gov into a global network

2006

The Bush administration launches the National Security Language Initiative, including ECA’s NSLI-Y initiative focused on American youth

2008

ExchangesConnect debuts as the first social network of the U.S. government

2010

The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) celebrates its 70th Anniversary