Educational Exchange: A Tool of Diplomacy
Throughout the summer, I have mentioned my involvement with the IVEP (International Visitor Education Program), which is designed to strengthen NCSC’s relationships with foreign judiciaries. In June and July, a delegation composed of representatives from the Indonesian Constitutional Court participated in the program, and the theme of their study trip was “Restructuring Constitutional Democracy." In the beginning of the summer, I was asked to prepare a presentation on the US presidential election process and the role of the courts in settling electoral disputes. Since then, I have remained involved in administerial roles. For example, I helped to prepare itineraries for the participants, I contributed to a “final report” that summarized the trip, I helped prepare individual reports outlining each participant’s performance in the program, and on a more fun note- I created a slideshow of photos for their graduation ceremony! The graduation ceremony took place at the D.C. Court of Appeals- the highest court of the District of Columbia. The ceremony was attended by NCSC representatives of course, but also by State Department Representatives, representatives from the Embassy of Indonesia, and the Chief Judge of DC Court of Appeals. The Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia also came in for the ceremony!
The Judicial Liaison at the U.S. Department of State spoke at the graduation ceremony, and he opened his speech with a quote from William Fulbright, who once said, “of all the joint ventures in which we might engage, the most productive, in my view, is educational exchange…educational exchange is not merely one of those nice but marginal activities in which we engage in international affairs, but rather, from the standpoint of future world peace and order, probably the most important and potentially rewarding of our foreign-policy activities.” Shortly after the Judicial Liaison’s speech, the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia gave a speech of his own. He referenced the strong relationship between the U.S. and Indonesia, specifically highlighting our shared commitment to constitutional democracy, and the advancement of the rule of law at home and abroad. Listening to these speeches, it became increasingly clear that I watched international diplomacy unfold throughout my work with the IVEP program. The Restructuring Constitutional Democracy Program taught participants about the history and role of modern constitutional democracy in US governance in hopes that they may gain knowledge that could be of use in their own roles at the Indonesian Constitutional Court. At the same time, instructors of the program and NCSC employees (such as myself) learned a great deal about constitutional democracy in Indonesia. Ultimately, we engaged in an educational exchange that likely brought benefit to all parties. The exchange strengthened the relationship between justice sector leaders in the U.S. and in Indonesia, as emphasized in the speeches given at the graduation ceremony- indicating that the program was a worthwhile tool of international diplomacy.