"I have thought of everything I can think of, and the one thing that gives me some hope is the ethos that underlies the educational exchange program. That ethos, in sum, is the belief that international relations can be improved, and the danger of war significantly reduced, by producing generations of leaders, who through the experience of educational exchange, will have acquired some feeling and understanding of other peoples' cultures why they operate as they do, why they think as they do, why they react as they do and of the differences among these cultures. It is possible not very probable, but possible that people can find in themselves, through intercultural education, the ways and means of living together in peace."

(J. William Fulbright: The Price of Empire)

The Mutual Educational Exchange Program or the Fulbright Program, named in honor of Senator J. William Fulbright, was established by the U.S. Congress on August 1, 1946. It is now administered under the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, as amended by Public Law 87256. This Act provides the legislative authority for the Program. The main objective of this Act is "to enable the government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries ... and thus to assist in the development of friendly, sympathetic, and peaceful relations, between the United States and other countries of the world."

The program operates in more than 140 countries. Binational commissions were established by executive agreements in 51 countries. The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (BFS) in Washington, DC, comprises 12 educational and public leaders appointed by the President of the United States. It has statutory responsibility for the selection of all academic exchange grantees, the establishment of policies and procedures, and the supervision of the Fulbright Program worldwide. Motivated by the need to change the U.S.'s traditional isolationist policy, the Fulbright Program developed into an indispensable resource for scholars and institutions all over the world. Today, international expertise is even more vital than ever as the realities of the postCold war era become far more complex and the emerging international system increases political and economic linkages throughout the world.

Since its inception, the Fulbright Program has welcomed more than 250,000 researchers, lecturers and students from the United States and the rest of the world. Many have assumed leadership roles, including Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, Heads of State and Prime Ministers, artists and ambassadors, Governors and Senators, professors and physicians, Supreme Court Justices and CEOs. These Fulbrighters, past and present, have enabled the Fulbright Program to become the world's largest and most prestigious scholarly exchange program.

The Fulbright Commission in Hungary was established in January 1992, after a binational agreement was signed between the governments of Hungary and the United States in December 1990. The Hungarian government has acknowledged the importance of the Fulbright Program and also helps financially. The Ministry of Education and Culture provides the office space for the Commission and significantly contributes toward the program costs.