Announcement of a White House Meeting to Discuss Implementation of the Hubert H. Humphrey North-South Scholarship

The President today invited the presidents of 50 U.S. universities to attend a White House meeting on December 5, 1978, to discuss the implementation of the new Hubert H. Humphrey North-South Scholarship program. The invitation was extended on the President's behalf by Charles W. Bray III, Acting Director of the International Communications Agency.

The program will bring young men and women from every developing nation with which we have diplomatic relations to study in U.S. universities for 1 year of postgraduate study as "Humphrey North-South Scholars." In addition, the students will attend a 3-month summer workshop on North-South relations at the Humphrey Institute in Minnesota. Like the Rhodes Scholar, the Humphrey Scholar will be chosen on the basis of merit and potential leadership, but additionally, the Humphrey Scholar will be of modest means and will be dedicated to a career in public service.

The program was announced by the Vice President on October 21, 1978, in a speech to the American Lutheran Church general convention in Moorehead, Minn. The idea for the program was first suggested by the President in Caracas on March 31, 1978. The proposal resulted from an interagency review chaired by the National Security Council staff. Fifty universities throughout the United States have been selected to be eligible to participate in this program.

The program's purpose is to help educate a core group of a new generation of developing world leaders. It is designed to provide education and a common experience for a group of future leaders and by so doing provide a compelling symbol of U.S. interest in the developing world and in the North-South dialog as one of the most significant global challenges of our time. It will seek out talented youth who might otherwise not be able to afford education, thereby demonstrating a special American concern for helping the poor and for promoting equality of people. The purpose of the studies will be to enhance the students' capabilities for public service, in particular to help improve incomes, living standards, and employment and enable them to contribute more effectively to the equitable development of their country.

The program will cost $5 million for about 240 students. It will begin in September 1979 and will be administered by the International Communication Agency.