Earlier this month I had the pleasure of listening to Harold Pachios speak at a World Affairs Council of Maine breakfast meeting. Pachios is the current chairman of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. He spoke convincingly on the changing character of diplomacy and our need to influence foreign republics.

During the question and answer period Pachios was asked to elaborate on the role of education and nonprofit organizations in foreign policy. He is a trustee of the American College of Greece in Athens. Unknown to many Americans, the college has played a critical role in communicating the core values of our democracy in an area of the world where the foreign policy of the United States is often misunderstood. Ironically, government officials and business leaders in Greece often enroll their children in the college even though it has never obtained official academic accreditation in Greece.

The American College of Greece is not an anomaly. There are many similar U.S. institutions of higher education throughout the world helping to build bridges of understanding between diverse cultures. I was fortunate to be part of the implementation team for one of these endeavors in the Balkans – the American University in Bulgaria (AUBG). I served as CFO for the AUBG from 1991-1996. The AUBG was the first accredited American university to open its doors in Eastern Europe since World War II. It was established in 1991 through the joint efforts of the University of Maine, the Republic of Bulgaria, the municipality of Blagoevgrad, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Open Society Institute (a Soros Foundation).

The AUBG serves as a beacon of cooperation and understanding in an area of the world better known for its ethnic strife and propensity for war. More than 700 students from Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia learn to set aside ideological and religious differences to study the core values of democracy. The AUBG is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary. The university was recently awarded its own accreditation here in the United States and enjoys the good favor of government of the Republic of Bulgaria. The residents of Maine should be proud of the constructive role that our universities have played in contributing to peace and stability in this important region of the world.

Steve Kenney

Scarborough