Minister for Higher Education and Science Christina Egelund's speech at Fulbright Denmark's 75th anniversary symposium, January 23rd 2026.
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Mr. Ambassador,
Sophia Vejlgaard.
Dear guests.
75 years ago, in 1951, it was a big year for the long-standing Danish-American partnership.
The Second World War was over and instead The Cold War with its two competing world views was emerging.
There was a great need to consolidate and unify the western world. To clearly mark the differences between east and west. Between civil liberty and communism. Between democracy and authoritarian rule.
And the Fulbright Programme was an important part of this.
In 1951 Fulbright Denmark was established and for 75 years the programme has fostered cooperation, cultural exchange and conversations between Denmark and the USA.
Fulbright Denmark is a bridge. A direct link between educational institutions separated by the Atlantic Ocean. It is a bridge built for two-way traffic. A bridge that allows ideas, knowledge and perspectives to travel in both directions.
And like any bridge, it must be maintained and trusted to carry weight. Especially in times of uncertainty.
Fulbright Denmark has done exactly that for 75 years. It has carried students and scholars, but also values and curiosity across the Atlantic.
The Fulbright Programme is and has always been about the core western values of international collaboration, rule-of-law and democracy – as well as academic freedom and intellectual merit.
It is one of the many ways we have established ourselves in The West as societies based on knowledge, freedom, and the exchange of ideas, people and culture.
Interestingly, the Fulbright Denmark Programme was not the only important collaboration initiative between Denmark and The United States that started in 1951.
That same year our two nations signed the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark relating to the defense of Greenland.
And this is of course not a coincidence.
Where Fulbright Denmark united our countries in an educational and value-based collaboration, The Greenland Defence Agreement put military and strategic power behind the soft power initiatives.
This is an interesting perspective. Especially right now.
It demonstrates how soft power and military and strategic collaboration go hand in hand. That both are important parts when we want to consolidate a longstanding allyship and friendship between two countries.
And please allow me to be very clear: The Danish approach to international collaboration, western values and rule-of-law has not changed. We stand for the same as we did in 1951.
We are ready for another 75 years of Danish-American trust, allyship and respectful collaboration.
In many ways the Fulbright Denmark programme plays an even more important part when geopolitical tensions run high.
It is when our values are under pressure that we need them the most.
The Fulbright Programme was founded by the American senator, J. William Fulbright.
He believed firmly and unwaveringly in the soft power tools of cultural exchange. And he established the programme to increase mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and other countries through the exchange of people, knowledge and skills.
He has said many wise things about this but my own favourite quote from him is this:
“Educational exchange can turn nations into people, contributing as no other form of communication can to the humanizing of international relations”
This is exactly the power of educational exchange. When geopolitical tensions run high, we talk about nations. And we tend to forget people.
Forget that underneath the complex political relationships, diplomacy and military interventions there are people.
And relationships – people to people relationships – play a crucial part in solving it when there are political tension and diplomatic crisis between countries.
I think now more than ever we need the humanising of international relations.
And this is where the true power of the Fulbright programme lies.
For 75 years you have stood for research output, policy insight and academic excellence. But the true power lies in the human bonds the programme creates.
Fulbright alumni return home with friendships, networks and a deeper understanding of another society.
A Danish researcher may return home with new academic insights, but also with a lived understanding of American society.
Its openness, its diversity, its baffling greatness.
An American student returning from Denmark brings back knowledge of our institutions, but also an experience of trust, social cohesion and democratic culture.
These experiences do not disappear when the grant ends. They stay with people throughout their lives and shape how they engage with the world.
Over time, these personal connections build trust between institutions, between countries and between people.
This is slow diplomacy at its finest. Quiet and resilient. But it is also effective diplomacy.
Trust cannot be built overnight. It cannot be imposed or forced. It takes time and effort.
Educational exchange is a long-term investment with returns that compound over time. It is modest in cost and profound in impact. Because it works through people rather than power.
Today we mark 75 years of Fulbright Denmark. And 75 years of Danish-American cooperation.
We celebrate a programme, but more importantly, we reaffirm a belief:
That education matters, that exchange matters, that mutual understanding matters.
Fulbright Denmark was established in a world shaped by uncertainty and rivalry.
And for 75 years, it has shown us that alliances endure because they are carried by people, not only by policies.
It is my sincere hope that together we will continue to uphold the values that have shaped Fulbright Denmark and the western world for three quarters of a century. And that we will have the courage to stand up for them when they are being tested.
Denmark stands ready for the next 75 years – and beyond.
Thank you.
