With the holidays upon us, and the new year just around the corner, I wanted to personally take the opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to our Board of Directors, my colleagues at the Foundation, the two governments, our alums, and everyone who supports the work that we do and embraces the promise of our grantees. Working in a community that is deeply committed to investing in the future is a privilege.
While it seems like just yesterday that I was thanking everyone for all they did to help us successfully navigate the pandemic, it turned out that 2024 was destined to be an extraordinary year. We welcomed six extraordinary new Board members, along with new representatives from the two governments. And, over the twelve short months, we officially launched our latest five-year strategic plan, welcomed an exceptional cohort of grantees, hosted our inaugural Honouring Nations Canada Good Governance Awards ceremony, relaunched the Fulbright Canada – Maple Leaf Foundation Exchange Program, introduced the Fulbright Canada Entrepreneurship Initiative and the Fulbright Canada Energy Security and Sustainability Initiative, collaborated on Fulbright Arctic IV, welcomed new partners, and imagined new opportunities. See our more detailed year in review post.
I look forward to 2025 and working together to meet our common goals. It occurs to me that we need, from time to time, especially in the current environment, where change is clearly in the air, where quick fixes are sought for complex and nuanced problems, and where challenges may well outnumber solutions in the short-term, to reaffirm our commitment to the cause, to our core mission, to the goal of identifying future leaders, providing extraordinary opportunities for them, celebrating excellence, and ensuring that peace and prosperity, growth with justice, and knowledge with purpose, continue to be the watchwords of the day.
Let me close by sending my best wishes for a happy, healthy holiday season and a very positive new year. I hope your holidays are magical and you, your family, and your friends can create many new happy holiday memories.
