The Director of the United States Information Agency is authorized, when he considers that it would strengthen international cooperative relations, to provide, by grant, contract, or otherwise, for—

educational exchanges, (i) by financing studies, research, instruction, and other educational activities—

(A) of or for American citizens and nationals in foreign countries, and

(B) of or for citizens and nationals of foreign countries in American schools and institutions of learning located in or outside the United States;

(2) cultural exchanges, by financing— (i) visits and interchanges between the United States and other countries of leaders, experts in fields of specialized knowledge or skill, and other influential or distinguished persons; (ii) tours in countries abroad by creative and performing artists and athletes from the United States, individually and in groups, representing any field of the arts, sports, or any other form of cultural attainment; (iii) United States representation in international artistic, dramatic, musical, sports, and other cultural festivals, competitions, meetings, and like exhibitions and assemblies; (iv) participation by groups and individuals from other countries in nonprofit activities in the United States similar to those described in subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) of this paragraph, when the Director of the United States Information Agency determines that such participation is in the national interest.[1]

(3) United States participation in international fairs and expositions abroad, including trade and industrial fairs and other public or private demonstrations of United States economic accomplishments and cultural attainments.

In furtherance of the purposes of this chapter, the President is further authorized to provide for—

(1) interchanges between the United States and other countries of handicrafts, scientific, technical, and scholarly books, books of literature, periodicals, and Government publications, and the reproduction and translation of such writings, and the preparation, distribution, and interchange of other educational and research materials, including laboratory and technical equipment for education and research;

(2) establishing and operating in the United States and abroad centers for cultural and technical interchanges to promote better relations and understanding between the United States and other nations through cooperative study, training, and research;

(3) assistance in the establishment, expansion, maintenance, and operation of schools and institutions of learning abroad, founded, operated, or sponsored by citizens or nonprofit institutions of the United States, including such schools and institutions serving as demonstration centers for methods and practices employed in the United States;

(4) fostering and supporting American studies in foreign countries through professorships, lectureships, institutes, seminars, and courses in such subjects as American history, government, economics, language and literature, and other subjects related to American civilization and culture, including financing the attendance at such studies by persons from other countries;

(5) promoting and supporting medical, scientific, cultural, and educational research and development;

(6) promoting modern foreign language training and area studies in United States schools, colleges, and universities by supporting visits and study in foreign countries by teachers and prospective teachers in such schools, colleges, and universities for the purpose of improving their skill in languages and their knowledge of the culture of the people of those countries, and by financing visits by teachers from those countries to the United States for the purpose of participating in foreign language training and area studies in United States schools, colleges, and universities;

(7) United States representation at international nongovernmental educational, scientific, and technical meetings;

(8) participation by groups and individuals from other countries in educational, scientific, and technical meetings held under American auspices in or outside the United States;

(9) encouraging independent research into the problems of educational and cultural exchange;

(10) promoting studies, research, instruction, and other educational activities of citizens and nationals of foreign countries in American schools, colleges, and universities located in the United States by making available to citizens and nationals of less developed friendly foreign countries for exchange for currencies of their respective countries (other than excess foreign currencies), at United States embassies, United States dollars in such amounts as may be necessary to enable such foreign citizens or nationals who are coming temporarily to the United States as students, trainees, teachers, instructors, or professors to meet expenses of the kind described in section 2454(e)(1) of this title;

(11) interchanges and visits between the United States and other countries of scientists, scholars, leaders, and other experts in the fields of environmental science and environmental management; and

(12) promoting respect for and guarantees of religious freedom abroad by interchanges and visits between the United States and other nations of religious leaders, scholars, and religious and legal experts in the field of religious freedom.

(Pub. L. 87–256, § 102, Sept. 21, 1961, 75 Stat. 527; Pub. L. 87–565, pt. IV, § 403, Aug. 1, 1962, 76 Stat. 263; Pub. L. 89–698, title II, § 203(a), Oct. 29, 1966, 80 Stat. 1071; 1977 Reorg. Plan No. 2, § 7(a)(2), 42 F.R. 62461, 91 Stat. 1637; Pub. L. 97–241, title III, § 303(b), Aug. 24, 1982, 96 Stat. 291; Pub. L. 98–164, title VII, § 703(a), Nov. 22, 1983, 97 Stat. 1045; Pub. L. 105–292, title V, § 503, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2811.)