This section features academic and non-academic resources on identity in general, challenges that can arise abroad specifically, and how Fulbrighters can support each other.

• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “The Danger of a Single Story”
• Harvard University, “Project Implicit” (find your implicit associations about race, gender, sexual orientation or other subjects)
• UC Davis, “LGBTQ Glossary”

Aging travelers and Fulbrighters with children may have special considerations while abroad, including health, family, or financial concerns for themselves or their dependents, and this section includes resources addressing these particular needs.

• Department of State, “Older Travelers”
• AARP, “Travel Tips”
• "The Advantages of Teaching Overseas with a Family" (PDF)

This section features resources on being “foreign” for the first time, discussion of positive and negative stereotypes about Americans, and being an effective cultural ambassador.

• Brandeis University, “Americaness”
• Glimpse “American Identity Abroad”
• "Intersections of Culture: The Experiences of Heritage Connected Fulbrighters" virtual panel event. Heritage connected in this context refers to Fulbrighters who pursue their projects in countries in which they have shared ancestry, language, and/or culture. The panel featured four alums of the Fulbright Program. Through the personal stories and reflections of the panelists and moderator, the panel explores the challenges and joys that heritage connected Fulbrighters encounter abroad, in particular, negotiating between the cultures and societies of the host country that they are connected to, and their identities as people linked to the United States. The panelists also provide recommendations and ideas as to how Fulbright can better support and address the needs of heritage connected Fulbrighters.
• Diversity Abroad, “Heritage Students Abroad"

This section helps you think through questions to consider when requesting accommodations and preparing to live and work with your visible or invisible disability abroad.

• Diversity Abroad, “Students with Disabilities Abroad”
• Mobility International USA, 
  • "Strategies for Addressing Cultural Disability Differences”
  • "Global Disability Culture 101"
  • "Accommodations Overseas" and "Negotiating Your Accomodations"
  • "Mental Health Tips"
  • "Preparations for Travel with a Physical Disability"
• Disability Across Distance: Navigating a Fulbright with a Disability

An “invisible,” “non-visible,” “hidden,” “non-apparent,” or "unseen" disability is any physical, mental, or emotional impairment that goes largely unnoticed. An invisible disability can include, but is not limited to: cognitive impairment and brain injury; the autism spectrum; blindness and/or low vision; chronic illnesses like multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, and fibromyalgia; d/Deaf and/or hard of hearing; anxiety, depression, PTSD, and many more. The below resources are specific for those participants with invisible or non-apparent disabilities from Mobility International USA.

• "A World Awaits You - Non-Apparent Disabilities"
• "Blind and Low Vision Tips for Going Abroad"
• "Chronic Health Conditions & Planning for Your International Exchange"
• "Getting the Conversation Started: Learning Disabilities"
• "Exploring the Extraordinary in Your Ordinary" blog post from Emi Koch, Fulbright-National Geographic Storytelling Fellow to Vietnam, 2019-2020
• "Preparations for Travel with Mental Health Conditions"
• 6 Mental Health Tips for Your Fellowship Abroad from Fulbright alum Dr. Vicki Johnson

While you will be able to rely on your Fulbright stipend for income while abroad, some grantees may face additional financial pressures.

• Diversity Abroad, “Economically Disadvantaged Students

First generation students sometimes report feelings of “imposter syndrome” or displacement from their peers. These sources feature stories from first generation students who have dealt with similar feelings while living abroad.

• Diversity Abroad, “First Generation Students Abroad”

• Mobility International USA: 2020 Joining Hands Symposium "Disability and Intersectionality"
  
  

• Fulbright Forward - A Diversity Podcast
  - Social Identities Abroad with Sojourner White. Sojourner, a traveling social worker, talks about how to unpack one’s social identities abroad, how traveling can lead to a deeper understanding of one’s social privileges, and how one can respond to discrimination and microaggressions.
  - Black Lives Matter in the Asia Pacific featuring Guled Mire, a Black Muslim activist and Fulbright Scholar from Aotearoa New Zealand. The Black Lives Matter movement, while initiated in response to the state of racial relations in the United States, has reverberated in societies around the world. With the growing awareness of the global relevance of the movement, the call to address the historical roots and realities of contemporary violence and discrimination has also been taken up around Asia and the Pacific. 
  - Racial and Gender Inequality, Tech and Higher Ed with Ronda Zelezny-Green: Ronda talks about the intersection of race and gender in (higher) education, technology as a tool for achieving equality, and the underrepresentation of women of color in higher education in the UK.
  - Feminism in Brazil at the Intersections of Race and Gender with Sandra Azaredo. Sandra shares about the importance of a critical feminist perspective, the past and current context of feminism in Brazil vis-a-vis the relationship between Black and white women, the role of academia, and as we will learn, how her own story as a multiracial Black woman has impacted her journey.
• EUR Diversity and Inclusion Panel Discussions
  - Allyship, August 2020: https://youtu.be/rHmbe_TgQFE
  - Belonging and Cultural Imposter Syndrome, February 2021: https://youtu.be/R2SSjLbE4E8
  - We Are Fulbright - Being a Cultural Ambassador, May 2021: https://youtu.be/0KKOv06vvwU
• We Represent 2021 Conference includes various sessions discussing intersectionality of race, ethnicity, gender, LGBTI+, disability, and more.

See the below for travel advice from the U.S. Department of State, global laws regarding sexual orientation, and specific resources for LGBTI students abroad.

• Department of State, “LGBTI Travelers"
• Michigan State University, “Sexuality and Gender Identity"
• Brandeis University, "Transgender and Non-Binary Students Abroad"
• "Creating an LGBTQ+ inclusive Fulbright: From Small Steps to Broad Cultural Conversations". This seminar features Rubi Flores, the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer of Fulbright Prism. Rubi shares the challenges she faced while on her Fulbright program, and suggests some steps that commissions and posts can can take to help support Fulbright participants of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and expressions while they are part of Fulbright programs outside of the United States.

In this section, we refer primarily, but not exclusively, to cisgender-identified men. Transgender-identified individuals or gender-queer individuals may have additional considerations—see the LGBTI Abroad section for additional resources.

• IFSA Butler blogs,
  • "Underrepresented: A Call for Men to Study Abroad" 
  • "Hombres Outnumbers: Men Studying Abroad"

As Fulbrighters, you will continue with your every day lives in your host country and that means answering every day questions as simple as “will someone know how to cut my hair in the new location that I am going?” or “how will I be perceived by the community in which I am going to as an underrepresented American abroad?” Having a space to connect, speak, and interact with others who identify with your same identities and intersectionality may be key to a successful Fulbright start and overall exchange experience. ECA encourages you to begin those conversations through networking with fellow grantees and alumni, and making the Fulbright connection early.

• Fulbrighter app - As an incoming Fulbrighter, you are joining a global community of exceptional researchers, professionals and practitioners. Fulbrighter is the exclusive online networking platform where you can connect, network, engage, and collaborate with this prestigious global community of Fulbright alumni and grantees. You can sign-up now or – if you are from a Commission country – wait for your email invite. Once you are a member, you can explore these dedicated resources for new grantees, including:
  • A database of Fulbright alumni who have volunteered to offer advice to new grantees
  • Advice and case studies from previous grantees
  • A discussion forum where you can ask questions and share ideas
  • Examples of how to get the most out of your grant through travel and collaborations.
  • The Fulbrighter platform is also home to a number of groups based on regional, professional, academic, and personal identities, including Fulbright Affinity groups. These groups provide collaboration opportunities and support networks for grantees and alumni. 
• Fulbright Alumni Affinity groups (do not represent DOS but are organized independently). A list of Fulbright Affinity groups can be found here.
• Fulbright Association and its chapters
• Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors
• Fulbridge is a grantee- and alumni-led organization builds bridges between Fulbrighters to promote life-long cultural ambassadorship, mutual understanding, and meaningful relationships with fellow Fulbrighters.

This section features resources for grantees of color, from general questions to consider in preparation for going abroad, to considerations for heritage students.

• "Race And Allyship Alumni Panel" 2021 PDO - Fulbright alumni from diverse backgrounds conducted a panel discussion on race and allyship abroad. The panel created a safe space that allowed the alumni to articulate how they dealt with situations specifically around race, racism, discrimination, and harassment abroad during their grants. The goal of the session is to help outbound Fulbrighters learn practical tips for interacting with their host communities and how to have difficult conversations and answer questions around race and race in America. This session also allowed participants to deepen their own self-reflection of biases and privileges as they prepare to go abroad.
• "Fulbright WHA Navigating Blackness Panel" - This panel featured Black and Afrodescendant Fulbright alumni and current grantholders from across the Americas and the Caribbean who shared stories as to how they made sense of their identity abroad, how they found community and connection during their Fulbright program, and what can be done to foster greater inclusion of Black and Afrodescendant participants in Fulbright and international education space.
• University of Maryland, “Students of Color Abroad" (general questions to consider for people of color going abroad as well as a collection of further resources)
• "Forever Foreign Along the Rim: Asian American Experiences". The first EAP Occasional Seminar of 2022 featured Dr. Terry K. Park, the founder and CEO of Maum Consulting, an Asian-American Studies based consultancy offering Justice, Equity, Diversity Healing and Inclusion Educational services. In this seminar, Dr. Park explores why some Asian Americans feel homeless both in North America as well as in their ancestral continents. By outlining the thread of exclusionary policies and discrimination towards Asian Americans throughout U.S. history, and by sharing his own story, Dr. Park provides insight into the complexities and beauty of contemporary Asian American identity. He also helps to frame the experiences of Asian Americans to better understand their experiences within the field of international educational and cultural exchange, providing concrete suggestions for organizations like Fulbright for how to make their Asian American participants feel more safe and more welcome, and how to respond to their concerns and support them during this time of increasing anti-Asian violence.

This section contains resources on religious freedom around the world, living as a religious minority for the first time, and finding a place of worship abroad.

• Department of State, “Faith-Based Travelers”
• Department of State, “International Religious Freedom Report”
• Diversity Abroad, “Religious Diversity Abroad”
• IFSA Butler, “Leap of Faith: Finding a Place of Worship Abroad"

Whether you are gluten-free or halal, finding ways to meet your dietary restrictions will help you have a successful exchange experience.

• Smith College, “Before You Go: Special Diets” (scroll down half way to find information and further resources on maintaining your dietary restrictions abroad) 

In this section, we refer primarily, but not exclusively, to cisgender-identified women. Transgender-identified individuals or gender-queer individuals may have additional considerations—see the LGBTI Abroad section for additional resources.

• Department of State, “Women Travelers"
• Government of Canada, “Her Own Way”
• Diversity Abroad, “Women Abroad"