On a visit to China in 2014, former First Lady Michelle Obama gave a speech at Peking University about cross-cultural understanding and the importance of studying abroad. Here is a short extract from it.

Through the wonders of modern technology, our world is more connected than ever before. Ideas can cross oceans with the click of a button. Companies can do business and compete with companies across the globe. And we can text, email, Skype with people on every continent. So studying abroad isn't just a fun way to spend a semester; it is quickly becoming the key to success in our global economy. Because getting ahead in today's workplaces isn't just about getting good grades or test scores in school, which are important. It's also about having real experience with the world beyond your borders - experience with languages, cultures and societies very different from your own. Or, as the Chinese saying goes: "It is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books" But let's be clear, studying abroad is about so much more than improving your own future. It's also about shaping the future of your countries and of the world we all share. Because when it comes to the defining challenges of our time - whether it's climate change or economic opportunity or the spread of nuclear weapons - these are shared challenges. And no one country can confront them alone. The only way forward is together. That's why it is so important for young people like you to live and study in each other's countries, because that's how you develop that habit of cooperation. You do it by immersing yourself in one another's culture, by learning each other's stories, by getting past the stereotypes and misconceptions that too often divide us.