The Fulbright Prize honors the largest and most significant educational and cultural exchange program in history, as well as the career and spirit of its creator, the late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. The prize recognizes and rewards outstanding contributions toward bringing peoples, cultures, or nations to greater understanding of others. Considered for the prize are individuals, groups, or organizations whose contributions have had significant impact in breaking through the barriers which divide humankind.

Fulbright Prize laureates are former South African President Nelson Mandela (1993), former U.S. President Jimmy Carter (1994), former Austrian Federal Chancellor Franz Vranitzky (1995), former Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino (1996), President of the Czech Republic V?clav Havel (1997), former Chilean President Patricio Aylwin Az?car (1998), former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson (1999), former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari (2000), UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan (2001), former UN High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata (2002), former President of Brazil Fernando Henrique Cardoso (2003), United States Secretary of State Colin L. Powell (2004), former President of the United States of America William Jefferson Clinton (2006), and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond M. Tutu (2008) . In administering the Fulbright Prize, the Fulbright Association, a private, nonprofit membership organization of former Fulbright grant recipients and friends of international education, seeks (1) to provide substantial recognition to individuals who dedicate their energies to improving international understanding, and (2) to encourage new generations to undertake life commitments to international understanding.

The Prize, a $50,000 cash award, is presented to the Fulbright Prize laureate at a ceremony held in conjunction with the association's annual international conference. At the ceremony, the Fulbright Prize laureate makes a substantive address on his/her work and aspirations. The Fulbright Prize was inaugurated in 1993 by the Fulbright Association and supported by the Coca-Cola Foundation from 1993-2008.