The World Affairs Councils of America will host its 2013 National Conference,
Six Top Issues for 2014,
November 13-15, 2013 at the
Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel.
Councils, a flyer is available for your use to promote the National Conference to your members, which Ian J. Byrne will be sending out. If you do not receive it, please send an email to [email protected].
Held annually for over two decades, the World Affairs Councils of America's National Conference engages our regional leaders and members drawn from the business, civic, and education communities with leading policy-makers and experts. The National Conference launches the National Network's year-long discussion of the Six Top Issues for 2014 selected by our network leadership across the country and helps plan our programming for the coming year.
The Six Top Issues selected by the National Network's leadership as the most important national security issues for the coming year are:
- Cybersecurity
- U.S. Energy Independence
- Global Economic Realignment
- Middle East
- Global Environment Issues
- K-12 Education
Last year's conference kicked off with an exclusive, off the record discussion with then-CIA Director General David H. Petraeus at Wednesday evening's opening dinner. Past conferences have featured distinguished panelists including Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Singaporean Ambassador to the U.S. Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, former National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley, and many more. For more information on the WACA Annual National Conference, click here.
Please join us! Conference registration and hotel reservations are now open.
Register for 2013 National Conference
Reserve Hotel Room at The Liaison
Special Early-Bird Rate for Members
Prices:
$455 World Affairs Council Member ($495 after September 1)
$545 Non-Member
$430 World Affairs Council CEO/Staff/Board Member
Staying at The Liaison
We have secured a special group rate at The Liaison Capitol Hill of $225/night.
To book rooms at this rate, click here or call 1-866-233-4642 and reference "National Conference - World Affairs."
The Liaison is the closest hotel to the U.S. Capitol. The Smithsonian, the National Mall, Union Station, and dozens of the country's most visited museums and monuments are within walking distance.
Celebrity chef Art Smith, who creates his award-winning Southern-modern "food for the soul" for the Liaison's restaurant Art and Soul, will be the chef for the National Conference. Perhaps best known as Oprah Winfrey's personal chef, Smith is well known for his fine-tuned, artisanal farm-to-table menu. First Lady Michelle Obama is known to have dined there with friends.
Tentative Agenda
Wednesday, November 13
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM: Fall Leadership Meeting for Council CEOs and Staff/Annual Membership Meeting
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM: Opening Dinner
Thursday, November 14
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM: Main Plenaries
5:30 PM - 8:00 PM: Embassy Receptions
Friday, November 15
7:30 AM - 8:45 AM: 1918 Society Breakfast
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM: Main Plenaries
Conference concludes at 3:00 PM
Thank You to Our 2013 National Conference Sponsors
Save the Date: Academic WorldQuest 2014
The 2014 Academic WorldQuest National Competition will take place Saturday, April 26, 2014 at the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center in Washington, DC. Read about the 2013 Academic WorldQuest National Competition here.
Taiwan Leadership Mission: Deadline July, 19
The World Affairs Councils of America is pleased to announce that The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office has agreed to host a Leadership Mission to Taiwan from September 7-14, 2013.
Note: Flights will leave on September 7, arriving in Taipei on September 8. Upon return, flights will depart on September 14 and arrive back in the U.S. on the same day.
The Leadership Mission will include 8-10 delegates. We are currently accepting applications for participants. The deadline to apply is July 19, 2013.
Click here for more information.
Accepting Applications for President & CEO
The World Affairs Councils of America is seeking nominations and applications for the position of President & CEO, a full-time position based in Washington, DC. As you know, the President & CEO of the World Affairs Councils of America plays a leading role in strategically planning, creatively steering and energetically implementing and expanding the national association's educational mission of engaging the American public on global issues.
The WACA National Board and the WACA Search Committee, chaired by Dixie Anderson, Vice Chair of the National Board and Executive Director of the World Affairs Council of Western Michigan, plan to proceed in a way that is transparent, expeditious and brings us the best candidate.
Since the WACA Network is national, we have concluded that we should start our search with a focus on the WACA network as our most logical group of potential candidates. Therefore, we would like to present the opportunity to the WACA network to express an interest in the position of WACA national president.
We are asking for expressions of interest from the WACA National Network by July 12, 2012. Please include: a cover letter and resume/CV. Send submissions to Dixie using this email:
[email protected]. Of course, all submissions will be treated confidentially.
If you have any questions and would like to discuss the position in more detail, please contact Dixie at (616) 776-1721 or
[email protected].
CONTEXT: Widespread Protests in Brazil Challenge Government to Respond
Mass protests across Brazil surprised politicians at all levels of government when they began in June following a brutal police response to demonstrations against increases in public transport fares in S�o Paulo. Tangible evidence of growing discontent is reflected in the approval rating of President Dilma Rousseff which plummeted 27 percentage points in just three weeks. The Wilson Center's Paulo Sotero recently returned from Brazil, so we spoke to him about what's happening and what it represents. Click here to watch.
WACA-U.S. Department of State Partnership
The World Affairs Councils of America is partnering with the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to provide exciting opportunities for World Affairs Councils members and their families to promote relationships between the United States and other countries of the world. Enrich your family and community by joining our "C2C" - Culture2Culture, Country2Country and Community2Comunity initiative. Volunteer to host an international exchange student starting this fall.
Many people ask what they can do to make things better for themselves, their children, their communities, and the world. By sharing your home and heart with an international high school exchange student, you will make a difference. What begins as an exchange of kindness, customs and culture within a family extends throughout a high school and community to touch thousands of lives. The Department of State needs host families from all over the U.S. - from large cities to small towns. If you or someone you know would be interested in hosting a student, please visit http://hosting.state.gov for more information and to fill out a short form so that a local representative can contact you.
The first group of teachers participating in this year's Spotlight on Turkey program are on the ground participating in a study tour of the country. Teachers from the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Forth Worth, Peoria Area World Affairs Council, Santa Fe Council on International Relations, World Affairs Council - Washington, DC, WorldDenver, Pacific and Asian Affairs Council, and World Affairs Council of Jacksonville are currently traveling in Turkey and will return July 11. 
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