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.
Take Advantage of 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
Councils, a flyer is available for your use to promote the National Conference to your members, which Ian J. Byrne has sent out. If you did not receive it, please send an email to ibyrne@worldaffairscouncils.org.
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
- U.S. 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
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
Taiwan Leadership Mission: Deadline Friday, 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.
Egypt: Political Islam in Crisis? with Shadi Hamid
The World Affairs Councils of America hosted Dr. Shadi Hamid, Director of Research at the Brookings Doha Center and fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, live from Doha, Qatar for a Hot Topics Conference Call on Egypt: Political Islam in Crisis? last Friday, July 12. The call was moderated by Dr. Lori E. Murray, Distinguished Chair for National Security at the U.S. Naval Academy, and President Emeritus of WACA. Thank you to all of those who joined. A recording of the call is available on our homepage here.
Over the weekend, Dr. Hamid published an op-ed in The Washington Post titled, In Egypt, one coup leads to another.
Would you like to learn more about the Middle East? Register for our 2013 National Conference, Six Top Issues for 2014, November 13-15, 2013 at The Capitol Liaison Hotel in Washington, DC. The Middle East is one of our Six Top Issues for 2014.
Register for the 2013 National Conference
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.
CONTEXT: Egyptian Democracy: Is the Ouster of Morsi a Step Forward or Backward?
Many observers see the military's removal of President Morsi from office as a step backward for democracy and the rule of law. We spoke with a former Egyptian official who believes the opposite and sees the current situation as an example of democracy in action. Moushira Khattab provides context on the evolution of Egyptian politics. 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.