July 24, 2017
2017 National Conference
Cover to Cover
AWQ Fundraising Call
WACA Podcasts
Travel the World
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Congressional Medal of Honor Hero to Speak at
WACA 2017 National Conference
November 15-17
Washington, DC

Keynote Speaker:

On November 12, 2015, Captain Florent "Flo" Groberg was given the nation's highest military award, the  Congressional Medal of Honor  - the first immigrant to be so recognized since the Vietnam War.

Captain Groberg was born in the suburbs of Paris. In middle school he and his family moved to the United States, and Flo became a naturalized citizen in 2001. He joined the Army in 2008. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2009, and again in 2012. During his second tour, Flo was guarding a high-level U.S.-Afghan delegation and noticed someone suspicious: a local man stumbling towards his patrol. Flo tackled the man, who was wearing a suicide vest, before he could reach the patrol. Four people died in the explosion, but many were spared. Flo was badly wounded and spent the next three years in recovery. 

Captain Groberg's book, 8 Seconds of Courage, tells the story from his childhood in France to his decision to enlist and the grueling training he underwent at U.S. Army Ranger school. It was a powerful sense of responsibility that compelled him to take his brave action to save lives, even at the risk of his own.

Other Confirmed Speakers:



Rosa Brooks is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, a columnist for Foreign Policy, and a law professor at Georgetown University. ( Full bio.



Eliot A. Cohen is Robert E. Osgood professor at Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). ( Full bio.)



Head over to our  conference website  to purchase your tickets at exclusive Early-Bird rates now!

July Promotion - Councils that purchase a  Table of Eight will receive:
  • One additional complimentary Conference registration
  • Premium table location
  • One complimentary 1918 Society membership
WACA strongly encourages Councils to promote the Conference locally and through social media. Please reach out to the National Office for assistance with your publicity.

Staying at the Capital Hilton
We have secured a special group rate:
  • 1 Queen/King bed Deluxe Room: $279/night          (Single/Double Occupancy) plus tax

This distinguished hotel is located 
in  the heart of our nation's capital -  just two blocks from the White House. Convenient to three Metro stations and Ronald Reagan National Airport, the hotel is within walking distance of museums, memorials,  shopping,  dining, nightlife, and more.

Further announcements on National Conference speakers and other program details will be made in the coming weeks.
Cover to Cover Author Series: August - September

Once the world's bastion of liberal, democratic values, Europe is now having to confront demons it thought it had laid to rest. The old pathologies of anti-Semitism, populist nationalism, and territorial aggression are threatening to teat the postwar European consensus apart. In riveting dispatches from this unfolding tragedy, James Kirchick shows us the shallow disingenuousness of the leaders who pushed for "Brexit;" examines how a vast migrant wave is exacerbating tensions between Europeans and their Muslim minorities; and describes how Russian imperial ambitions are destabilizing nations from Estonia to Ukraine. 


Read Kirchick's recent article on the GOP party and Vladimir Putin, and join us for  August's Cover to Cover  on Kirchick's new book, The End of Europe: Dictators, Demagogues, and the Coming Dark Age Thursday, August 10, at 2:00-2:30 PM ET .


September's Cover to Cover will feature Richard McGregor on his new book,  Asia's Reckoning: China, Japan, and the Fate of U.S. Power on Tuesday, September 5, at 2:00-2:30 PM ET.
AWQ Fundraising: Best Practices Conference Call

Have an  Academic WorldQuest program but want to refine your fundraising expertise? Have success at drawing in adults for pre-AWQ fundraising and want to share your insights with the WACA network? 

Join our  AWQ Fundraising: Best Practices conference call on Thursday, August 17 at 2:00-2:30 PM ET to ask questions and share insights with your local Council peers. Click here to register for the call.
 
Listen to WACA Podcasts!

Earth will have more than 9.6 billion people by 2050. With resources already scarce, how will we feed them all? Journalist  Lisa Palmer   ( full bio. has traveled the world for years documenting the cutting-edge innovations of people and organizations on the front lines of fighting the food gap. In her book Hot, Hungry Planet, Palmer breaks down this difficult subject and paints a hopeful picture of both the world we want to live in and the great leaps it will take to get there.

On Tuesday, July 18, Lisa Palmer spoke with WACA President and CEO Bill Clifford for the WACA Cover to Cover conference call series to illuminate this pressing topic. Listen to the podcast of the timely discussion here.
WACA and Councils Are Hiring!
World Affairs Councils Highlights

Tuesday, July 25
 
World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh hosts Thomas Sanderson, Director of the CSIS Transnational Threats project, for, "A Global Trends Briefing: What are the New Global Realities?" Details
World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth hosts Lawrence Wright, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Fellow at the New York University School of Law Center for Law and Security, to discuss his book, The Terror Years: From al-Qaeda to the Islamic State. Details
World Affairs Council - DC hosts H.E. Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad M.J. Al Thani, Ambassador of Qatar, to discuss Qatar's current diplomatic crisis. Details
Wednesday, July 26

Santa Fe Council on International Relations holds, "Open? Closed? How NM Shapes the Border" featuring a panel discussion on how New Mexico influences the dialogue around immigration. Details

WorldBoston hosts Saudi microbiologist Dr. Hosam Zowawi to discuss the prospect of antibiotic-resistant microbes. Details

The International Relations Council hosts a book club to discuss Megachange: Economic Disruption, Political Upheaval, and Social Strife in the 21st Century by Darrell M. West. Details

World Affairs (Northern California) hosts Vladimir Ashurkov, Executive Director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, for, "Russia's Opposition Politics: Alexei Navalny for President." Details

Thursday, July 27

Windham World Affairs Council co-hosts a screening of "Disturbing the Peace," a documentary on the struggles of Israeli and Palestinian soldiers who formed 'Combatants for Peace.' Details

World Affairs Council of Sonoma County holds their annual picnic. Details
Travel the World from WAC Philadelphia

Travel with Council Leaders - hear them lecture on Travel the World tours from the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia!

2017-2018 travel schedule includes trips to: 
  • Kay Maxwell, Executive Director, World Affairs Forum (Stamford), Silk Road Odyssey: Oct. 3 - 19
  • Dr. Jerry Leach, former President, World Affairs Councils of America, Inside Morocco: Oct. 20 - Nov. 2
  • Dr. Carla Thorson, Senior Vice President, Programs, World Affairs Council Northern California, Southern Africa: Feb. 18-Mar. 5
  • Patrick Ryan, President, Tennessee World Affairs Council, Tuscany: May 29-Jun. 6
Contact www.wacphila.org/travel  or call 1-800-942-5004 , ext.  209  or 217 .

The World Affairs Councils of America 

1200 18th St., NW, Suite 902, Washington, DC 20036

Phone (202) 833-4557  Fax (202) 833-4555

Email waca@worldaffairscouncils.org Website www.worldaffairscouncils.org