January 27, 2020
WACA Breakfast at Global Ties National Meeting; AWQ National Registration Open; Councils' Star Speakers; Council of the Month; Global Minnesota Chair to Lead U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan; + more Council Highlights!
WACA Members Meet at the 2020 Global Ties U.S. National Meeting
WACA, a proud partner of Global Ties U.S., was delighted to host its annual breakfast for 32 leaders and staff of Councils (which are dual member organizations) on Thursday, January 23 at the Global Ties U.S. 2020 National Meeting. From January 22-25, the Global Ties U.S. Network of 120+ nonprofits based around the U.S. and the world convened at the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, DC to celebrate the inspiring "faces" who make exchange programs happen every day: participants and alumni, locally-based hosts and coordinators, government agencies, and more.

The National Meeting also served as the launch for a year-long campaign by the Office of International Visitors of the U.S. Department of State to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the International Visitor Leadership Program, the U.S. Department of State's premier professional exchange program, and its achievements in advancing American foreign policy, prosperity, and security.
Register Now! AWQ National Competition
Registration for the Carlos and Malú Alvarez 2020 Academic WorldQuest National Competition is now open! The AWQ championship weekend program will be held in Washington, DC on April 24-25.

Local champion teams of Academic WorldQuest competitions hosted by World Affairs Councils around the country must complete the Registration Form in order to participate in the AWQ National Competition. Registration Forms are due no later than Friday, March 27. Register your AWQ team!

This year's competition will be held on Saturday, April 25 at the United States Institute of Peace.

For topics, study guide, and other information about this year's competition, please click here.

Hotel Reservations:
WACA has secured a group hotel block at The Westin DC City Center (1400 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20005) at a special rate of $169 / night plus tax. The block will expire April 2. Reserve today!
Convening Power of the WACA Network This Week
Ruchir Sharma
Head of Emerging Markets
Morgan Stanley Investment Mgmt.
Ambassador Marcela Celorio
Consul General of Mexico
Zaib Shaikh
Consul General of Canada
Tim Boyle
President & CEO
Columbia Sportswear Company
Brendan Ryan
CEO, Nomadic USA LLC
Governor Deval Patrick
2020 Presidential Candidate
Amb. (ret.) Kathleen Stephens
President and CEO, KEI
Council of the Month: WAC Western Michigan
The World Affairs Council of Western Michigan sponsors an annual Cultural Intelligence (CQ) Workshop for its corporate and educational members, thanks to a collaboration with global company Wolverine Worldwide and the Cultural Intelligence Center (CIC). Wolverine’s impressive campus provides a beneficial setting and the CIC helps Council members assess and improve effectiveness in culturally diverse work settings. This January, 35 professionals took the Council-organized CQ course, representing 11 of the Council’s corporate partners.  
 
Participants learned why culture matters, mapped out their organization’s cultural diversity, examined their individual CQ assessments, and interacted together on ways to improve CQ drive, knowledge, strategy, and action.

Comments from participants were overwhelmingly positive: “ It was time well spent…actually one of the workshops that could be longer.” “ It was very informative, and I walked away with some changes that I will be making.” “ The workshop was good. I appreciated the content and thought the information related to our personal assessments was helpful. The facilitator did a great job!”

The annual CQ Workshop is a prime example of how the Council works in concert with its member companies and local organizations to provide world-aware resources for the people of West Michigan.
Global Minnesota's Chairman to Head U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan
Ambassador Ross Wilson, Board Chair of Global Minnesota, has been tapped to lead the U.S. Embassy in Kabul at a critical stage in the process of negotiating an Afghan peace agreement.

Wilson, who spent nearly four decades in the U.S. Foreign Service before retiring to Minnesota, accepted U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s request to serve as Charge d'Affaires until the U.S. Senate confirms a permanent ambassador to Afghanistan. His appointment was reported last week in a New York Times article and in Minnesota's Star Tribune.

“Afghanistan is an extraordinarily challenging, but also very consequential, assignment and I am honored by the trust and confidence that Secretary of State Pompeo and the Department of State have placed in me,” Wilson said before heading overseas.

Wilson “is exactly who you want in a senior diplomatic post,” said Mark Ritchie, President of Global Minnesota, one of the largest Councils in the WACA Network. “We have a very long history of Minnesotans being distinguished in foreign careers and in all matters related to international affairs.”
Cover to Cover on Podcast

Cover to Cover with Andrew Bacevich, President of the Quincy Institute and Professor Emeritus of International Relations and History at Boston University. Listen as Bacevich discusses his new book is The Age of Illusions: How America Squandered Its Cold War Victory.

Cover to Cover with Angela Stent, Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings Institution and Director of the Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies at Georgetown University, and  Jill Dougherty, SFS Centennial Fellow at Georgetown University, Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and CNN Contributor. Listen as Stent and Dougherty discuss Stent's recent book,  Putin's World: Russia Against the West and With the Rest.
Council Highlights
Monday 1/27

World Affairs Council of New Hampshire hosts The Honorable Ernest Moniz, CEO and Co-Chair of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, for “A Conversation on Nuclear Dangers and a New Nuclear Arms Race.” Details

Dayton Council on World Affairs hosts Robert Stokes, Senior Advisor at Peace-Trees Vietnam, for “2020 Annual Meeting and Dinner.” Details

Tuesday 1/28

World Affairs Council of Jacksonville hosts Ruchir Sharma, Head of Emerging Markets and Chief Global Strategist at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, for “Global Growth in a 4D World.” Details

World Affairs Council of Greater Houston hosts Alexis Andres, Consul General of France in Houston, and Thomas Meister, Consul General of Germany in Houston, for “75 Years After Auschwitz: The State of Anti-Semitism Today in Europe.” Details

World Affairs Council of Greater Houston hosts internationally renowned Arabian horse breeder and rider Michael Byatt and author Diana Untermeyer, Cultural Advisor to the Qatar-America Institute, for “The Arabian Horse: Lore and Legend.” Details

World Affairs Council of Maine hosts professor Laura Henry, Bowdoin College, for “Russia’s Semi-Authoritarian Regime and Its Citizen: Why Is Putin So Popular and Can It Last?” Details

World Affairs Council of the Quad Cities hosts professor Bill Parsons, St. Ambrose University, and professor David Dehnel, Augustana College, for “Panel on the 2020 Iowa Caucus.” Details

Santa Fe Council on International Relations hosts author Todd Greentree for “Great Decisions: India and Pakistan.” Details

World Affairs Council of Philadelphia hosts a panel of experts for “The Future of the Internet.” Details

Wednesday 1/29

Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall hosts Ambassador Marcela Celorio, Consul General of Mexico, and Zaib Shaikh, Consul General of Canada, for “The Big 3: Looking Forward to Trade After the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.” Details

WorldOregon hosts Tim Boyle, President & CEO of Columbia Sportswear Company, for “Free Trade and Global Engagement & What It Matters for Oregon and the U.S.” Details

WorldBoston hosts Glen Johnson, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Strategic Communications, to discuss his book, Window Seat on the World. Details

World Affairs Council of Orange County hosts Bryan Cunningham, Executive Director of the Cyber Security Policy & Research Institute, for “How Worried Should We Be? A Realistic Look at Cybersecurity Threats for the 2020 Elections and Beyond.” Details

World Affairs Council of Albuquerque hosts Samuel Bendett, Research Analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses’ International Affairs Group, for “The Evolution of Russian Unmanned Military Systems.” Details

World Affairs (Northern California) hosts journalist John Pomfret for “The U.S. and China: On the Brink of a New Cold War.” Details

Thursday 1/30

Richmond World Affairs Council hosts David Smolansky, Commissioner of the Secretary General of the OAS for the Venezuelan Migration and Refugee Crisis, and Michael Shifter, President of the Inter-American Dialogue, for “Venezuela After Chávez.” Details

World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth hosts Ambassador (ret.) Douglas Silliman, President of the Arab Gulf States Institute, for “In the Headlines: Iraq Relations.” Details

World Affairs Council of New Jersey hosts Brendan Ryan, Chief Executive Officer of Nomadic USA LLC, for “Promises and Pitfalls of Global Migration.” Details

Santa Fe Council on International Relations hosts Michael Morell, former Deputy Director and former Acting Director of the CIA, for “A Dangerous World.” Details

World Affairs Council of Charlotte hosts William (Bill) Rogers, President and COO of Truist Financial, for “CEO Series.” Details

World Affairs Council of Seattle hosts Reşat Kasaba, Jackson School Director and Stanley D. Golub Chair in International Studies at the University of Washington, for “An Update on Turkey.” Details

Peoria Area World Affairs Council hosts professor Dean Alexander, Director of the Homeland Security Research Program at Western Illinois University, to discuss his book, Family Terror Networks. Details

World Affairs Council of Western Massachusetts hosts assistant professor Sara Newland, Smith College, for “The 2019 Hong Kong Protests: Causes and Consequences.” Details

World Affairs Council of Jacksonville hosts a panel of experts for “Global Gender Equality Forum.” Details

Foreign Policy Association hosts a panel of experts for “The State of the Presidency.” Details

Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall hosts a panel of experts for “Coalitions + Charisma: What Does LA Need to Build a Prosperous Future.” Details

Friday 1/31

World Affairs Council of New Hampshire hosts Governor Deval Patrick, 2020 Democratic Candidate for President, for “Presidential Foreign Policy Forum.” Details

World Affairs Council of Sonoma County hosts Ambassador (ret.) Kathleen Stephens, President and CEO of Korea Economic Institute of America, for “The U.S.-South Korea Alliance: Linchpin Under Stress?” Details

World Affairs Council of Atlanta hosts Davy Young, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Analytica, for “Risks and Opportunities in 2020.” Details

World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth hosts two-time Pulitzer Prize Winner John Carreyrou to discuss his book, Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup. Details

WorldOregon hosts associate professor Joshua Eastin, Portland State University, for “Great Decisions: The Philippines and the U.S.” Details

Saturday 2/1

World Affairs Council of Greater Hampton Roads hosts professor Andrew Nolte, Regent University, for “Great Decisions: Red Sea Security.” Details
WACA's National Speaker Database Needs You!
We have recently debuted WACA's Speaker Database 2.0. In this new iteration, we have expanded our list of speakers and made it easier than ever for you, as Council staff and board members, to engage with it. We want your speakers! Please submit your speakers through the " Submit Your Speakers" button on our website.

You need to have an account through our website in order to view and interact with the database and submit your speakers. To check if you have an account, please visit your Council Member page on the WACA website and see if you are listed as a staff or board member. If you are not, you will not be able to interact with the database yet.

If you do not have an account or are having issues accessing the website and/or the Speaker Database, please email Rachel Pastor.
Travel the World With WAC Philadelphia

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

2020 travel schedule includes trips to: 

  • Ambassador Mark Johnson, former Vice Chair, World Affairs Councils of America, Egypt & the Eternal Nile: January 28-February 11, 2020
  • Ambassador Heather Hodges, President and Ambassador in Residence, Cleveland Council on World Affairs, Barcelona: April 18-26, 2020
  • Lise Falskow, President & CEO, Alaska World Affairs Council, Scottish Isles and Norwegian Fjords: May 16-24, 2020
  • Dr. Pamela Zeiser, Education Liaison, World Affairs Council of Jacksonville, Berlin Uncovered: May 24-31, 2020
  • Jim Falk, President & CEO, World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth, Arctic Expedition: Voyage Under the Midnight Sun: June 9-19, 2020
  • Ljubomir (LJ) Stambuk, President & CEO, World Affairs Council of Charlotte, Sailing Ancient Trade Routes: Helsinki to Copenhagen: June 27-July 9, 2020
  • Craig Snyder, President & CEO, World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, Ukraine Seminar: July 5-16, 2020
  • Mimi Gregory, Vice President and Program Chairman, Naples Council on World Affairs, Cruising the Adriatic and Aegean Seas: September 9-17, 2020
  • Bill Clifford, President & CEO, World Affairs Councils of America, Ancient Greece Odyssey: October 22-30, 2020
  • Don Samford, Chairman of the Education Outreach and Program Committees, Peoria Area World Affairs Council, Legendary Turkey: October 2-16, 2020
  • Derrick Olsen, President, WorldOregon, Romance of the Douro River: October 13-24, 2020

Contact  www.wacphila.org/travel   or call  800-942-5004 , ext.  209  or  217 .
1010 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 516, Washington, DC 20005