Can You Help? - Letter from the COO; 2019 Conference Roundup; WACA's Newest Board Member: Mimi Burke; Council of the Month: Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy; Convening Power of the WACA Network; Dec.
Cover to Cover
: Angela Stent & Jill Dougherty on Putin's World; and Council Jobs & News
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Dear Council Leaders, Supporters, and Friends:
WACA is back in the office today after a few days off for the Thanksgiving holiday. We were grateful to be with our loved ones and are grateful, day in and day out, to serve the national World Affairs Council Network. Each of us feels that our collective work around the nation is more important than ever as global bonds turn tenuous and foreign policy seems jeopardized.
We are proud to have hosted you at our annual
National Conference a few weeks ago and thank all who contributed to its success. Hosting the Conference and reading the news each day reinforces my long-held notions that conversation is a path to progress, that cross-cultural exchange is the key to our deeply-connected globe, and that smart, bipartisan policy making is the mechanism that makes our planet a better place for all inhabitants.
The World Affairs Councils of America remains deeply committed to these principles and supporting the World Affairs Council Network through educational and civic initiatives. Can you join us in supporting these efforts? Your generous contributions will strengthen our capacity to:
- Provide the Academic WorldQuest National Competition, our annual high school student international affairs quiz bowl, held every April in Washington, DC. Over 5,000 students and their teachers use the curriculum and competition questions we create from scratch each year.
- Donate to WACA’s Academic WorldQuest Endowment. We are 23% away from achieving our goal of $1 million!
- Support our Councils Fund, a category of WACA’s New Horizons fundraising campaign. Any monies donated to this fund is set aside only for World Affairs Councils’ use.
- WACA hasn’t purchased new staff computers in over 5 years, and our equipment is slow and constantly crashes. We need 3 new staff computers to be more efficient in our work so we can serve you better.
- The WACA office relocated in August of this year after two years of planning and organizing. We’re in need of new staff office chairs and a few other pieces of office furniture.
Please help us as we endeavor to strengthen the Network and contribute, in whatever way we're able, to making the world a better place. Any amount helps.
If you are able, please make a donation on our
website, call me at 202-833-4557, or
email me.
In this season of appreciation, I have deep gratitude for each of you.
Thank you.
Wishing you a holiday season filled with peace and joy,
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Liz Brailsford, Chief Operating Officer
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Complete the Follow-Up Survey -
We Welcome Your Feedback!
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Thank you to all those who attended the 2019 National Conference earlier this month. We would love to hear your feedback, comments, and suggestions. Please fill out the
survey link - it should take you no longer than 10-15 minutes. We value your experiences, and your comments and recommendations will help us plan the 2020 National Conference.
The
survey will close automatically at
11:55 pm ET on Fri., December 6.
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Watch the Highlights Reel
Click on the below video to view some of the best moments from the 2019 National Conference!
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55
Councils Represented
32
Student Scholarship Recipients
26
Foreign Dignitaries
23
Speakers
15 Sponsors
6 Think Tank Partners
3 Awards Presented
2 Former U.S. Secretaries
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Introducing WACA's Newest Board Member - Mimi Burke
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WACA is pleased to announce that
Mimi Burke, Policy Advisor at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP, has joined the WACA network as a National Board Member. Mimi works with global Fortune 100 companies to advise on market access, emerging initiatives, and international government issues. Mimi brings more than 25 years of experience working with a range of ambassadors, influential stakeholders, and Washington, DC's international community, and leverages over two decades of experience working in the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, DC.
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Council of the Month: Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy
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In November, UCCD hosted its first-ever local
Academic WorldQuest competition, where the winning team will join other outstanding high school students for WACA's National Competition in April 2020 – UCCD is thrilled to finally compete in this prestigious event.
Other highlights include welcoming more than 400 international visitors and 120 Fulbright students in Utah, hosting the Global Ties U.S.
Diplomacy Begins Here Regional Summit, and their annual fundraising event,
Vivaldi by Candlelight, coming up this month. What a year for citizen diplomacy in the state of Utah!
Stay tuned throughout December to learn more about all the work UCCD does under the leadership of Executive Director
Felecia Maxfield-Barrett and her amazingly talented
staff.
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Convening Power of the WACA Network This Week
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Rana Foroohar
Global Business Columnist, Financial Times
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Ambassador (ret.) W. Robert Pearson
Nonresident Scholar, The Middle East Institute
Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey
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Ambassador (ret.) Samantha Power
Author
Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN
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Jung Pak
SK-Korea Fdn. Chair and Sr. Fellow, Brookings
Former CIA Analyst
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December
Cover to Cover
:
Putin's World and Russia's Role
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Register now for WACA's
Cover to Cover conference call on
Thursday, December 12, at 2:00-2:30 PM ET, featuring
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, on Stent's recent book,
Putin's World: Russia Against the West and with the Rest
We all now live in a paranoid and polarized world of Putin's making, and the Russian leader, through guile and disruption, has resurrected Russia's status as a force to be reckoned with. Stent helps Americans understand how and why the post-Cold War era has given way to a new, more dangerous world, one in which Russia poses a challenge to the U.S. in every corner of the globe -- and one in which Russia has become a toxic and divisive subject in U.S. politics. Join WACA for a conversation with Angela Stent and Jill Dougherty about Russia's role on the global stage.
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Manager of Citizen Diplomacy Programs is an outstanding opportunity for a professional seeking to grow a career in citizen diplomacy and nonprofit management with an international focus. The role includes creating and tracking proposals, coordinating programming visits, and interfacing with visitors and national programming partners in Washington, DC.
Apply here.
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The Corporate Relations Officer will utilize experience in corporate development, sales or corporate fundraising, and knowledge and passion for global issues and current events to connect Minnesota’s global business community with the mission and programs of Global Minnesota.
Apply here.
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World Affairs Council of Harrisburg
International Institute of Buffalo
Pacific & Asian Affairs Council
Alabama World Affairs Council
Columbia World Affairs Council
World Affairs Council of St. Louis
Global Minnesota
World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh
World Affairs Council of Kentucky and Southern Indiana
Santa Fe Council on International Relations
World Affairs Council of Philadelphia
World Affairs Council of San Antonio
World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth
World Affairs Council of Connecticut
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WACA's National Speaker Database Needs You!
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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.
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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!
2019 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
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World Affairs Councils of America | 202-833-4557
1010 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 516, Washington, DC 20005
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