May 18, 2020
WACA Weekly
'CxC: Amplified' - Putting the World Back Together Ideas Summit; KNOW NOW on Latin America; Star Speakers at Councils; WorldQuest: A Global Pop Trivia Challenge; Congratulations to WACA's Rachel Pastor; Council of the Month; USIP's Nancy Lindborg Virtual Keynote; and more Council Highlights!
Putting the World Back Together
An ideas summit presented by World Affairs Councils nationwide
Watch the Highlights Video Package!
To view the full CxC Summit recordings, check out WACA's  YouTube page here .
(We will be adding more session videos as we receive them from Councils.)
The CxC: Amplified ' Putting the World Back Together '  Ideas Summit marked the first time Councils across the country gathered virtually for a special, inclusive Ideas Summit, under a new brand: CxC: Amplified. Our collective programming - virtual events, conversations, debates, and engagement opportunities - on one platform aimed to meet this historic moment with unity, leadership, and dialogue.

We'd love your feedback! Please fill out this  short survey  to tell us your comments and ideas about the content and operations of the Summit. We ask that you take 5-10 minutes to submit the survey by Sunday, May 24
For more stats and highlights, read the full recap newsletter here!
KNOW NOW: Amb. Luis Moreno on U.S.-Latin America Relations - May 21
Register now for WACA's KNOW NOW conference call Thursday, May 21, at 2:00-2:30 PM ET, featuring Ambassador Luis Moreno, former U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica, on U.S.-Latin America relations. Ambassador Moreno will be in conversation with Armen Babajanian, Executive Director of the World Affairs Council of San Antonio.

U.S. interest in Latin America has grown significantly over the years and political, socio-economic, and cultural factors have influenced the conduct of American diplomacy in the region. What does the future hold for U.S.-Latin America relations and what impact will these relationships have on their respective economies and political structures? Join Ambassador Moreno and Armen Babajanian for an in depth look into Latin America, a region comprised of more than 30 countries with varying economies, leadership styles, and roles in the international arena.
Cover to Cover on Podcast

Listen now as Dr. Nina Ansary, UN Women Global Champion for Innovation and Visiting Fellow at The London School of Economics Centre for Women, Peace & Security, discusses her book Anonymous Is a Woman: A Global Chronicle of Gender Inequality.
Star Speakers This Week on Councils' Virtual Programming
Diane Swonk
Chief Economist
Grant Thornton, LLP
Mary Streett
Senior Vice President
U.S. Communications and External Affairs, BP
Amb. (ret.) Nicholas Burns
Professor of the Practice
Harvard Kennedy School
Nicole Bibbins Sedaca
Fellow, Human Freedom Initiative
George W. Bush Institute
Michael Ryan
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, European/NATO Policy

Amb. (ret.) Bonnie Jenkins
Founder and Pres., Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security, and Conflict Transformation
*Scroll down to the Council Highlights section to view all programs from Councils this week!
WorldQuest: A Global Pop Trivia Challenge - Register to Play Today!
The World Affairs Councils of America, in conjunction with the World Affairs Council of New Hampshire and other Councils across the country, hosted the pilot event for  WorldQuest: A Global Pop Trivia Challenge during last week's CxC: Amplified Summit! WorldQuest: A Global Pop Trivia Challenge is a five-week, nationwide trivia competition beginning the week of  May 18 and ending the week of  June 15.

Each participating local Council will host a local Global Pop Trivia game once a week with questions from the national trivia bank developed by WAC New Hampshire and partnering Councils.  All Councils will use the same trivia questions each week. After the 4-week regular season ends, the two top persons or teams with the most points over that time period will proceed to the online National Competition to compete against the champions of each participating Council from across the country during the week of  June 15. One lucky winner will get a free ticket to the  WACA 2020 National Conference in Washington, DC. ( Teams, please note: there will be only one free ticket.)

All Councils are welcomed and encouraged to host local competitions, and all you have to do is contribute 20 questions to the national Global Pop Trivia question bank. A new set of 40 questions will be released every week from the question bank for participating Councils all around the country. Councils will need a virtual video platform to host the local competition and a (free) account with  MyQuiz. 

Click   here to view a How-To Guide  on hosting local trivia online competitions.  Email  Tim Horgan, Executive Director of the  World Affairs Council of New Hampshire, at  thorgan@wacnh.org for any questions about hosting a local competition and to secure your Council's participation.
Congratulations to WACA's Rachel Pastor
WACA Communications and Marketing Associate Rachel Pastor, who marked her one-year anniversary with the National Office on April 4, celebrated a second milestone this past weekend. Rachel graduated with her Master of Arts in International Affairs degree from The George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs. Join us in congratulating her on managing both work and studies brilliantly - especially these last few difficult months. Way to go Rachel!
 
As the public move forward with an abundance of caution and safety measures in mind, the Council wants to ensure CTWAC Model UN delegates have access to the same great programs they had in store for the in-person Institute this year. That is why WAC Connecticut has decided to transition its Model UN Institute to a virtual platform. This Virtual Institute is a chance to hone student’s Model UN skills, and put those skills into practice during the culminating simulation at the end of the week.
WACA 2020 Engage America Grant Awardees!
Korea Economic Institute Webinar on Korean Baseball in America
The Korea Economic Institute, a WACA partner, will host a livestream event on Thursday, May 21, at 9:00 AM ET on " Korean Baseball Comes to Bat in America" The webinar will feature Daniel Kim, DKTV & Sports Magazine; Yeirang Lee, Leeco Sports Agency; Mark Lippert; former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea; and Troy Stangarone, Senior Director and Fellow at KEI. Register here.

While most of the world’s sporting leagues remain on hold due to COVID-19, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) opened its 2020 season on May 5. Although KBO was founded in 1982 and a number of current and former major leaguers have played in the league, many Americans are watching the Lotte Giants, Doosan Bears, Samsung Lions, and other KBO teams for the first time with ESPN airing the games live. What is the impact of baseball on the U.S.-ROK people to people ties, what teams should you know about, who are the key players, what are the economics of this wildly popular sport on the Peninsula, and how has COVID-19 affected the game in South Korea?
WACA Presents USIP President Lindborg in Special Program - May 28

Nancy Lindborg , President and CEO of the  United States Institute of Peace , will deliver a virtual keynote address to the Council Network and all Academic WorldQuest students and teachers on  Thursday, May 28, at 3:00 PM ET .

In light of the current pandemic and the unfortunate but necessary cancelation of the  Carlos and Malú Alvarez 2020 Academic WorldQuest National Competition , Nancy will address the students and teachers along with the national audience. She will explore the unprecedented threats the coronavirus poses to fragile states and the important opportunities the pandemic offers to help fragile states recover better. A question-and-answer session will follow Nancy's remarks.
Monday 5/18  

World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth hosts Diane Swonk, Chief Economist at Grant Thornton LLP, for “ The Economy: Where Do We Go from Here?” 

World Affairs Council of Charlotte hosts Kathryn Crockart, Diplomat in Residence for the Mid-Atlantic Region, for “ So You Want to Be a Diplomat?”  

Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall hosts a panel of experts for “ LA County COVID-19 Response.” 

Tuesday 5/19 

World Affairs Council of Kentucky and Southern Indiana hosts Judge Angela McCormick-Bisig, Judge on the Jefferson Circuit Court, and Bartosz Pilitowski, Founder and CEO of Court Watch Poland, for “ Social Distancing and the Courts.” 

World Affairs Council of New Hampshire hosts Tom Hart, North American Executive Director of ONE, for “ The ONE World Campaign: The Need for a Global Pandemic Response Plan.” 

World Affairs Council of Atlanta hosts Mary Streett, Senior Vice President of U.S. Communications & External Affairs at BP, for “ What Do Negative Oil Prices Mean?”  

World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth hosts Jonathan Karl, Chief White House Correspondent for ABC News, for “ Front Row at the Trump Show.” 

Santa Fe Council on International Relations hosts Emile Nakhleh, Research Professor and Coordinator of National Security Programs at the University of New Mexico, and Todd Greentree, U.S. Navy Brigade Political Advisor in Afghanistan, for “ Coronavirus in the Middle East.” 

Montana World Affairs Council hosts Udo Fluck, Director of Global and Cultural Affairs for the City of Missoula, for “ Connect Montana.”  

WorldBoston hosts a panel of experts for “ A Discussion With Fulbright Scholars: The Legacies of Two New England Trailblazers.”  

WorldOregon hosts a panel of experts for “ Navigating International Trade & Export in the Time of COVID-19.” 

Wednesday 5/20  

Montana World Affairs Council hosts trauma psychologist Fernanda Menna Barreto Krum, Co-Founder of Imagine Nation Brewing Co., for “ Connect Montana.” 

Upstate International hosts David Edwards, Jr., President and CEO of the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport District, and Elizabeth Feather, Director of Research & Strategic Initiatives for the Upstate SC Alliance, for “ Flight Changed the World: Will COVID-19 Change the Way We Travel?” 

Global Minnesota hosts Margaret Myers, Director of the Asia & Latin America Program at the Inter-American Dialogue, for “ China’s Road Into Latin America.” 

World Affairs Council of Greater Houston hosts John Gans, Director of Communications and Research at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perry World House Global Policy Center, for “ White House Warriors: Who Really Creates and Controls U.S. Foreign Policy?”  

World Affairs Council of Atlanta hosts Fred Hochberg, former Chairman and President of the Export-Import Bank of the U.S., for “ Trade Is Not a Four-Letter Word.”  

World Affairs (Northern California) hosts Jessica Lee, Senior Research Fellow at the Quincy Institute, for “ International Career Mentor Webinar.” 

World Affairs Council of Maine hosts Andrea Stanley Hester, Vice President of the World Affairs Council of Maine and the Harvard Club in Maine, for “ Great Decisions: China’s Road Into Latin America.” 

World Affairs Council of Greater Reading hosts professor Spencer Stober, Alvernia University, for “ Climate Change.” 

World Affairs (Northern California) hosts professor Halil Yenigun, Stanford University, for “ The Erosion of Turkish Democracy.” 

World Affairs Council of Connecticut hosts professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Yale School of Management, for " Private Sector Stepping Up."

San Diego World Affairs Council hosts Kacie Keiko Miura, Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, for “ China’s Challenges in a Post-COVID World.” 

World Affairs (Northern California) hosts a panel of experts for “ Technology and Privacy in the Time of COVID-19.” 

Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall hosts a panel of experts for “ Hong Kong on the Brink.” 

Foreign Policy Association hosts a panel of experts for “ Competition or Cooperation: What’s on the Horizon of International Relations?” 

WorldOregon hosts a panel of experts for “ Higher Education, Global Exchange, and COVID-19.” 

World Affairs Council of Hilton Head hosts a panel of experts for “ Voices in the Pandemic: COVID-19 and Freedom of Expression in the Americas.” 

World Affairs Council of Seattle hosts a panel of experts for “ The Public Health Response to COVID-19 in Zhejiang Province and Washington State.”  

Thursday 5/21 

World Affairs Council of Philadelphia hosts Ambassador (ret.) Nicholas Burns, Professor at Harvard University, for “ How to Lead in the Time of Pandemic.” 

World Affairs Council of Greater Hampton Roads hosts Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Michael Ryan for “ NATO’s Capabilities, Challenges, and Response to COVID-19.” 

World Affairs (Northern California) hosts Lovely Umayam, Founder of Bombshelltoe, for “ International Career Mentor Webinar.” 

Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall hosts Gary Reischel, Founder of Qiming Venture Partners, for “ A Race to Innovate.” 

International Relations Council (Kansas City) hosts Marc Chandler, Managing Partner and Chief Market Strategist for Bannockburn Global Forex, LLC, for “ The Global Economy: What Can We Reasonably Expect?” 

World Affairs Council of Kentucky and Southern Indiana hosts Nicole Bibbins Sedaca, Fellow in the Human Freedom Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute, and Lindsay Lloyd, Bradford M. Freeman
Director of the Human Freedom Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute, for “ Choosing Freedom in the Time of COVID-19.” 

Colorado Springs World Affairs Council hosts Ambassador (ret.) Gary Grappo, Distinguished Fellow at the Center for Middle East Studies at the Korbel School for International Studies, for “ Exit or Immersion: The Future of America’s Presence in the Persian Gulf Amidst Feuding Regional Powers.” 

Montana World Affairs Council hosts Marja Unkuri-Chaudhry, Associate Director of the Global Engagement Office at the University of Montana, for “ Connect Montana.” 

Indiana Council on World Affairs hosts Edward Fishman, Adjunct Fellow at the Center for a New American Security, for “ The World Order Is Dead. Here’s How to Build a New One for a Post-Coronavirus Era.” 

Santa Fe Council on International Relations hosts Ko-Yung Tung, former General Counsel of the World Bank, for “ China’s Belt and Road Initiative.” 

International Relations Council (Kansas City) hosts Emir Yazici, Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Missouri, for “ Secession Movements.” 

World Affairs Council of Sonoma County hosts Diann Kitamura, Santa Rosa Schools Superintendent, for “ Coming Up Strong: How Santa Rosa Schools Face the Pandemic.” 

World Affairs Council of Charlotte hosts professor Graham Allison, Harvard University, for “ COVID-19 and the China Challenge: Could the U.S. and China Be ‘Rivalry Partners’?” 

International Affairs Forum (Traverse City) hosts professor James McClintock, University of Alabama, for “ From Penguins to Plankton.” 

Los Angeles World Affair Council & Town Hall hosts professor Dan Schnur, University of Southern California, for “ Politics in the Time of Coronavirus.” 

Foreign Policy Association hosts a panel of experts for “ How Are Government’s Encouraging Competitiveness in Artificial Intelligence?”  

WorldDenver hosts a panel of experts for “ COVID-19 Across the Globe.” 

Friday 5/22 

World Affairs Council of Seattle hosts Ambassador (ret.) Bonnie Jenkins, Founder and President of Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security, and Conflict Transformation, for “ Global Health Security and COVID-19.” 

International Relations Council (Kansas City) hosts Kevin Holland, Vice President of Global Solutions at Lockton Companies, for “ Global Risk Management.”  

World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth hosts professor Ben Buchanan, Georgetown University, for his book The Hacker and the State: Cyber Attacks and the New Normal of Geopolitics
The World Affairs Councils of America is an independent, nonpartisan organization dedicated to engaging the public and leading global voices to better understand the world, America’s international role, and the policy choices that impact our daily lives and our future.

Your generous contributions will strengthen our capacity to support the World Affairs Council Network through educational and civic initiatives - any amount helps.

Your donation goes to:

  • Academic WorldQuest Endowment
  • Our flagship youth education program. We are 23% away from achieving our $1M goal!
  • New Horizons Councils Fund
  • Any monies donated to this fund are set aside only for World Affairs Councils' use
  • New Horizons General Operations
  • Help support WACA carry out its educational mission with initiatives such as the National Conference, Cover to Cover and KNOW NOW monthly conference calls, the Engage America Speaker Series, and general office operations

You can give in one of several ways:

  • Pay with your credit card via the donation buttons at the bottom of this page
  • Mail a check to the WACA National Office (1010 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 516, Washington, DC 20005)
  • Make a gift of appreciated stock
  • Request a distribution from your Donor Advised Fund
  • Check with your employer to see if they will match your gift!

With the passing of the CARES Act, most individual taxpayers will become eligible for significant tax benefits for charitable contributions made this year. Two of these benefits will be:

  • A $300 Above-the-Line Charitable deduction, meaning that individuals who do not itemize their deductions will be eligible to claim up to $300 of charitable deductions in 2020, on top of the standard deduction
  • Modified Limitations on Cash Charitable Contributions - for 2020, the 60% AGI limitation on cash contributions to 501(c)(3) organizations, such as WACA, is suspended

Click on the categories below to make a donation and view more information about the benefits of your contribution. We thank you for your support!
Access Council Virtual Programming via WACA's Members-Only Portal
WACA is busy preparing a number of additional resources for the Members-Only section! WACA strives to provide Councils with easy access to tools, guidelines, events, and more that add value to our Members both personally and professionally, to our Councils' overall operations, and to the Network as a whole. This is a top priority for the National Office, especially during the COVID-19 crisis. That is why we've added two resource sections dedicated to COVID-19 related information and digital programming available to the public by Councils.

The goal is to make the Members-Only section a one-stop shop for all Council needs. However, these sections are only as good as the information contained within, so we are calling on all Councils to please submit any documentation per the categories below, or any other information helpful to the Network.

The Members-Only section is a private benefit for our Council Members. Please contact Rachel Pastor at rpastor@worldaffairscouncils.org for login details and account creation.
COVID-19 Updates & Tracker

Health & Wellness

Educator Resources
  • Ohio Council for the Social Studies Resource Document -- Bill Hilt, President/CEO, WAC Northwest Ohio
  • To help alleviate some of concerns with distance learning and explaining the current health crisis, the list is a compilation of K-12 Social Studies lessons, activities, and resources. It also has guidelines for explaining COVID-19 to young people.
  • Zoom CEO announcement of free platforms for K-12 schools

WACA Updates: Messages from President and CEO Bill Clifford

*To view Council Member Resources on the WACA website, you must be a Council leader, staff, or board member and have an account

Please contact Rachel Pastor at rpastor@worldaffairscouncils.org if you don't have an account.
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.