March 1, 2021
March Cover to Cover; Best Practices; Star Speakers; Council Highlights; and more!
March Cover to Cover

Isolationism: A History of America's Efforts to Shield Itself From the World
Wednesday, March 3 | Live Online
2:00 - 3:00 PM ET
WACA's March Cover to Cover presents Charles Kupchan, author of Isolationism: A History of America’s Efforts to Shield Itself From the World and Professor of International Affairs at Georgetown University, and Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

In this definitive and magisterial analysis—the first book to tell the fascinating story of isolationism across the arc of American history—Charles Kupchan explores the enduring connection between the isolationist impulse and the American experience. He also refurbishes isolationism’s reputation, arguing that it constituted dangerous delusion during the 1930s, but afforded the nation clear strategic advantages during its ascent.
WACA 2021 Best Practices

Databases for Councils: Small Group Discussions
Thursday, March 11 | Live Online
3:00 - 4:00 PM ET
This small group session follows the Feb. 25 "Database Solutions for Councils" session. These discussions will take a deeper look into how databases can provide solutions to your Councils most critical problems. You can take a general approach to databases by selecting General Breakouts: Basic, Intermediate, or Advanced. Or, if you want to take a deeper-dive into a specific database system, you can select from Specific Breakouts: Salesforce, Network for Good, or Wild Apricot.

If you missed the Feb. 25 session, you're still welcome to join! You are encouraged to review last week's session by visiting the "Best Practice Meetings" webpage on WACA's Members Only site.
Note: Council Members Only! Open to one attendee per Council (CEO or Development Director).
Star Speakers This Week
Admiral Joseph Prueher
Fmr. U.S. Ambassador to China 
Fiona Hill
Senior Fellow, Brookings
Savita Subramanian
Head of U.S. Equity Strategy BofA Global Research
Amb. Taranjit Singh Sandhu
Ambassador of India to the U.S.
Sharon Nazarian
SVP of Int'l Affairs, ADL
Russell Hsiao
Ex. Dir., Global Taiwan Institute
DOS Office of Public Liaison Seeks Virtual Event Partners
The U.S. Department of State’s Office of Public Liaison connects the Department’s foreign policy experts with domestic audiences across the country to facilitate dialogue on foreign policy priorities and the importance of diplomacy.

Busy planning 2021 outreach events, the Office of Public Liaison is looking to connect with several World Affairs Councils across the country to schedule virtual speaker programs. Last year, over 10 virtual WAC programs took place - featuring speakers such as the Ambassador-at-large for Global Women's Issues and the Acting Special Representative for Global Partnerships, as well as speakers on U.S.-China relations and more. Interested Councils may contact Irina Karmanova at karmanovaI@state.gov.
AWQ National Competition
The Carlos and Malú Alvarez 2020-2021 Academic WorldQuest National Competition is scheduled to be held virtually on April 16-17, 2021.

AWQ Administrators
The National Competition will utilize MyQuiz.org and Zoom breakout rooms. More technical details on the National Competition format to be announced.

2021 New Guideline!
Due to the AWQ National Competition being virtual in 2021 and endeavoring to be as inclusive as possible, each Council may bring up to three teams to the National Competition - whether you have a local competition or not. Even if your Council joins another Council's competition remotely, each Council may bring up to three teams to WACA's virtual National Competition in April.

If you have questions about AWQ, please email Laura Duncan at lduncan@worldaffairscouncils.org.
Monday 3/1

Montana World Affairs Council hosts Ambassador Pamela Spratlen (ret.) for “Country in Focus: Uzbekistan.” 

Tuesday 3/2

World Affairs Council of Greater Hampton Roads hosts Admiral Joseph Prueher, Senior Advisor to the Stanford-Harvard Preventive Defense Project, for “China and the Way Forward.” 

Montana World Affairs Council hosts Ambassador Hesham Youssef, Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace, for “Exploring Peace in a World of Conflict.” 
 
World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth hosts author David Michaelis to discuss his book Eleanor.  
 
World Affairs Council of Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky hosts Hiroyuki Akita, Commentator for Nikkei, and Jacob Schlesinger, Senior Correspondent at the Wall Street Journal, for “The Impact on Japan of Geo-strategic Challenges in Asia: Two Perspectives.” 
 
World Affairs Council of Austin hosts Carlos Balderas, Global Supply Manager and HUB Coordinator for Tesla, for “Kozmetsky Forum on Developing a Diverse Internship Portfolio.” 
 
Cleveland Council on World Affairs hosts Professor Andrew Barnes, Kent University, and Regina Smyth, Indiana University, for “Happy Dog Takes on the World: Russia, Putin, and the Pro-Democracy Movement.” 
 
World Affairs Council of Connecticut hosts Professor Supriya Garikipati, University of Liverpool, and Lynn Ricci, CEO of the Hospital for Special Care in CT, for “International Women’s Day: Leadership Through Crisis.” 
 
World Affairs Council of Atlanta hosts Ambassador Capricia Marshall, Founder of Global Engagement Strategies, for “The Power of Diplomacy: Why Etiquette Matters.” 

World Affairs Council Upstate hosts “Around the World in 80 Minutes.” 

Wednesday 3/3

World Affairs Council of Seattle hosts Fiona Hill, Senior Fellow at Brookings, for “The Future of the U.S.- Russia Relationship.” 
 
World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth hosts author Joby Warrick to discuss his book Red Line: The Unraveling of Syria and America’s Race to Destroy the Most Dangerous Arsenal in the World. 
 
World Affairs Council of Connecticut hosts Seamus Hughes, Deputy Director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, for “The Domestic Extremist Threat.” 
 
World Affairs Council of Central Illinois hosts Ben Buchanan, Director of the CyberAI Project at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, for “The Hacker and the State.” 
 
International Relations Council (Kansas City) hosts Jeffrey Brown, Head of Technology Policy for the Bertelsmann Foundation, for “Covid, Technology, and the Future of Work.” 
 
World Affairs Council of Charlotte hosts Savita Subramanian, Head of U.S. Equity and Quantitative Strategy at BofA Global Research, for “International Women’s Day 2021 – Equality for Women Drives Global Economic Impact and Improves ROE.” 
 
Columbia World Affairs Council hosts Ali Demirdas, Foreign Policy Expert on Turkish foreihign policy, for “Understanding the Conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean.” 
 
World Affairs Council of San Antonio hosts a panel of experts for “Peace Corps Panel Discussion.” 
  
Thursday 3/4

Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall hosts Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Ambassador of India to the U.S., for “A Conversation with India’s Ambassador to the United States.” 

World Affairs Council of Greater Houston hosts Sharon Nazarian, Senior Vice President of International Affairs at the Anti-Defamation League, for “The Rise of Antisemitism Around the World.”
 
World Affairs Council of New Jersey hosts Professor Alan Pino, Texas A&M University, for “Fragile States and Flashpoints: A Conversation about the Middle East.” 
 
Santa Fe Council on International Relations hosts authors John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge to discuss their book The Wake-Up Call: Why the Pandemic Has Exposed the Weakness of the West, and How to Fix It.  
 
World Affairs Council of Kentucky and So. Indiana hosts Joseph Losavio, specialist in infrastructure and urban development at the World Economic Forum, for “Behind the Scenes of Davos 2021.” 
 
World Affairs Council of St. Louis hosts Guillaume Lacroix, French Consul General to the Midwest, for “France’s Foreign Policy and Influence in the Midwest.” 

World Affairs Council of Tacoma hosts Mary Karam McKey, Senior Director of Corporate and Foundation Programs for the Institute of International Education, and Julie Baer, Research Specialist at IIE, for “WACT Global Impact: International Students - Diversity and Dollars.”  

World Affairs Council Upstate hosts “Armchair Travel: Journey to Undiscovered North America.” 
 
World Affairs Council of San Antonio hosts a panel of experts for “U.S.-Poland Relations.” 

Friday 3/5

World Affairs Council of Greater Houston hosts Adrian Garcia, Harris County’s Intergovernmental & Global Affairs Commissioner, for “Global Connections.” 
 
World Affairs Council of Hilton Head hosts Russell Hsiao, Executive Director of GTI, for “Taiwan: Cross-Strait Relations Beyond 2020.” 
 
Peoria Area World Affairs Council hosts Professor Kenton Clymer, Northern Illinois University, for “Myanmar: A Military Junta Redux.”  
 
International Relations Council (Kansas City) hosts Dr. Lee Cummings, Transplant Physician, for “Living and Working Abroad: America.” 

Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall hosts a film screening of Stray. 

Saturday 3/6

World Affairs Council of Austin hosts a panel of experts for “Promoting US-Japan Exchange during COVID and Beyond.” 

Sunday 3/7

Global Minnesota hosts “Urban Expedition Virtual: Spain.”