Dear Colleagues, Supporters, and Friends:

I hope you’ve had an enjoyable summer and a restorative Labor Day holiday weekend.

It delighted me to learn that the Listening Tour of WACA stakeholders, conducted by WACA Board members under the direction of IRC Executive Director Matthew Hughes, yielded more than 75 detailed conversations, chock full of recommendations, constructive criticism, narrative testimonials and lots of data. We will share outcomes in the coming weeks. Thank you for advising the Board on how we can prepare to deploy our endowment to enhance WACA operations to serve you better!

Next in the survey pipeline is outreach from the Search Committee to select the next president and CEO of WACA. Kim McCleary Blue, CEO of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall, is serving as chair of stellar committee. The process is under way to solicit Council leaders’ thoughts on the job itself, necessary qualities and qualifications, and potential candidates. Contact WACASearch@gmail.com with any questions and complete your survey by Friday, September 9.

Meanwhile, my team and I are focused on launching the Carlos & Malu Alvarez 2022-2023 Academic WorldQuest High School Program next week and organizing the tenth WACA National Conference of my presidency in November.

I look forward to seeing you in person in DC for a terrific lineup of distinguished speakers, unparalleled networking with colleagues, and a final toast from me in my official capacity to you. Join us!

Before then, you can take advantage of our September slate of free virtual programs from WACA: Embassy Row Live! With the Swedish Ambassador (9/10); Cover to Cover with author David Ottaway on Saudi Crown Prince MBS (9/20); and Best Practices on Academic WorldQuest moderated by WACA’s Kaela Rider. Please share these opportunities with your members and personal networks.

Lots to keep you busy, so please stay well and tune in!

Thank you,

President and CEO

Early Bird Discounts are good through Friday, September 9

The WACA Board has announced that 25 scholarships will be provided to undergraduate students to attend the 2022 National Conference: Navigating a Fractured World. Councils are welcome to solicit applications from today and nominate one scholarship candidate.

The scholarship includes $1,000 per undergraduate student, to be used towards travel, lodging, and/or incidentals, plus complimentary registration. For details about eligibility, applications, and the nomination process please click here. Applications are due by Friday, September 30.

UN Chief of Intergovernmental Policy & Review

Environmental Sciences & Engineering, UNC

World-renowned Chinese Opera Artist

Recipient of the 2019 Golden Panda

Author

Founder/CEO of Roots of Peace

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine

Senior Fellow in Arms Control, Brookings

WACA is pleased to honor the World Affairs Council of the Desert as its September 2022 Council of the Month!

WAC Desert has dedicated itself over the past 17 years to supporting the Academic WorldQuest locally in the community, as detailed in the booklet, "Follow the Quest: A Peek Inside Academic Worldquest," by Priscilla Porter. Now available for purchase, Quest features stories of previous and current AWQ high school students who have benefited from the AWQ Competition.

Another WAC Desert initiative, the Council's AWQ Endowment Fund, has raised more than $86,000 in donations. The fund helps ensure the Council's Academic WorldQuest program will continue to engage students for years to come.

In partnership with WACA, WorldQuest Weekly is produced by the Tennessee World Affairs Council, which offers customized subscriptions to the quiz for Council members. Most of the questions are drawn from both WACA's Weekly World News Update, and a curated news Twitter feed (@TNWAC). Contact pat@tnwac.orgor visit tnwac.org/quiz for details.

Last week's winners! (10/10)! John (Annapolis, MD), David (Sarasota, FL) Kent (Dallas, TX).

Join WACA Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 2:00-3:00 PM ET to hear her excellency, Karin Olofsdotter, Ambassador of Sweden to the U.S., discuss the Russian-Ukraine conflict; their accession into NATO; Swedish-U.S. trade relations; workforce development; green innovation, and more. The conversation and Q&A session are open to our audience of Council members across the U.S., international partners, and the public at large. WACA President and CEO Bill Clifford will moderate the program.

Ambassador Karin Olofsdotter has been serving as the Ambassador of Sweden to the United States since 2017, being the first female to take up this posting. Ambassador Olofsdotter has long been a strong advocate for Swedish trade and diplomatic relations with the United States. Trade and economic growth remain top priorities for the Ambassador, along with defense cooperation, public diplomacy, and strong collaboration with the international community.

Join IRC (Kansas City) on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 12:00 PM CT, for launch of "Global Motivations". This new virtual series will paint a portrait of six world powers, their internal and external drivers, their evolving role in the community of nations, and what this means for the rest of the world. Erik Brattberg, SVP in the Europe practice of Albright Stonebridge Group is IRC's first featured speaker to look at the rebalance of power in Europe, and globally.

Members of other World Affairs Councils: Email Evan Verploegh for free access to the series!

The World Affairs Councils of America, is pleased to bring you this September's Cover to Cover webinar featuring author David Ottaway on Tuesday, Sept. 20, at 2:00-3:00 PM ET.

In the aftermath of President Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia in July, Ottaway's book, Mohammed bin Salman: The Icarus of Saudi Arabia? allows us to ask ourselves: Who is MBS and how has he shaped Saudi-U.S. relations?.

David B. Ottaway worked 35 years for The Washington Post as a foreign correspondent in the Middle East, Africa, and Southern Europe and later as a national security and investigative reporter in DC before retiring in 2006. He has won numerous awards for his reporting at home and abroad and was twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Ottaway was a fellow at the Wilson Center in 1979-80 and again in 2005-06 and is current a Middle East Fellow. He and his wife, Marina, wrote A Tale of Four Worlds: The Arab Region After the Uprising (2019) - they appeared as Cover to Cover speakers at that time.

This virtual Cover to Cover program will be moderated by WACA President Bill Clifford.

WACA and our sponsoring partner, the International Labour Organization Office for the United States and Canada, are delighted to resume our WACA Engage America program series this fall. Twelve councils have been selected to participate in this series, "A Human-Centered Approach to the Future of Work." The Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy presents “Maximizing the Social and Economic Opportunities of Climate Action” this Sept. 23 at 9 AM MT, 11:00 AM ET. We will share September programs soon from WorldDenver and WAC Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky.

Our flagship educational youth program, Academic WorldQuest, has returned for another exciting year. Join us on Thursday, September 29 from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM ET to learn the ins and outs of starting an AWQ program within your community, how to attract donors and funding and the benefits of a long running educational program to your Council.

The session features Nikki Geiszler, Programs Director at Montana WAC, and Priscilla Porter from Education Outreach Specialist at World Affairs Council of the Desert.

The discussion will be moderated by Kaela Rider, Global Education Coordinator at WACA.

New! WorldOregon seeks a Development and Communications Coordinator. Applications will be reviewed as received.

Montana World Affairs Council seeks a Development Coordinator.

Applications will be reviewed as received.

Global Santa Fe seeks to hire multiple positions, a Marketing and Membership Coordinator Applications will be reviewed as received.

World Affairs Council of New Orleans seeks to hire a Board Member/Fellow. Applications will be reviewed as received.

Columbus World Affairs Council seeks to hire a Development Manager and Youth Programming Coordinator. Applications will be reviewed as received.

World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh seeks to hire a Development Manager and a Youth Programming Coordinator. Applications will be reviewed as received.

Vermont Council on World Affairs seeks to hire an AmeriCorps Vista Youth Program Coordinator. Applications will be reviewed as received.

International Institute of Buffalo seeks to hire multiple positions, a

Director of Finance, a Business Leader Interpreting and Translation, an Operations Leader, a Bookkeeper, and a Case Manager: Human Trafficking Services. Applications will be reviewed as received.

WorldDenver presents “Gather with the GYLD: Networking Happy Hour” (In Person)

International Relations Council (Kansas City) presents “International Film Club: A Silent Voice (Japan)” (Virtual)

World Affairs (Northern California) hosts Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, for “Peninsula – A Global Strategy To Advance Democracy In Hard Times” (In Person)

Montana World Affairs Council presents “Teacher Support for EconoQuest and GeoQuest Platforms” (Virtual)

Global Minnesota hosts Felix Dodds, adjunct professor of Environmental Sciences & Engineering at UNC, and Irena Zubcevic, Chief of Intergovernmental Policy and Review at the United Nations, for “Global Book Club: Heroes of Environmental Diplomacy” (Virtual)

World Affairs Council of Kentucky & Southern Indiana hosts Cui Guangli, world-renowned Chinese opera artist, for “Chinese Sichuan Opera featuring Cui Guangli” (In Person)

World Affairs (Northern California) hosts Heidi Kuhn, Founder/CEO of Roots of Peace, to discuss her book, Breaking Ground: From Landmines to Grapevines, One Woman’s Mission to Heal the World at the “Napa Valley Chapter Inaugural Event” (In Person)

World Affairs Council Upstate presents “Global Workforce Development” (In Person)

World Affairs Council of Greater Houston presents “South India: Travel Info Session” (Virtual)

World Affairs Council of Hilton Head presents “Book Club: Lessons from the Edge” (In Person)

World Affairs Council of Sonoma County hosts Steven Pifer, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, for “Russia and Its War Against Ukraine” (In Person)

World Affairs Council of Philadelphia hosts a panel of experts on "How Social Determinants Impact Health & Achieving Health Equity” (In Person)

Pacific & Asian Affairs Council presents “Club Officers Workshop Summit 2022” (In Person)

Indiana Council on World Affairs presents “Indiana Sister Cities International Symposium” (In Person)

The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia and Citizen Diplomacy International Philadelphia announced an exciting and historic merger last month. See the full press release.

The combined organization, to be led by WAC Philadelphia President & CEO Lauren Swartz (second from right), brings more than 130 years of collective focus on engaging internationally and locally, offering a range of enriching educational programs and robust people-to-people exchanges, for the benefit of the Greater Philadelphia region. Thanks to the vision of the two organizations' Boards of Directors, they will pursue that international connectivity as a single nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

Going forward, the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, already one of the largest Councils in WACA, becomes the 29th member of our association to also hold membership in Global Ties U.S. WACA and Global Ties share interests, support each other's national meetings, and take pride in the work that our common member organizations accomplish. The leadership and best-practices sharing from these common members resonate across both national networks.

WACA congratulates Lauren and her Council and Citizen Diplomacy colleagues on this momentous merger and wishes them great success in harnessing the promise, the talent, and the synergies to come!

The World Affairs Councils of America was profoundly saddened to learn that Wendy Anderton, former Executive Director of Global Ties Arizona (2016-2021) passed away in August. Under Wendy’s leadership, hundreds of industry professionals selected for the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program engaged with their Arizona counterparts to exchange best practices and promote peace between nations and enduring bonds of friendship. We are grateful to Wendy for her dedicated service; she will be deeply missed by the Global Ties and WACA communities and colleagues nationwide.

"Wendy was a pro and a warm, genuine person," said WACA President & CEO Bill Clifford. "She had a wicked sense of humor and was an inspired dancer." Our thoughts are with all who knew and loved her. Wendy is survived by her beloved wife Heather and her family, which asked that gifts in her memory be directed to Global Ties Arizona. If you wish to support the family, please contact Kristin Allen.