This week, Global Ties U.S. will hold its annual national meeting in Washington, DC, under the theme "Unity in Community." The World Affairs Councils of America shares 27 member organizations in common with Global Ties, and we also share a common commitment to strengthening international relationships to create greater peace and prosperity at home and abroad. 

WACA is proud to recognize two of these member organizations as February's Councils of the Month. Global Minnesota and the World Affairs Council of Oregon have been doing excellent work to promote citizen diplomacy for more than 60 years each. I invite you to consider (below) the commentary of Global Minnesota President Carol Engebretson Byrne and Program Director Tim Odegard, published in the Star Tribune, and the recent statement of WAC Oregon President Derrick Olsen, in which he also emphasized the critical need to build people-to-people relationships within our local communities and globally.

In 1949, Minnesota welcomed a 22-year-old law student named Josef Mestenhauser, a refugee fleeing political persecution in Communist Czechoslovakia. Four years later, he co-founded the organization that today is known as Global Minnesota, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to promoting international understanding through education and citizen diplomacy.

For more than 60 years, Global Minnesota has connected Minnesota communities, educators, schoolchildren, political leaders, business executives, and everyday citizens with visitors from around the world. Thanks to these professional and educational exchanges, international diplomacy happens right here in Minnesota, conducted by Minnesotans, and it makes a meaningful difference in our lives and in the lives of people around the globe.

Today's ill-conceived barriers place that mission of person-to-person diplomacy at risk, precisely at the moment our nation and our state need it most. In the past year alone, Global Minnesota has hosted dozens of emerging leaders from the Middle East and Africa through the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program.

Minnesota journalists and social-media specialists have met with their Middle Eastern counterparts to discuss the First Amendment and protection of free speech.

Arab women leaders from government and non-profit sectors shared strategies with local organizations working to address youth radicalization and learned about judicial and legislative practices that protect women and children.

Iraqi and Sudanese disability advocates discussed how Minnesota's public and private sectors respond to the need for greater accessibility.
Middle Eastern and North African security officers responsible for their countries' cooperation in the global effort to combat international crime shared best practices with Minnesota law enforcement and justice officials.

Yezidi activist Dr. Nagham Nawzat Hasan from Iraq poses with a Minnesota second grader.

Under the new travel restrictions announced by the Trump administration, many of these valuable exchanges would never have taken place. We would certainly never have been able to host the group of Iraqi women parliamentarians who at this very moment are applying the knowledge they gained in Minnesota to promote women's political participation in Iraq. Nor would we have been able to host the two inspiring "International Women of Courage" award winners who visited Minnesota in April, a Yemeni lawyer who is drafting her country's new constitution, and an Iraqi physician working to heal the physical and psychological wounds of Yazidi women brutalized by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. 

We are better, stronger, and, yes, safer because of our personal engagement with these individuals - through the friendships we've forged, the knowledge we've gained, and the values we've shared.

Global Minnesota, together with our many members and supporters, will continue to reject the pessimism and fear that tempt us to shut ourselves off from the world. Minnesota's gift to the world - and to ourselves - will continue to be the enthusiastic and optimistic engagement that builds bridges and opens doors, and says to international visitors, researchers, refugees, scholars, business partners, and immigrants: "Welcome, friends."

Due to technical difficulties, last week's call with former Mexican President Vicente Fox , was cancelled. The call is rescheduled for Tuesday, February 7, at 5:00 PM ET . We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and hope that you can all join us again on this new date. 

The dial-in Information is as follows: 

1. Call either of the following numbers:

2. Enter Conference Code:

President Fox has been at odds with President Donald Trump since the 2016 campaign trail when candidate Trump announced that he would build a border wall and convince the Mexican government to pay for it. President Fox, in an interview on NBC's Today show last week, said that the bilateral relationship is "at the very lowest point since the war [1846-1848] between Mexico and the United States." ( Full bio.)

Jim Falk, President and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth, will moderate the call.  

February's Cover to Cover will host David Biello, TED's new science curator, on his new book The Unnatural World: The Race to Remake Civilization in Earth's Newest Age  on Wednesday, February 15, at 2:00-2:30 PM ET .

Register for the call

David Biello is an award-winning journalist who has been reporting on the environment and energy since 1999. He has been an editor and contributing writer at Scientific American, and he also contributes frequently to the Los Angeles Review of Books, Yale e360, Nautilus, and Aeon. Biello has been a guest on radio shows, such as WNYC's The Takeaway, NHPR's Word of Mouth, and PRI's The World. He hosts the ongoing duPont-Columbia award-winning documentary Beyond the Light Switch for PBS. 

The World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth's Global I.Q. Minute podcast hosts some of the world's leading thinkers, writers, and diplomats. In this episode, Council President Jim Falk speaks with Sebastian Mallaby, Paul A. Volker Senior Fellow for International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. The discussion focused on the future of the UK and the EU, along with how Fed Chair Janet Yellen can learn from and avoid the same mistakes that Alan Greenspan made in his time as Federal Reserve Chairman. Listen to the podcast here.

The World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh seeks to hire an Education Program Manager and a part-time Communications Associate to join a dynamic team with a mission to increase global awareness in the Pittsburgh region.

 
The Education Program Manager will be responsible for engaging middle and high school students and teachers through global education programs with a focus on a range of international issues. The manager will be expected to continue developing the flagship education program and the Global Leadership Certificate. See full job description and requirements here.

The Communications Associate will develop and implement a comprehensive communication plans and marketing ideas to further the awareness of the Council. Through social media outlets, management of the official website of the Council, and other forms of contact, this position will keep community members informed on current and upcoming events. See full job description and requirements here.

We encourage anyone who is interested to send all pertinent information [email protected] by the appropriate deadlines.

This year's  AWQ Study Guide , is now available, along with complete information about the Carlos and Malú Alvarez 2017 Academic WorldQuest  National Competition.  

The  Carlos and Malu Alvarez 2017 Academic WorldQuest National Competition  will be held on  Saturday, April 29,  at the  National Press Club  in  Washington, DC .

This year's National Competition will feature a welcome reception at the  United States Institute of Peace , on  Friday, April 28, at 4:30-6:00 PM.  For Topics, Study Guide, and other information click  here . 

Registration for the AWQ National Competition has started.  Teams  must complete this Registration Form as soon as possible in order to participate.  Registration forms are due no later than March 20! 

Please see the 2017 Program Schedule and stay tuned for updates. 

Hotel Reservations:  

To utilize our special hotel rates, book your room now at the Washington Marriott at Metro Center (775 12th St. NW, Washington, DC 20005)! For reservations click here . Book now! These discounted rates expire March 30 .