John Kerry to Speak at WAC Philadelphia

The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia will host The Honorable John Kerry on Tuesday, March 26. Kerry, 68th U.S. Secretary of State (2013-2017) and former long-serving Massachusetts Senator, was the first sitting Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman to serve as Secretary in over a century. He will present his optimistic path for the future of diplomacy and leadership to the Philadelphia community. Details.

AWQ Release Forms Due This Friday!

Release forms for the Carlos and Malú Alvarez 2018 Academic WorldQuest National Competition are due Friday! The AWQ championship weekend program will be held in Washington, DC on April 27-28. Please stay tuned for updates on the competition venue.

Local champion teams of Academic WorldQuest competitions hosted by World Affairs Councils around the country must complete release forms in order to participate in the AWQ National Competition.  

Release forms are due this Friday, March 30!

Contact Drew Lorelli at dlorelli@worldaffairscouncils.org with any questions regarding AWQ release forms.

This year's program will once again feature a welcome reception at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) on Friday, April 27, at 4:00-6:00 PM.

For topics, study guide, and other information about this year's competition, please click here.

Hotel Reservations:

To take advantage of our special hotel rate of $169 / night plus tax for Friday and Saturday nights, book your room at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel (2660 Woodley Road, NW, Washington, DC 20008). These discounted rates will expire April 5.

Thank you to our generous sponsors:

April Cover to Cover: Pakistan Under Siege

Over the last fifteen years, Pakistan has come to be defined exclusively in terms of its struggle with terror. But are ordinary Pakistanis extremists? And what explains how Pakistanis think?

In Pakistan Under Siege, using rigorous analysis of survey data, in-depth interviews in schools and universities in Pakistan, historical narrative reporting, and her own intuitive understanding of the country, Madiha Afzal gives the full picture of Pakistan's relationship with extremism. 

Register for the call.

Join the April Cover to Cover conference call to discuss Afzal's new book, Pakistan Under Siege: Extremism, Society, and the State, on Wednesday, April 18, at 2:00-2:30 PM ET.

Spring Leadership Meeting Hotel Block Open!

WACA and the World Affairs Council of San Antonio have arranged a special group rate at the Hotel Valencia for the May 17-18 Council Leadership and May 19 Board Meetings.  

To take advantage of our hotel block at $169 / night (plus tax), please book your room by April 25. Reservations can be made by following this link: WACA or by calling 855-596-3387 and referring to 

the World Affairs Councils of America group.

Please stay tuned for meeting agendas and registration!

Councils Are Hiring! 

World Affairs Council of San Antonio seeks a Development Director.

Cleveland Council on World Affairs is hiring a Manager of Student Education Programs.

World Affairs Councils Highlights

Did you know that WACA features Council events on its new website? Council leaders and staff: log in to your member account now and add your events for a chance for your Council to be highlighted on our main page!

Monday, March 26

World Affairs Council of Western Michigan hosts Mary Peters, CEO of The Carter Center, for "Global Health: Equity, Ethics, and Eradication." Details

World Affairs Council of Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky hosts Qaisar Shareef, Advisory Partner at Ward Howell International, for a "When U.S. Foreign Goals Conflict with Conduct of American Business Abroad." Details

Tuesday, March 27

World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth hosts Adam Segal, Director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations, for "Hacking, Fake News, Cyber Security: Their Impact on American Elections." Details

World Affairs Council of Monterey Bay hosts Melissa Hanham, Senior Research Associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, for "North Korea's Weapons of Mass Destruction." Details

World Affairs Council of the Quad Cities hosts Martin Rochester, Curators Teaching Professor of International Relations at the University of Missouri - St. Louis, for "Gulliver's Travails: U.S. Foreign Policy in An Age of Globalization and Global Disorder." Details

World Affairs Council of Seattle hosts a panel of experts for "Impact Travel Launch: Strengthening Communities Through Sustainable Tourism." Details

Wednesday, March 28

World Affairs Council of Orange County hosts Stephen Seche, former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen, for "Yemen: The War the World Ignores at Its Peril." Details

World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth hosts Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, Kurdistan Regional Government Representative to the U.S., for a special luncheon. Details

Cleveland Council on World Affairs hosts Ambassador Heather Hodges, CCWA President and Ambassador in Residence, and a panel of experts for "Golden Jubilee Event of the NASA Glenn Chapter of Business and Professional Women's Club." Details

Tennessee World Affairs Council hosts Rubin Cockrell, CEO of Positive Images and Associates, for "Strengthening and Deepening the U.S.-Africa Business and Trade Relationship." Details

World Affairs Council of Inland Southern California hosts Captain (Ret.) Robert Gusentine, Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow at the Council of Independent Colleges, for "The Global Freshwater Crisis: Its Impact on Human Survival and Security." Details

World Affairs Forum (Stamford) hosts Alexis Dudden, Professor of History at the University of Connecticut, for "Korea at the Center of Northeast Asian Possibilities." Details

World Affairs Council of New Hampshire hosts Mahboba Akhtarzadah, an undergraduate student at Southern New Hampshire University from Kabul, Afghanistan, for a film screening and discussion of The Breadwinner. Details

Thursday, March 29

Columbus Council on World Affairs hosts David Lampton, Director of China Studies at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, for "The U.S. and China: Prospects for Trade and Security Relations." Details

World Affairs Council of Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky hosts William Rooney, Vice President of Strategic Development at Kuehne + Nagel Inc, for "Understanding and Operating in the New World of Ocean Transportation." Details

World Affairs Council of Austin hosts Pete Harris, Principal of Lighthouse Partners Inc., for "Will Blockchain Disrupt World Trade?" Details

Friday, March 30

Alaska World Affairs Council hosts Steven Pifer, Senior Fellow in the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence program at the Brookings Institution, for U.S.-Russia Relations: Back to the Cold." Details

Travel the World from WAC Philadelphia

 Travel with Council Leaders - hear them lecture on Travel the World tours from the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia!

2018 travel schedule includes trips to: 

• Bill Clifford, President and CEO, World Affairs Councils of America, Inside Japan: Mar. 31 - Apr. 12
• Craig Snyder, President and CEO, World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, Poland & Moscow Seminar: July 14-22
• Jim Falk, President and CEO, World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth, Cruise the Rhine, July 11-29
• Megan Torrey, Executive Director, World Affairs Council of Hartford, Himalayan Kingdoms, Sept. 11-25
• Dixie Anderson, Executive Director Emerita, World Affairs Council of Western Michigan, Romance of the Douro River: Sept. 15-26
• Mimi Gregory, Vice President of Programs, Naples Council on World Affairs, Inside Botswana: Oct. 4-16
• Joyce Davis, President, World Affairs Council of Harrisburg, Town & Country Life in Languedoc: Oct. 6-14
• Derrick Olsen, President, WorldOregon, Inside New York: Oct 21-26
• Don Samford, Board President, Peoria Area World Affairs Council, Cuba: Nov. 4-12

Contact www.wacphila.org/travel or call 1-800-942-5004, ext. 209 or 217.