September 24, 2018

WACA Weekly

Major Council Events; KNOW NOW with Valerie Plame (Tomorrow!); WACA Conference Scholarships; Korea and Oman Grant Series; Global Ties U.S. Poster Contest; Job Announcements; and Council News

World Affairs Councils Demonstrate Convening Power

TOMORROW! KNOW NOW: Plame Discusses U.S. Intelligence Agencies

Join WACA's KNOW NOW conference call featuring Valerie Plame, former career CIA covert operations officer (left), tomorrow, September 25, at 2:00-2:30 pm ET. Sandy Campbell, Executive Director of the Santa Fe Council on International Relations - our Council of the Month - will moderate.

WACA 2018 National Conference: Braving the New World Order

November 7-9

The Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC

Ten Scholarship Openings for DC-based Undergraduates

WACA is pleased to offer 10 new scholarships to DC-area undergraduates to cover Conference registration fees. Funding for these scholarships has been generously provided by the Mr. and Mrs. Ray Rothrock Charitable Gift Fund. The purpose of this scholarship programs is to advance WACA's and the Council Network's shared educational mission and to prepare future leaders for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. The deadline for applications is Wednesday, October 10.

Please use this Application Form and send your resume, a statement of interest, and a letter of reference to waca@worldaffairscouncils.org. Selected applicants will enjoy full access to the WACA 2018 National Conference: Braving the New World Order, November 7-9 at The Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC.

Bookmark the WACA 2018 National Conference website for speaker and program updates!

WACA Thanks Its Sponsors

Council of the Month Launches 3rd Annual Student Policy Simulation

The Santa Fe Council on International Relations will launch their third annual policy simulation for high school students. In 2018, a natural disaster destroyed the energy infrastructure of the developing country Xlandia. Half of the students were parliamentarians, and half were lobbyists, representing the oil and gas industry, the nuclear power industry, and the solar and wind renewables sector. To top it off, personality cards were introduced an hour into the simulation - and suddenly some of the parliamentarians found themselves in tricky positions of bribery or compromise...

In 2019, SFCIR will turn to climate change as the guiding theme, with the simulation dovetailing perfectly into the community speaker series on climate change, which will kick off in October 2018 with a trio of seminars and talks featuring several world-class speakers.

One student reported last year that it "was the best thing he'd ever done in school." SFCIR considers it their flagship educational program, sitting proudly alongside the High School Fellowship Program (for women of color in public schools) and Academic WorldQuest.

SFCIR welcomes all WACA members to their Journalism under Fire summit in December - at special member rates.

Councils Host WACA 2018 Engage America Speaker Series Programs

World Affairs Council of Charlotte is one of eight Councils to participate in the Future of Korea 2018 program series with a private dinner and expert panel discussion on Wednesday, September 26 and Thursday, September 27. This program is sponsored by the Korea Economic Institute and WACA.

The World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth will host Music and The Omani Arts Economy Saturday, September 29 as the fifth of eight Councils to feature an Engage America: Oman program. This program is sponsored by the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center and WACA.

WACA Network Speaker Harry Krejsa on Connecting Point (Video)

Watch the interview featuring Harry Krejsa (left), of the Center for a New American Security, on Connecting Point, where he swung by prior to speaking with the World Affairs Council of Western Massachusetts for their Heartland Security annual dinner on September 17. Krejsa recently wrote the report How Global Engagement Once Fueled the American Middle Class - and Can Again.