World Affairs Councils of America

World Affairs Councils of America

World affairs councils are non-profit, non-partisan organizations open to all who wish to join. Started in 1918, the council system has 484,000 members and participants, 86 councils, and 26 affiliates. Councils operate on membership dues, corporate sponsorships, grants, in-kind donations, fundraising events, and fee-for-service activities. Over 2,000 corporations, foundations, and individuals support council work.
The council system has the biggest international affairs speakers’ program in the country with over 2,500 events each year. Councils also run international exchanges, school programs, teachers’ workshops, model UNs, foreign policy discussions, national opinion polls, travel programs, young professionals’ programs, conferences, corporate programs, journals, newspaper columns, and local radio and television programs. The system has five flagship programs: World in Transition, Great Decisions, the NPR radio program It’s Your World, Academic WorldQuest and Travel the World.
The national association organizes an annual conference, leadership missions abroad, a speaker referral system, international speaker exchanges, people-to-people diplomacy missions, educational workshops, book tours, subscription discounts, operations workshops, research papers, videoconferences, and national publications. It also runs national program series such as World Bank Town Meetings, Mexican Migration, Two Koreas, Future of Russia, Western Hemisphere, Human Rights Worldwide, the EU, Rising Anti-Americanism, American Security, UN Reform, and The People Speak.

Enlaces: World Affairs Councils of America