World Affairs Council of the Desert
Encyclopedia
The World Affairs Council of the Desert, a non-partisan and non-profit organization
, located in the Coachella Valley. The Council provides an opportunity for the discussion of current national and international topics.
Founded in the early seventies as the “Desert Forum”, it served initially as a branch of the Los Angeles Council. By 1975, the organization had changed its name to The World Affairs Council of the Desert and is currently located in Indian Wells, CA
. Over the years the Council has increased its membership, program series and established itself as a separate non-profit corporation.
. These events include public programs featuring journalist
s, public officials, and foreign policy
experts, seminar
s for educators, and outreach programs for students.
figures in the international community.
students in which teams answer questions pertaining to foreign affairs, geography, foreign culture, international organizations, and recent history. The winning team, with four members, goes on to a national competition arranged by the World Affairs Councils of America
in Washington, D.C.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, located in the Coachella Valley. The Council provides an opportunity for the discussion of current national and international topics.
Founded in the early seventies as the “Desert Forum”, it served initially as a branch of the Los Angeles Council. By 1975, the organization had changed its name to The World Affairs Council of the Desert and is currently located in Indian Wells, CA
Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley , in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,958....
. Over the years the Council has increased its membership, program series and established itself as a separate non-profit corporation.
Mission statement
To provide education on vital issues of global importance to diverse audiences in the Coachella ValleyPrograms and Events
The World Affairs Council organizes a number of events in the Coachella Valley geared toward providing educational opportunities focused on international affairsInternational relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
. These events include public programs featuring journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
s, public officials, and foreign policy
Foreign policy
A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...
experts, seminar
Seminar
Seminar is, generally, a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some particular subject, in which everyone present is...
s for educators, and outreach programs for students.
Speaker Program
The Speaker Program is a series of dinner lectures open to the public featuring speakers that are experts in their fields of endeavor such as ambassadors, foreign dignitaries, corporate leaders and higher education professors. Presentations by the speakers cover current national and international issues.Distinguished Speakers Series
The Distinguished Speaker series allows council members and guests to attend talks with leading, environmentalEnvironmental movement
The environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues....
figures in the international community.
Youth Programs
The World Affairs Council of the Desert, invites high school and college students to its dinner events and conducts the annual Academic Worldquest in the Coachella Valley. Worldquest is an academic competition with programs geared toward high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
students in which teams answer questions pertaining to foreign affairs, geography, foreign culture, international organizations, and recent history. The winning team, with four members, goes on to a national competition arranged by the World Affairs Councils of America
World Affairs Councils of America
The World Affairs Councils of America represents and supports the largest national non-partisan network of local councils that are dedicated to educating, inspiring and engaging Americans in international affairs and the critical global issues of our times. The network consists of 94 councils in 40...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Notable Speakers
Notable speakers at World Affairs Council of the Desert events have included:- Lt. General Michael Hamel, former Commander of the U.S. Space and Missile Systems CenterSpace and Missile Systems CenterThe Space and Missile Systems Center is a part of Air Force Space Command of the United States Air Force. SMC is the Air Force’s product center for the development and acquisition of space and missile systems...
- Dr. Nicholas Lardy, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Ambassador Jeffrey DavidowJeffrey DavidowJeffrey Davidow is a career foreign service officer from the U.S. state of Virginia. Davidow has served as a member of the Senior Foreign Service, as well as having been the U.S. Ambassador to Zambia, Venezuela, and Mexico....
, former U.S. Ambassador to MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south... - Bruce RiedelBruce RiedelBruce Riedel is a Senior Fellow in foreign policy at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy of the Brookings Institution, a Senior Advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group, a former CIA Analyst, a counter-terrorism expert, and an author. He retired in 2006 after 29 years with the Central...
, Senior Fellow, Saban Center for Middle East PolicySaban Center for Middle East PolicyThe Saban Center for Middle East Policy is a center within the Brookings Institution focused on the United States' involvement in the Middle East...
at the Brookings InstitutionBrookings InstitutionThe Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and... - Jacob Dayan, former Consul General of IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
- Dr. Kamal Ali Beyoghlow, Professor of International Relations National Defense UniversityNational Defense UniversityThe National Defense University is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level training, education, and the development of national security strategy. It is chartered by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with Navy Vice Admiral...
- Christopher Preble, Director of Foreign Policy Studies, Cato InstituteCato InstituteThe Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
in Washington D.C. - Dr. George FriedmanGeorge FriedmanGeorge Friedman is an American political scientist and author. He is the founder, chief intelligence officer, financial overseer, and CEO of the private intelligence corporation Stratfor...
, Chief Executive Officer, StratforStratforStrategic Forecasting, Inc., more commonly known as STRATFOR, is a global intelligence company founded in 1996 in Austin, Texas by George Friedman who is the founder, chief intelligence officer, and CEO of the company... - Dr. Paul R. Pillar, Professor of Security Studies, Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown UniversityGeorgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
- Dr. Abraham Lowenthal, Fellow in Latin America and International Affairs, University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
(USC) - Former Massachusetts Governor Michael DukakisMichael DukakisMichael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
- Ambassador Robert M. KimmittRobert M. KimmittRobert M. Kimmitt was United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury under President George W. Bush. He was nominated by President Bush on June 29, 2005. The United States Senate unanimously confirmed him on July 29, 2005, and he was sworn into office on August 16, 2005...
, former U.S Deputy Secretary of the Treasury - Kenneth StarrKenneth StarrKenneth Winston "Ken" Starr is an American lawyer and educational administrator who has also been a federal judge. He is best known for his investigation of figures during the Clinton administration....
, President of Baylor UniversityBaylor UniversityBaylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
and former U.S Solicitor General - Ambassador Nancy SoderbergNancy SoderbergNancy Soderberg is an American foreign policy strategist who held several senior level positions in the Clinton administration. She currently is President of the Connect US Fund in Washington DC and resides in Jacksonville, Florida where she is a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the University...
, American Foreign Policy Strategist - K.T. McFarland, Fox News Analyst
- Gen. John AbizaidJohn AbizaidJohn Philip Abizaid, AO is a retired General in the United States Army and former Commander of the United States Central Command , overseeing American military operations in a 27-country region, from the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, to South and Central Asia, covering much of the Middle...
, former commander of CENTCOM