At the Cleveland Council on World Affairs, we bring you insight…understanding and…information…to keep you on top of global affairs.  Please consider a gift to enable us to continue providing one-of-a-kind events, some of the world’s most interesting speakers, critical international affairs education, and more. 

Your commitment  makes the Cleveland Council on World Affairs what we are. Here are just some of our achievements last year and what you can expect in the upcoming year.

Public Lectures  Several lectures are presented each year in a downtown venue. Speakers during FY2009 included Edward Peck, former U.S. ambassador to Iraq; Richard Clark, former national security advisor; Pierre Yves Dugua, economic correspondent for Le Figaro, and Henrique Salas Romer, former governor in Venezuela who ran against Caesar Chavez for president of that country.

The lectures for FY2010 will be launched with an address by John Zogby , president of the noted opinion polling firm of Zogby International and author of "The Way We'll Be." This book describes how the American dream is being transformed by today's 18 to 29-year olds, the "first global" generation. The lecture will be held on September 29 at Trinity Commons.

Special Events Two noteworthy events in FY2009 were a pre November 2008 election debate on international issues facing the United States that featured Paul Begala of CNN and Bill Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard, in September and a Global Economic Crisis Forum held in November 2008, featuring Jerome Haas, professor of finance and business strategy at Cornell University, and local panelists moderated by Richard Pogue.
Past special events have included both an evening public lecture and a morning business forum with local expert panelists featuring John Bogle, founder of Vanguard, and a public dinner lecture followed by a breakfast business seminar featuring the Chinese Ambassador to the United States, Zhous Venzhong, and Chinese consular and trade officials.

Special events for FY2010 include: - An address by Ambassador William R. Timken, Jr., former chairman, president and CEO of the Timken Company in Canton, Ohio, and U.S. Ambassador to Germany, Dr. Klaus Scharioth  from August 2006 to December 2008. He spoke on "Our Crucial Partnership with Germany".

EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN AND TEACHERS
The Council has been providing programs to Northeast Ohio students and teachers since at least 1945 when it held its first simulated Model United Nations conference for high school students. This predated ratification of the UN charter and makes CCWA's MUN program the longest continuously running MUN program in the country.
Four 2-day MUN conferences are held annually enrolling 1,100 students from Greater Cleveland and accross Ohio.
Bridges to the World  in-school and distance learning programs During the 2009-10 school year, CCWA piloted the Bridges to Africa program held last year at John Hay High School.  This shool year CCWA will link visiting speakers, international visitors and others experts with 8 to 10 classrooms at a time through distance learning facilities operated by WVIZ/ideastream at Idea Center in Playhouse Square. Students will not only see a presentation but will be able to ask questions and exchange ideas with each guest expert and with students in the other participating schools.

INTERNATIONAL VISITOR PROGRAMS CCWA has programmed international visitors to meet with local experts and their professional counterparts since 1948 when Congress first authorized funding for the International Visitors Leadership Program through which American embassies abroad identify current and emerging leaders to spend three weeks in the United States, visiting Washington and spending 3 to 5 days each in selected cities.  Today the Council hosts more tht 400 visitors!

State Department's International Visitors Leadership Program
CCWA hosts and programs current and potential leaders in such diverse fields as government, business, education, health care and media, including high priority groups identified by the Secretary of State. The latter has included the first state department delegation from Iran in 27 years (15 physicians who visited the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospital and Metro Health); a delegation of top corporate officials and heads of Chambers of Commerce from 13 Latin American countries; a high level opposition leader in Hungary expected to assume future leadership in that country, and several groups of media officials from around the world that observed the presidential primary campaign and November election in Northeast Ohio. Annually, about 300 leadership visitors spend three to five days in Cleveland.
High School Students Visitors  This is a relatively new program through which high schools from selected countries spend several weeks living with area families with teenage children. CCWA has hosted groups from Iraq, Germany, Brazil, and Serbia.
Mid Career Visitors from the former Soviet Republics  These visitors spend from three to five weeks in Cleveland, meeting with experts in their field and working along side their professional counterparts in real job experiences. They reside with host families.
Year-long Visitor Programs  The Council is developing proposals to attract visitors on longer-term programs, patterned on programs operated by the former Cleveland International Program, which is now fully integrated into CCWA.


We are proud to be providing Cleveland with the highest quality international services and being sought as a premier platform for expert speakers. Your donation will allow us to:

Please invest in our mission of connecting Cleveland with the world by making your tax-deductible contribution today. Thank you in advance for your continued support of the Council.