This Week | TNWAC

TNWAC This Week

May 18, 2021

Dear Members and Friends:

You may have been among those searching for gas stations that had not run out of gas last week as the Southeast grappled with the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline, supplying about half of the gasoline stocks needed on the U.S. East Coast. It occurred to us that the ransomware attack against CP that originated somewhere inside the Russian Federation might be a good reason to reflect why it’s important to know what’s going on in the world. If you’re reading this it’s likely that you already know why it’s important. And below you’ll find many programs to feed that interest.

Speaking of feeding interests, you can help feed the funding needs of your World Affairs Council by making a donation today — we suggest $5 a month recurring gift — or you can visit our FaceBook page on this Friday. Every third week we offer $5 Fridays where we ask for a small gift for a specific need — fund one student for Academic WorldQuest, offset the cost of offering Zoom Webinars, etc. Just like/visit our Facebook page, where you’ll get much more, and you can chip in on $5 Friday.

This week we were pleased to recognize the work of one of our Council’s Academic WorldQuest students, and much more. We recognized Campbell Lahman of Nolensville, Tennessee with the inaugural Student of the Year award. In addition to working as an Academic WorldQuest global affairs challenge team member for the past several years Campbell has been the most avid participant in TNWAC programs, a regular “What in the World? Weekly Quiz” taker, an attendee at in-person speakers’ programs at our Belmont University home, and frequently among the Webinar audience members, always with a sharp question for our guests. So, we congratulate Campbell for her dedication to knowing the world and being TNWAC’s first ever Student of the Year. And we know her interests in global affairs will continue as she heads off to start her college adventure. Well done.

This week we are welcoming two exceptional students to our staff as part of our summer internship program. We are very happy to welcome Meredith “Merry” Holland and Keira Larson. Merry is a rising senior at Lipscomb University, studying Political Science. She became interested in the World Affairs Council through participation in our recent “Women at the Table: The Importance of Women’s Voices in International Affairs.”

We also welcome Keira Larson, a newly minted graduate of Rhodes College in Memphis. Keira majored in History and International Studies concentrating on the Middle East. She won a prestigious Boren Scholar Award and will be off to Amman, Jordan in the Fall to begin her graduate studies.

Merry and Keira, welcome. We look forward to working with you and th chance for you to apply your talents to TNWAC’s mission of bringing the world to our community.

Wishes for a safe and prosperous week ahead.

Sincerely,

Patrick W. Ryan
Founding President, TNWAC

Thank you for your support of global affairs awareness and education!

MARK THE CALENDAR

THE POWER OF DIPLOMACY WITH AMBASSADOR CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL

On JUNE 1 AT 7PM we’ll be talking about diplomacy. From 2009 to 2013, Capricia Penavic Marshall was Chief of Protocol of the United States, bearing the rank of Ambassador and setting the stage for diplomacy at the highest levels. In this capacity, she worked to leverage U.S. relationships with foreign governments developing strategies to transform global engagement. Ms. Marshall oversaw six State and Official Visits, countless Working Visits, the G20, Nuclear Security, APEC, G8, NATO and Sunnylands Summits, and the protocol arrangements during travel with the President and Secretaries of State to forty-two countries. Details/Registration.

~~~

SCRATCH YOUR TRAVEL ITCH WITH A CONVERSATION WITH RICK STEVES

Rick Steves turned backpacking across Europe as a young man into a travel industry. Books, tours, television programs, web specials, merchandise — if it has anything to do with travel to Europe, Rick Steves name comes to the top of the list. We’ll be talking with Rick on JUNE 15TH AT 7PM CT about his experiences in international travel, what we should expect in the post-pandemic era and the ability of travel to remove barriers and build bridges. Small fee for non-members. Free for new and existing paid members. Details/Registration.

YOU SHOULD SPONSOR THESE PROGRAMS

We invite businesses, organizations and individuals to sponsor these events. It is through your support that we are able to bring quality global affairs programs to the community. Your sponsorship also highlights your commitment to education and global affairs awareness in the community. For information about sponsoring other programs and series of events contact Patrick Ryan, TNWAC President @ 931-261-2353, [email protected]

THIS WEEK AROUND THE NETWORK OF WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCILS

CHECK BELOW FOR DETAILS ON THESE PROGRAMS

Tuesday 5/18

World Affairs Council of Atlanta hosts Ambassador Todd Chapman, U.S. Ambassador to Brazil, and Ambassador Nestor Forster, Brazil Ambassador to the U.S., for “What’s Next for U.S.-Brazil Relations?”
Cleveland Council on World Affairs hosts Neilesh Shelat, Deputy Assistant to the Administrator of USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, for “Why U.S. Humanitarian Work Should Matter To Americans.”
International Relations Council (Kansas City) hosts Daniel S. Hamilton, Director of the Global Europe Program, The Wilson Center, for “Brexit and the European Union.”
World Affairs (Northern California) hosts Crystal Chang Cohen, UC Berkeley, for “The U.S. and China: Headed Towards a New Cold War?”
World Affairs Council of Maine hosts Leila Bisharat, Bisharat Consulting, for “The World Health Organization’s Response to Covid-19.”
World Affairs (Northern California) hosts author Vishakha Desai to discuss her book World as Family.

Wednesday 5/19

Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall hosts French Ambassador Philippe Étienne for “A Conversation with Ambassador of France to the United States.”
World Affairs Council on New Hampshire hosts General Stanley McChrystal for “Ending Endless Wars: How the U.S. has Fought Extremism in the Middle East.”
World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth hosts armed-conflict negotiator Daniel Levin to discuss his book Proof of Life: Twenty Days on the Hunt for a Missing Person in the Middle East.
World Affairs Council of Greater Reading hosts Charles Kupchan, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, for “From Trump to Biden: Navigating Isolationist and Internationalist Traditions in U.S. Statecraft.”
Santa Fe Council on International Relations hosts attorney Jamison Firestone for “The Magnitsky Affair: How to Oppose a Criminal State?”
Alabama World Affairs Council hosts Michael Heaney, Research Fellow, University of Glasgow, for “The Scottish Independence Movement.”
World Affairs Council of Orange County hosts Ambassador Craig Allen, President of the U.S. China Business Council, for “Navigating in Uncharted Waters, Exports to China in 2021.”
World Affairs Council of Seattle hosts Richard Stengel, author, editor, and former Under Secretary of State, to discuss his book Information Wars.

Thursday 5/20

World Affairs Council of Greater Houston hosts Chelsea Clinton, Vice-Chair of the Clinton Foundation, for “Governing Global Health.”
Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall hosts Professor Elizabeth Hinton, Yale University, to discuss her book America on Fire: The Untold History of Police Violence and Black Rebellion Since the 1960s.
World Affairs Council of Tacoma hosts Richard Stengel to discuss his book Information Wars.
World Affairs Council of San Antonio hosts WAC Atlanta President Charles Shapiro, former U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela, and Paola Martinez, President of Asociacion Venezolana en San Antonio, for “Venezuela: Where Do we Go From Here?”
Santa Fe Council on International Relations hosts Gary Sick, senior research scholar, Columbia University’s Middle East Institute, for “Iran and US Security Policy in the Persian Gulf.”
International Affairs Forum (Traverse City) hosts Lingling Wei, senior China correspondent, The Wall Street Journal, for “China Showdown: The Future of US-China Relations with Lingling Wei.”
Peoria Area World Affairs Council hosts Ronald Neumann, former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, for “Ending America’s Endless War in Afghanistan.”
World Affairs Council of Orange County hosts Harvard University professors Daniel Ziblatt and Steven Levitsky for “How Democracies Die.”
World Affairs Council of Orange County hosts Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM U.S. LLP, for “A Look at the Post-Pandemic Global Economy.”
World Affairs Council of Austin hosts their “Globalist Coffeehouse: Food Diplomacy.”
World Affairs Council of Philadelphia hosts “Wines of Chile: A Virtual Tasting Event.”

Friday 5/21

International Relations Council (Kansas City) hosts Alexandra Winkler, former deputy mayor of El Hatillo, Venezuela, for “Foreign Policy and Think Tanks.”

Thank you for your support of global affairs awareness and education!

THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS AWARENESS AND EDUCATION OUTREACH

THE MISSION of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Tennessee World Affairs Council is to promote international awareness, understanding and connections to enhance the region’s global stature and to prepare Tennesseans to thrive in our increasingly complex and connected world.

THE VISION of the Tennessee World Affairs Council is a well-informed community that thinks critically about the world and the impact of global events.