This Week | TNWAC

TNWAC This Week

June 2, 2021

Dear Members and Friends:

The Memorial Day weekend air travel numbers set pandemic-era records across the country. There’s a great pent up desire to get out, to visit family and friends, and to get back to checking off those bucket list travel destinations.

Last month the European Union announced it was open for business and pleasure travel for Americans who have been vaccinated with the Pfizer, Moderna or J&J shots. Individual countries set their entry criteria based on Covid-19 infection trends.

Tour companies are offering international travel, with some public health stipulations. We expect to see more momentum in the international pleasure travel sector. That’s good news — with consideration to Covid-19 precautions — for the tourism industry and for people to reconnect with the world. We are great believers in the notion that travel expands our radius of knowledge. The U.S. State Department, however, has diligently identified countries where Covid-19, and other hazards, make travel too risky. We urge you to consult State.Gov to learn more.

So it is our good fortune that Rick Steves, global travel guru will be with us on June 15th to talk travel. Rick is without question the country’s best authority on travel to Europe. He has built a travel-industrial complex that includes books, broadcasts, blogs, merchandise, tips and tours. You’ll definitely want to catch our conversation with Rick about post-pandemic travel, European adventures and travel as a bridge building experience.

This week I’d like to introduce some terrific, high-achieving students who are interning with the Council for the summer. Keira Larson has finished her studies at Rhodes College in Memphis with a bang. She was tapped for the prestigious Boren scholars program and will head to Amman, Jordan in the fall for intensive Arabic language training followed by work with an agency in the U.S. Government. Merry Holland is a rising senior at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Political Science major, who is already at work updating our internships and volunteer recruitment and enrollment procedures.

Charlotte Taylor returned to Nashville this week from Georgetown University in Washington. She speaks French, Spanish and Portuguese and includes Latin America as her areas of interest in International Relations studies. She’s busy helping the Council evaluate our education outreach programs and identifying potential programs to adopt from our sister WACs. Campbell Lahman, who you met here on May 18th as TNWAC’s Student of the Year, has joined the staff as a volunteer and is on top of curating the news feed on our Twitter account making sure our “What in the World?” Weekly Quiz has plenty of current events to work with. Matthew Jackson is a senior at Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky who has extended his Spring internship into the summer and he is working with us to capture some of the great content in our 90+ Webinars this last year and develop ways to make it more accessible to you.

We thank Keira, Merry, Charlotte, Campbell and Matthew for their interests in world affairs and their service to the community on the staff of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.

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

Global Dialogue | On Travel with Rick Steves | Jun 15
Global Security Forum | Oct 1-2 | Registration/Details TBA
National Conference of the World Affairs Councils of America (WACA’s 35th Anniversary) | Nov 17-19

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.

COMPETING FOR THE FUTURE

Your World Affairs Council is pleased to be a partner with the Connecticut World Affairs Council in offering the 2021 Global Security Forum: Competing for the Future, coming to you on October 1-2, 2021. At this forum generals, experts, and foreign leaders will convene to address the most critical global security issues of today and the opportunities of tomorrow. Look forward to details on this tremendous program and mark your calendar to participate. Learn more about the GSF HERE.

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

Wednesday 6/2

World Affairs (Northern California) hosts Robin Nandy, Principal Adviser and Chief of Immunization, UNICEF, for “The Future of Health: Ensuring Equitable Access to Covid-19 Vaccines.”
Los Angeles World Affairs Council and Town Hall hosts Michael Picaud, President of Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris, and Professor Stephen Murray, Columbia University, for “Notre-Dame de Paris: Restoring a Gothic Masterpiece.”
World Affairs (Northern California) hosts Professor Noah Diffenbaugh, Stanford University, for “The Impact of Climate Change on the Global Economy.”

Thursday 6/3

World Affairs Council of Dallas / Fort Worth hosts Jason Riley, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and author, on his book Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell.
WorldBoston hosts Professor Laura Belmonte, Virginia Tech, to discuss her new book The International Human Rights Movement: A History.
WorldDenver hosts Emily White, Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Horn of Africa, US Embassy in Addis Ababa, for “Horn of Africa: Crisis and Humanitarian Response.”
World Affairs Council of Tacoma hosts Ambassador (ret.) John Koenig, fmr. U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus, for “A Conversation with Ambassador John Koenig.”
World Affairs Council of Charlotte hosts Zoran Krneta, Sporting Director of Charlotte Football Club, and Nick Kelly, President of Charlotte Football Club, for “Growing Soccer in the Carolinas: The Progressive, Ambitious, and Collective Vision of Charlotte FC.”
World Affairs Council of Western Michigan hosts Alex Covington, Special Advisor for Anticorruption and Open Government, U.S. Department of State, for “Fighting Global Corruption.”
International Relations Council (Kansas City) hosts Mike Wood, fmr. faculty member of the Bloch School of Management at UMKC, for “Secession Movements.”
World Affairs Council of New Hampshire hosts Valerie Santos, Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State, for “Global Tipping Points: U.S.-China Strategic Economic Competition.”
World Affairs Council of St. Louis hosts Professor Ana Santos Rutschman, Saint Louis University School of Law, for “The World Health Organization’s Response to COVID-19.”
Santa Fe Council on International Relations hosts journalists Harriet Constable and Jacob Kushner for “Stopping the Next One: What Could the Next Pandemic Be?“
Global Ties Arizona hosts Katherine Brown, CEO of Global Ties U.S., for “Virtual Re-launch Event.”
Los Angeles World Affairs Council and Town Hall hosts a panel of experts for “SPACs: A Hot Topic for Investors, Acquirers, and Sellers.”
WorldOregon hosts a panel of experts for “Seven Doors: Stories of Immigration Detention.”
World Affairs Council of Maine hosts “Tensions in the South China Sea.”

Friday 6/4

International Relations Council (Kansas City) hosts WAC Harrisburg President Joyce Davis for “Journalism and Correspondence.”

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.