World Affairs Council Welcomes Mayor Karl Dean to Board of Directors

World Affairs Council Welcomes Mayor Karl Dean to Board of Directors
September 21, 2015

NASHVILLE – Mayor Karl Dean has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council, a nonpartisan educational organization that seeks to promote better understanding of international developments. Dean will mark the conclusion of his second term as Mayor of Nashville this week.

In announcing that Dean would join the board on October 1st, Council President Patrick Ryan noted, “Our role of bringing programs and resources to the community to educate and inspire interest in world affairs is getting a terrific boost with the addition of Mayor Dean to the World Affairs Council.” He added, “The organization has an ambitious vision in Nashville to serve the community and give our fellow citizens, especially students, opportunities to learn more about America’s challenges in the world.” Nashville’s international stature has grown especially in the eight years of Mayor Dean’s leadership, Ryan said, and it’s important to have an active international affairs education effort as part of that aspect of the city’s profile.

At the recent State of Metro address Mayor Dean emphasized education and economic development as two of his top three priorities for Nashville said Ryan. “Those areas of emphasis are the World Affairs Council’s bread and butter, especially Mayor Dean’s call for education to be job number one.”

The World Affairs Council is an independent group but is part of a 96-member network of similar grassroots organizations in the United States, the World Affairs Councils of America, that serve to educate Americans on international developments. “Although some of the country’s world affairs councils are almost 100 years old there had never been one in Tennessee until we established our Council several years ago in Cookeville,” said Ryan. “Now that we’ve launched from Nashville it’s gratifying to know that leaders like Mayor Dean are directly supporting our service to the community and we can benefit from their vision.”

The Tennessee World Affairs Council, a nonprofit educational charity, hosts town hall meetings where visiting speakers share insights and perspectives on global issues; small group discussions at venues around the city; and global awareness programs in schools like the WorldQuest program for students that encourages world affairs familiarity through competition. WorldQuest, which includes a trip for the state’s winning team to a national championship match in Washington, recently launched the 2015-2016 season. Past Nashville winners have included teams from Martin Luther King, Jr., Magnet High School and Montgomery Bell Academy.

The speakers program, which is hosted at Belmont University, is very popular, said Ryan. He noted that visits from foreign Ambassadors, like past events with the Kazakh and Czech envoys, were popular and insightful. In addition other leaders and specialists are regularly featured and provide equally informative presentations. “We aim for monthly speaker events including about four ambassadors this year, and we’re in talks with the embassies of Russia, South Korea, Italy and others for visits.” On October 5th the Council and Belmont will host a Town Hall on US-China economic relations.

A complete calendar of World Affairs Council events is on the TNWAC.org web site.

 

The Tennessee World Affairs Council is a nonprofit (501c3), nonpartisan educational charity based in Nashville that works to build understanding of global issues in our communities. Learn more about the Council and find how you can join, donate and volunteer at: www.TNWAC.org  — Join / Donate / Volunteer