Cleveland Council on World Affairs

Speaker programs to build better understanding of World Affairs, global issues and u.s. foreign policyin fiscal 2023, the Council engaged with 1,021 attendees and 398 student participants through eighteen speaker forums that it organized on international Affairs, global issues and u.s. foreign policy. Speakers included leading experts from government, business, think tanks and academia. Our attendees recognized and appreciated the wide range of topics and supported the program offerings.our speaker programs foster dialogue between speakers and a wide audience from across the greater Cleveland area and northeast Ohio.

International visitor programs to build citizen diplomacy and international understandingccwa is a community-based member (cbm) with global ties u.s. and hosts exchange programs sponsored by the u.s. department of state.as a cbm, ccwa virtually and in person hosted over 476 international exchange visitors from 158 countries through the international visitor leadership program (ivlp). For example, ccwa hosted a group of independent journalists from cameroon who learned about countering misinformation.ccwa was assisted in making our international visitors experience in Cleveland more meaningful through the efforts of our 191 citizen diplomats (volunteers) that welcome international visitors into their homes for meals and occasional extended stays.

Education programs for students grades 6-12 and post-secondarythe Council has organized model united nations conferences for students since 1946 making ccwa's model un program one of the longest continuous programs in the u.s. ccwa hosted four conferences and engaged 1,563 students from 52 high schools and middle schools in the region. Ccwa also hosted 24 workshops for students and teachers. Model un offers opportunities for students to experience real-life negotiations and practice their public speaking and critical thinking skills on key global issues that affect them such as international refugee response or preventing deforestation.

Ccwa also offers continuing learning initiatives in the area of global education as part of its maura o'donnell-mccarthy center for global understanding. Ccwa offers a suite of programs to engage local students, educators, and young professionals in deepening their international knowledge and developing global perspectives. Program participants of all ages find ways to explore their curiosity through ccwa's global education programs which included diplomacy simulation to explore negotiation, diplomacy and conflict resolution in practice. Ccwa also distributed global competence assessments to local high school students to gauge global awareness. Our leads (leadership, exchange, and diplomacy) program, a eight-week initiative for young professionals to explore what it takes to be a leader in an increasingly globalized World, attracted 16 participants.