Your World Affairs Council, in partnership with other California WACs, is pleased to invite you to a digital presentation by Prof. Dan Schnur on “Biden at a Crossroads: What We’ll Learn from His State of the Union Speech” (which takes place immediately after Dr. Schnur’s presentation).
We are pushing back our start of in-person luncheons from early January to late February because of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. This variant is expected to crest in Monterey County in January, and is highly contagious, even among the vaccinated who have not had a booster shot. For the health of our members, we thought a slight delay would be prudent.
Dr. Tom Johnson has agreed to push back his talk to us on Afghanistan accordingly. Members who have already paid for the luncheon (including me!) can choose to put that money toward the February talk or be reimbursed. Please contact us at info@wacmb.org to indicate your choice.
We will provide details about the February luncheon in the next few weeks. But please be advised that we will be requiring evidence at the door of full vaccination plus booster in order to attend. This is for the health of us all.
I very much appreciate the patience and support our members have shown. Better days are ahead — see you in February!
A National Youth Education Program of the World Affairs Councils of America
World Quest Competition tests high school students’ knowledge of international affairs. A fun, fast-paced contest, in which 4-person teams from schools compete by answering questions from 10 categories as specified by the World Affairs Councils of America. For more information about the national competition click here.
Purpose
Preparing the next generation of leaders, scholars, and decision-makers to thrive in a rapidly changing world – where our national interests are intertwined with the global community – is one of the greatest challenges facing our country. It requires a renewed enthusiasm for global studies in our high schools. Too many American students today fall behind their counterparts from other countries in their knowledge and understanding of world history, geography, and current international events. The mission of Academic WorldQuest is to close the gap.
AWQ Study Guide and Topics
The World Affairs Councils of America’s AWQ Official Study Guide is the primary resource to help students and teachers prepare for the topics covered in the timed question-and-answer AWQ competitions hosted by local Councils. Councils may adapt these topics to align with their local programming initiatives.
The AWQ Study Guide is also an essential resource for the Carlos and Malú Alvarez Academic WorldQuest National Competition, hosted by WACA every April in Washington, DC.
Winning teams are invited to represent their high school, city, and local Council at the national AWQ championship weekend, which includes the competition, unique programming planned to enhance the global education experience, and an opportunity to meet and engage with approximately 250 like-minded peers from around the United States.
Local event: Saturday, March 19th, 2022 10:00am -4:00pm
The winning team and teacher will earn an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington D.C. to compete at the national level on April 29 & 30 2022.
For more information about the local competition contact the following:
For Study Guides contact: Maria Morgan at info@wacmb.org
For general event information contact:
Dora Salazar, Director Teaching & Learning at dorsalazar@montereycoe.org
Jessica McCue, Administrative Assistant at jmccue@montereycoe.org or phone 831.755.0346
The World Affairs Council of Orange County has been informed today that regrettably due to a non-COVID viral infection preventing him from being able to participate, we will need to reschedule in the future the event for next Monday, November 1st at Chapman University with Dr. Scott Gottlieb.
Uncontrolled Spread: Why COVID-19 Crushed Us and How We Can Defeat the Next Pandemic
A Conversation with Scott Gottlieb, MD Former FDA Commissioner
Live streamed, November 1 at 7:30 pm
Our World Affairs Council of the Monterey Bay Area has been invited to participate in an upcoming World Affairs Council of Orange County program with Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner, discussing his recent New York Times best seller, Uncontrolled Spread: Why Covid-19 Crushed Us and How We Can Defeat the Next Pandemic. The program will be live streamed, November 1 at 7:30 pm. Registration fee includes a copy of the book. Please click here to register for this event.
Each WACMB award provides $3000 to the recipient. Click here for more information about the WACMB Scholarship Program.
Ari Korreshi MIIS, May 2022
Master of Public Administration
I will receive my MPA next spring (2022) and want to work in the State department. I will begin either through an internship or with the Foreign Service in American embassies around the world, then the United Nations, with my end goal being to become the Secretary of State, in the same fashion as Secretary Albright, who herself was born in Communist Europe. If the recently created positions of “U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate” and “White House National Climate Advisor” continue beyond the current administration, I would like to work in those offices as well.
I am from Communist Albania and came to the United States as the system was changing. The early years were challenging for my family, as we didn’t speak the language and had no connections. My parents worked two or more jobs plus overtime to make ends meet so I didn’t see them much growing up. I was just leaving high school when the Great Recession hit, so I had to work various factory and restaurant jobs while getting my associate’s degree, volunteering when I could. For my bachelor’s, I worked as a student assistant and volunteered as an English tutor, helping asylum seekers. After receiving my BA in linguistics, I joined the Peace Corps as an English volunteer in Albania, teaching at the pre-high school level.
To my parents’ chagrin, I am endlessly curious and questions like “Why is the sky blue?” were the least of their problems. I satiate that curiosity by being an avid reader, going through 40+ nonfiction books a year. Additionally, I have played video games throughout my life and what they have taught me is that the good guys do win in the end, but it isn’t easy: you have to take it one challenge at a time and you don’t do it alone.
Morgan Moore MIIS, May 2022
Joint Master’s Program:
• International Policy and Development and
• International Trade and Economic Diplomacy
Originally from Dallas, Texas, Morgan is a dual-degree candidate for a Master’s in International Policy and Development (IPD) and International Trade and Economic Diplomacy (ITED) at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS). She graduated Cum Laude from Xavier University of Louisiana with a Bachelor’s in Political Science and a Minor in Spanish. She served in the Peace Corps as a Community Economic Development volunteer in Paraguay and is a Paul D. Coverdell Fellow at MIIS.
Morgan is a graduate assistant in the Enrollment department and works to build partnerships with historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). She also serves on Student Council as the MPA/IPD Program Representative. She volunteers teaching English to Afghan refugees and also works as a freelance Spanish tutor. She enjoys being active on campus in Peace Corps Club, MIIS Immigrant Rights Alliance (MIRA), BUILD Club, and Shades at MIIS.
Morgan aspires to become a Foreign Service Officer in the U.S. State Department (Political, Economic) or USAID (Program Development, Economic Growth). Prior to joining the foreign service, she hopes to build a career in the civil service or the NGO or private sectors. This summer she is looking forward to interning with American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact, a venture capital firm dedicated to investing in startup entrepreneurs committed to closing equity gaps in America by building scalable tech and social enterprises. She is honored to accept this scholarship and grateful to the World Affairs Council of the Monterey Bay Area.
Julius Clay Moye MIIS, December 2021
Joint Master’s Program:
• International Trade and Economic Diplomacy
•Nonproliferation & Terrorism Studies with a Financial Crime Management Specialization
Julius Moye is finishing his final year as a graduate student at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS). There he is pursuing a joint master’s program in International Trade & Economic Diplomacy (ITED) as well as Nonproliferation & Terrorism Studies (NPTS) with a Financial Crime Management Specialization. Prior to coming to MIIS, Julius served for nearly three years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine, teaching English in a small town and playing English-language music concerts across the country. Originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Julius completed his undergraduate career at Tufts University in 2015.
Julius is incredibly grateful for the opportunity that the WACMB Scholarship has afforded with respect to furthering his career goals. With his graduate work, Julius focuses on strategic trade controls and the intersection of international trade, national security and corporate compliance issues. Currently a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, Julius will spend his final year studying to become a Licensed Customs Broker. He hopes to bring these two domains together to begin a fruitful career in global trade compliance in the private sector, focusing on sensitive and “emerging and foundational” technologies. He then hopes to explore options for service in the public sector with an emphasis on trade security policy and enforcement. Ultimately, his dream is to bring back expertise gained in the field to Eastern Europe and to merge international trade consultancy with economic and social development in that part of the world.
Molly Ryan MIIS
Joint Master’s Program
• Ocean and Coastal Resource Management
•International Environmental Policy
Molly Ryan is a current Master’s student at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) focusing on Ocean and Coastal Resource Management and International Environmental Policy. Molly has been wrapping up her summer working with the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Vanuatu to the United Nations on climate justice issues at the international scale, a line of work which she hopes to continue as she finishes her studies at MIIS.
Prior to her time in Monterey, Molly received a certificate in Restorative Justice from the Vermont Law School after being evacuated from her post as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Panama in 2020. Molly has been specializing in international and domestic climate policy since she graduated from the College of William & Mary in 2018, working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the World Resources Institute (WRI), and the US Department of State.
Growing up internationally in a military family, Molly’s interest in world affairs started at a young age. She is grateful to the Monterey Bay World Affairs Council for granting her the opportunity to continue pursuing her passion for working on international climate policy through a restorative lens.
To encourage interest in international affairs and global studies, the World Affairs Council of the Monterey Bay Area is pleased to present an essay contest for local high school students.
Winners will receive awards of $150.
Participants should write a 350 –400-word essay addressing the one of the following topics:
Does social media influence the world for better or worse, or both?
What would you do to improve our world if elected to lead a free nation?
What is the most important fundamental human right?
What, if any, are the responsibilities of superpowers to the world at large?
How can we create worldwide demand for peace?
What steps should we take to stop climate change? Why will the world take your advice?
This contest is open to all students in their teens in local and regional schools in the Monterey Bay area.
Essays must be submitted no later than Monday, April 19, 2021.
In March of 2020, The World Affairs Council of the Monterey Bay Area announced an essay contest for local high school students. Participants wrote a 350 – 400-word essay addressing the following topic: If you could change something in current world affairs, what would it be? Why should it be changed and how would you change it? Each of the winners listed below will receive an award of $150.
Jasmine Agha
Junior, York School
Fear and Hopelessness in the Unknown
Click on the arrow to listen to the essay, as read by WACMB board member Doug Rogers.
Nine years ago to this date, a “day of rage” erupted across Syria as activists took to the streets, facing arrests and violence at the hands of security forces in the first widespread, peaceful uprisings against president and oppressor Bashar al-Assad. Today, as the conflict in Syria rolls into its tenth year, the single worst humanitarian catastrophe of the century continues to unfold.
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This war has served as an arena for myriad combatants to assert their power flagrantly and without consequence, at the injustice of Syrian civilians. A precedent for future human rights violations becomes more unavoidable each day this continues. I believe that the international community needs to embrace diplomatic strategy and their humanitarian sides to ease the suffering of Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons, and to pave a path forward for all civilians.
After facing near-apocalyptic devastation and mass casualties, millions of Syrians in exodus along the Turkish border are in need of immediate relocation. This situation could be significantly remedied by the U.S. accepting greater numbers of refugees. In additional to traditional methods of integrating small numbers of refugees throughout communities, non-urban areas can be urbanized with sustainable planning. Former or declining urban areas (e.g. Detroit) would also provide support to many refugees and vice versa as regions are revitalized and repopulated with motivated youth, countering America’s aging population.
Syrian citizens face frequent and egregious infringements on inalienable rights from numerous fronts. Russian-backed Syrian forces launch nighttime sarin gas attacks, chlorine barrel bombs, and maiming cluster munition, frequently targeting hospitals and schools in their campaign of indiscriminate, terrifying psychological warfare. The only feasible way to end these atrocities is a deescalation through diplomatic means, not military intervention or short term aid. True security in Syria may take decades to achieve, but immediate action should maintain a ceasefire and joint patrols in Idlib. The ICC is poised to investigate possible crimes against humanity, legal teams can pursue jurisdictional openings to hold belligerents accountable for war crimes, and political retribution can serve as deterrent. Eventually a nationwide ceasefire, in align with UNSC Resolution 2254, and a UN peacekeeping mission redeployed to Syria would provide stabilization prior to rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. In the wake of other global challenges, it seems increasingly simple to overlook the Syrian people as only the victims of regional strife and hopelessness, but the civilian’s battle must not be forgotten.
Jane Hoffman
Junior, Santa Catalina School
Confronting the Climate Crisis
Click on the arrow to listen to the essay, as read by WACMB board member Doug Rogers.
An existential threat that is both one of the most pressing issues of the modern era and one that oftentimes goes unacknowledged by many on the world stage? When addressed as a hypothetical, this situation sounds ridiculous. However, this modern conundrum becomes increasingly pressing every day: revolving around the issue of climate change.
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Despite overwhelming evidence of rising sea levels, (which, according to NASA, occurs at an average increase of 3.3 millimeters each year), and a massive increase in average global temperature (NASA reports that the five hottest years in recorded history have all occurred post-2010), not every nation is working with the urgency needed to alleviate the effects of and to stop the climate crisis. In 2015, nearly 200 nations signed onto the Paris Agreement, an international effort designed to lower global temperature rise to a figure only 2 degrees Celsius above the average global temperature prior to industrialization. The Agreement also provides stipulations and guidance for the Nationally Determined Contributions of different countries (NDCs), which are individual climate plans for various nations, with a focus on reducing carbon emissions and combating the ripple effects of climate change.
However, the Paris Agreement is no longer enough to keep the world in check and safe for future generations. A UN report from 2019 establishes that the NDCs described in the Paris Climate Accord are no longer sufficient, as new data has revealed that current patterns indicate a rise in average global temperature of 3 degrees Celsius by 2100, with a continued rise in the years following. Reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change also describe the dramatic impacts that an increase in global temperature above 1.5 degrees celsius will have on the world, including more severe extreme weather events, droughts, and loss of habitat for many species of animals.
In order to solve this pressing issue, unprecedented levels of international collaboration will be required. Nations must expand their commitment to lowering their carbon emissions, by decreasing reliance on fossil fuels and increasing research and usage of clean and renewable energy. It has been so inspiring to see the climate activism of young people such as Vanessa Nakate and Greta Thunberg in recent years, and through collaboration amongst citizens, nations, and world leaders, it will be possible to stop the dangerous rise of global temperatures and ensure the earth as our home for generations to come.
CJ Hunt
Sophomore, Seaside High School
The Problem of Capitalism
Click on the arrow to listen to the essay, as read by WACMB board member Doug Rogers.
The question I am asked to write on is this: what global problem most requires resolution, with most urgency, most necessity? This question’s answer is simple, for there is by many measures one problem which unifies all quantifiable problems and contradictions of social existence as it stands: the capitalist political-economic paradigm and mode of production.
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This assertion is bold, but provable and correct. To demonstrate this, let us examine some of the severest problems of contemporary society, then elucidate their origin in capitalism. Firstly, the prevalence of war. The US has been at war my entire life. These wars are useless for the majority: The Iraq war’s pointlessness is such common knowledge it’s become humour, and quite recently the Afghanistan Papers revealed the reasons for that war were lies. So we ask the age old question, cui bono? Who profits from wars that don’t serve the workers who die fighting them? The answer: the holders of capital. The Iraq war didn’t “free” Iraq or stabilize the region. But what did it do? Open oil reserves to US capitalists, where they could invest capital to grow in wealth and influence. War is detestable to the majority, but a valuable asset to invested capital. Meaningless war arises from contradiction between the interests of the people and of capital.
Another example, impending climate-crisis. It is fact, given the immense amount of resources allocated meaninglessly (e.g. to war), the resources exist to solve climate change. But it remains. Why? It is certainly not true, as some misguided, or worse Malthusian, environmentalists say, that the majority are destroying the Earth because we do not care. Of course we care, we have a stake in the continued health of the world we live on. But capital doesn’t care, for it cannot. Capital has no mind, no future to think of; it is a brainless emotionless thing whose only drive is to invest itself everywhere that it may grow, in order to invest further that it may grow further. It is no surprise, then, that it is plastic production, waste dumping, and deforestation for the profit of capital that is the primary culprit in climate change. There are two of many problems of the capitalist economy’s arrangement of production solely to serve capital. To solve them (and others), we need an economy not for growing capital but for the common good!
Angelia Shi
Junior, Santa Catalina School
Our Future — A Religious Melting Pot
Click on the arrow to listen to the essay, as read by WACMB board member Doug Rogers.
When I was eight years old, I served pork to my friend who is Muslim. I had no idea that Muslims believe pigs are their ancestors and that therefore eating pork is forbidden by their faith. I still remember the tears and the redness from anger on her face. As a young child, this loss of friendship from my lack of comprehension of her faith made me naively fearful of meeting others from different religions.
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Years later, I realize that the lack of understanding of my friend’s belief is such a small issue compared to world conflicts motivated by different religious beliefs. In a world with 4200 religions, adding interfaith components to the education system is what I would like to change. Not only seeing inadequate understanding of religions as a factor causing global conflicts but also my desire to work for the United Nations, I decided to take World Religions class and Peace and Justice class in high school. I learned so much both from the lectures on religions and the conversations with my classmates who hold varying beliefs.
Now, I make sure to use different utensils to get meat and vegetables for the convenience of my Hindu friends. I listen closely to the prayer my friend Gracie reads when lighting the candles for Hanukkah, and I stop at the door when my Buddhist friend Fatemah is meditating before lights out to give her peace and quietness. Even small actions like these are appreciated greatly in a diverse community. One small bandage to try to heal both microlevel and macrolevel wounds is to educate students like me in religious tolerance and diversity. Interfaith education is necessary to help people understand others’ beliefs. However, mistakes similar to serving pork to Muslims continue to happen all around the world.
One effective way is to add general religions class and the impacts of different religious groups globally into each curriculum. Similar to studying abroad programs, exchanging students into various religious communities can also give them a taste of interfaith education. More widely, publications can include more articles and news on different religions or from authors who have distinct religious beliefs. Even with baby steps, this world is on the path of improvement.
