Cleveland Council On World Affairs

TO INSPIRE ENGAGEMENT IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AND WORLD CULTURES THROUGH EDUCATION, PUBLIC DIALOGUE, AND CITIZEN DIPLOMACY.

SPEAKER PROGRAMS TO BUILD BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WORLD AFFAIRS, GLOBAL ISSUES AND U.S. FOREIGN POLICYIN FISCAL 2022, THE COUNCIL ENGAGED WITH 1,213 ATTENDEES AND 308 STUDENT PARTICIPANTS THROUGH SEVENTEEN SPEAKER FORUMS THAT IT ORGANIZED ON INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, GLOBAL ISSUES AND U.S. FOREIGN POLICY. SPEAKERS INCLUDED LEADING EXPERTS FROM GOVERNMENT, BUSINESS, MEDIA, 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.

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 FIVE CONFERENCES AND ENGAGED 1,098 STUDENTS FROM 46 HIGH SCHOOLS AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS IN THE REGION. CCWA ALSO HOSTED 17 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 INTERNATIONAL ISSUES THAT AFFECT THEM SUCH AS CLIMATE CHANGE OR GLOBAL MIGRATION.

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 529 INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE VISITORS FROM 124 COUNTRIES THROUGH THE INTERNATIONAL VISITOR LEADERSHIP PROGRAM (IVLP). FOR EXAMPLE, CCWA HOSTED A GROUP OF PROFESSIONALS FROM POLAND FOR A DISCUSSION ON AIR QUALITY AND SUSTAINABLE NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT WHICH BROUGHT TOGETHER VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES ON INTERNATIONAL BEST PRACTICES.IN FISCAL 2022, TWENTY-EIGHT OF OUR EXCHANGE PROGRAMS WERE VIRTUAL AND CCWA WAS ONE OF THE FIRST CBM ORGANIZATIONS TO WELCOME BACK IN PERSON EXCHANGES TO CLEVELAND IN MARCH 2022.CCWA WAS ASSISTED IN MAKING OUR INTERNATIONAL VISITORS EXPERIENCE IN CLEVELAND MORE MEANINGFUL THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF OUR 108 CITIZEN DIPLOMATS (VOLUNTEERS) THAT WELCOME INTERNATIONAL VISITORS INTO THEIR HOMES FOR MEALS AND OCCASIONAL EXTENDED STAYS.

CCWA ALSO OFFERS CONTINUING LEARNING INITIATIVES IN THE AREA OF GLOBAL EDUCATION AS PART OF ITS MAURA O'DONNELL-MCCARTHY CENTER FOR GLOBAL UNDERSTANDING. THESE INCLUDE A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR EDUCATORS CALLED "BRIDGES TO THE WORLD AND "GLOBAL COMPETENCY TRAINING" TO HELP ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUAL PROFESSIONALS UNDERSTAND THE SKILLS NECESSARY TO WORK CROSS CULTURALLY. BOTH PROGRAMS HELP TO CULTIVATE A REGION OF GLOBALLY MINDED CITIZENS AND PROMOTE GREATER GLOBAL UNDERSTANDING.IN FISCAL 2022, CCWA PROVIDED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS FOR EDUCATORS TO BRING COMPLEX GLOBAL ISSUES TO LIFE FOR LOCAL STUDENTS. TWO HUNDRED SIXTY-NINE INDIVIDUALS ATTENDED GLOBAL COMPETENCY WORKSHOPS AND CCWA DELIVERED 196 GLOBAL COMPETENCY ATTITUDE ASSESSMENTS TO GAUGE GLOBAL AWARENESS.IN FISCAL 2021, CCWA LAUNCHED A NEW TEN-WEEK INITIATIVE CALLED LEADS (LEADERSHIP, EXCHANGE, AND DIPLOMACY SCHOLARS) FOR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS TO EXPLORE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A LEADER IN AN INCREASINGLY GLOBALIZED WORLD. THE PROGRAM WAS EXTREMELY WELL RECEIVED AND IN FISCAL 2022 CCWA ENGAGED 16 PARTICIPANTS IN THE COHORT. CCWA ANTICIPATES MAKING THIS AN ANNUAL OFFERING.