Welcome to the Naples Council on World Affairs (NCWA), serving the southwest coast of Florida. We are a member of the World Affairs Councils of America,whose stated mission is "to educate, inspire and engage Americans in international affairs and the critical global issues of our times."

NCWA is a non-profit and non-partisan organization of over 2500 members. Each year, from November to April, we feature a series of ten lectures by distinquished scholars and statesmen. These are generally on Mondays at both 3:45 and 7:30 PM and are held at the 800-seat Kiney Hall of St. John the Evangelist church on 111th Avenue. As opportunities arise, additional lectures and special activities are offered during the season. One quarter of our members participate in weekly discussion groups using the Great Decisions material from the Foreign Policy Association. You will find detailed descriptions of each of these member programs on this website. If you would like to inquire about membership, see the Membership section. Applications can be made by telephone or online.

The Board of Directors of NCWA believes that an important part of our mission is to reach out to students in our community. We do this through a number of programs detailed on this website, including speakers at local high schools, Model United Nations, Academic WorldQuest competitions, summer travel and educational opportunities. A significant portion of these outreach activities are supported by generous tax-deductible contributions from members.

Occasionally, the Council has reached beyond our community to meet a specific need, sometimes in a remote corner of the world. Our Village Assistance Program has provided modest funding to eleven projects during the past decade. As one example, in the poorest region of Tanzania, 100 AIDS orphans were provided bicycles to allow them to get to school and provide care for siblings. Many of these Tanzania students have "pen pals" in a Collier County middle school.

If you have questions about NCWA, please feel free to contact one of the directors (see the Board of Directors section of the website), use the Live Chat (Ask an Expert) feature highlighted in blue on the left side of this web page or call our answering service 239-649-3942, available 24/7.