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What's Up at NCWA? |
Lecture Schedule for 2024-2025 Season |
Out of Peril and Chaos: 2024 Lectures Monday, November 4: “Pipe Dream or Strategic Windfall: What the United States Should Expect from India in a Changing World Order”, Dr. Daniel S. Markey, a Senior Advisor on South Asia at the United States Institute of Peace and a Senior Fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Monday, November 18: Germany, NATO and Nuclear Doctrine “Germany after Merkel - Still a Leader of the Free World?”, Dr. Liana Fix, a fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations and an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University in the Center for German and European Studies. Monday, December 2: "Are We Embedded In a New Cold War? Will Russia Win?" Ian J. Brzezinski leads the Brzezinski Group, which provides strategic insight and advice to commercial and government clients, and is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on Strategy and Security. Monday, December 9: Special Live Book Discussion with Middle East Expert Steven Cook: "The End of Ambition: America’s Past, Present and Future in the Middle East". Cook is the Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Watch for a special invitation! | 2025 Lectures January 6: The Next World Order: Does Europe Still Matter? January 27: Will China become the World’s Strongest Power? February 10: Iran’s New Patrons Friday, February 21: The Ninth Biennial National War College Event: “Our National Security” March 10: American Statecraft March 24: Artificial Intelligence April 7: Immigration The lectures will be live-streamed via Zoom at the time of the lecture, as well as made available as archived recordings accessed through our website soon after the event. Lecture times are 3:45 and 7:30 pm. |
The new season is drawing near, and by now, you have received a few reminders to re-enroll.* We hope you continue to enjoy our robust Distinguished Lecture Series, Great Decisions small discussion groups and other programs. Family and individual memberships are available. Please feel free to explore our website and then click here or reach our Call Center at 239-649-3942 to join us! *Membership year runs July 1 through June 30 of each year. |
 14 Area High School Students Selected
Recipients of 14 summer study scholarships at prestigious programs in North America and abroad have returned from their studies. We will soon have reports from their summer adventures, but for now, click here to download a PowerPoint presentation about who they are and where they went.
Alumni of Model UN and other school programs will tell you by video what these experiences have meant to their personal and professional development. In the video at left, Arnav Sheth of Gulf Coast High School talks about what he learned in Germany, including exposure to high officials at the European Common Market headquarters. To view Arnav's video, click here. Click here to be inspired by other stories by students who have benefitted from NCWA programs. |
Board of Directors Has Begun Plans Barely had the echoes of the last season ended before the Naples Council on World Affairs Board of The Board is focusing on lessons learned last year and how to make the coming season even stronger. We offered members a very timely and in-depth lecture season as critical international events unfolded through the months. We expect very similar issues on the international scene to concern us this season as tensions build in the Middle East and the ties between China, Russia, Iran and North Korea continue to strengthen. Great Decisions groups will continue to make sure discussion materials are current, and a new editor of the book for next season is expected to produce stronger reference material. Model UN and Academic WorldQuest competitions are assessing next year's programs. NCWA grew in membership last season after turnover during the pandemic and laid a foundation for continued growth. Through the coming months, we will report on strategies to make NCWA even stronger for the long term and even more stimulating and timely for you, our members. |
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Model UN Awards Ralph Bunche Award
Abigail Shaw of Gulf Coast High School received the Ralph Bunche Award for a top senior and received a check for $6,500. Model UN Chair Alan Van Egmond presented the award. Model UN Coughlin Scholarship
Alan Van Egmond, Model UN chair, presented the FGCU-NCWA Professor Richard W. Coughlin Model UN Scholarship to Palmetto Ridge High School senior Ludmie Cesar. The scholarship was a stipend of $2,500 from FGCU and $500 from NCWA for educational expenses. Because of Ludmie's achievements as a Florida Bright Futures Medallion Scholar and recipient of a FGCU Silver Award, she will attend FGCU free of charge. A new Model UN judge, Jack Gulati and the Gulati Family Foundation, contributed NCWA's portion of the award. Ludmie speaks fluent French, Creole and English. She enrolled at Palmetto Ridge High School two years ago as a sophomore when her family emigrated from Haiti. She also received the high school's World Language Award and an academic award for consistently maintaining a grade point average of 3.5 or higher.
Mark Walchak, chair of NCWA's School Outreach Committee, went to the classroom of Meghan Joyce, coach of the Aubrey Rogers High School AWQ team that won first place in local competition, to present the NCWA 2024 Educator of the Year award. | Student Programs Highlight End of Season The impact of NCWA's programs for students hit full stride during March. This is the month when student involvement is showcased and when young people emerge with in-depth experiences that can shape lives and careers. Here is a summary of what NCWA does to enhance the future of the area's youth and perhaps to plant the seeds for careers in international affairs and diplomacy. Model UN The 31st annual Southwest Florida Model United competition concluded at Florida Gulf Coast University. Winning teams and students are listed on our Model UN pages; click here for more information.
In 2016, Daniela led her Cape Coral High School team to first place in that year's special Model UN contest, the Syrian refugee competition. Also, she and her teammates recognized the importance of transportation in socioeconomic progress and organized a bike-a-thon fundraiser that facilitated the delivery of 600 bicycles to orphans in Losotho through the nonprofit "Working Bikes." She credits her Model UN experience as helpful in her admission to Johns Hopkins University, where she earned an undergraduate degree in molecular and cellular biology before admission to medical school. She is a 2017 graduate of Cape Coral High School and plans to use her medical practice to benefit Latino communities. Academic WorldQuest Naples' newest school, Aubrey Rogers High School, won the NCWA High School Academic WorldQuest competition and traveled to Washington DC for the national competition in April. For the first time, a group of four freshmen earned the Naples champion's title. They were among 84 students and 21 teams from six high schools in Collier County that competed. Their travel to the national competition was paid for by a grant to the World Affairs Council of America (WACA) by the Carlos Alvarez Foundation. Second and third places went to Gulf Coast High School teams. Click here to learn more. Click here for information about the middle school competition.
In the above photo, from left, are Mimi Gregory, NCWA Vice President for Programs; Meghan Joyce, Aubrey Rogers High School team coach; students Aaron Bowman, Bennett Bowman, Luke Brown and Alex Ewy; and Jim Seymour, NCWA's manager of the high school competition. |
To hear a WGCU interview with Daniela Barrata Herrera, keynote speaker at this year's Model UN, 
Some Benefits of Membership in NCWA |
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This informative and nonpartisan daily newsletter on international events is a quick way to stay current and enhance your understanding of our lectures and Great Decisions discussions! It is a free benefit of NCWA membership. You may click here to subscribe. Travel with WACA Members NCWA members enjoy the companionship of like-minded explorers when they explore the world with the World Affairs of America (WACA) travel program. Administered by the Philadelphia Council, the program features tours led by Council members to a wide variety of destinations. For more information on trips, go to www.wacphila.org. |
A Deep Dive into Critical Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Issues The Naples Council on World Affairs (NCWA) is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our mission is to educate, inspire and engage our community in international affairs and global issues. Member benefits: Lectures by foreign affairs experts; small nonpartisan Great Decisions discussion groups; rich student programs, including Model UN, Academic WorldQuest competitions for middle school and high school students; scholarships for North American and overseas study; support for teachers, schools and students' careers in international affairs; book club, and opportunities for members to get involved in meaningful programs! |
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