Classroom Engagement

Student engagement with international events and foreign policy is more important than ever and increasingly difficult. World Affairs Council can help educators enrich the classroom experience in a number of ways.

International career panels bring to the school three to five area professionals whose work or businesses are in some way global. They speak about their educational and career paths, with special emphasis on specialized study or skills such as world langauge acquisition. This offers students a new perpective as the plan their own way through college and into the work world. Recent panels have included particpants involved in diplomacy, higher education, publishing, language learning, informational technology, and entrepreneurship.

We can bring speakers--either local or from away--to the school address a classroom or an assembly of more students. Teachers who would like someone with expertise on a particular topic should contact us to find out how we can partner. 

Occasionally, participants in the US Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program visit classrooms and, in addition to learning about the American education system, engage with students about life in their home countries. 

Students are nearly always welcome at regular World Affairs Council events, often for free or a reduced price. Recently students have attended Council events on violent extremism and transmedia engagement, the potential impact of Brexit on Ireland, leadership and negotiation in foreign affairs, "heartland" security, the press and diplomacy in Afghanistan, and the rise of the human rights movement in Northern Ireland. 

Please contact us for more information about how we can work together.