World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth
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The World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is a non-profit, non-partisan international affairs organization based in Dallas, Texas. It was formed by the 2006 unification of the World Affairs Councils of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, which were founded in 1951 and 1961, respectively. It is one of four World Affairs Councils in Texas, and one of 86 councils in the United States. Jim Falk, president and CEO since August 2001, is also a director and the treasurer of the World Affairs Councils of America.
The council presents over 80 programs annually, with leaders in politics, business, academics, and the arts annually. These are aimed at helping its 3,000 members and also citizens around the Metroplex learn more about the world.
The World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth sponsors the North Texas Academic World Quest competition each year, testing the high schoolers' knowledge of world affairs, geography, history, culture, flags, sports, current events, leaders, economics, international organizations, and more. The winning teams recieves an all-expenses paid trip to the national tournament in Washington, D.C.. 2006 will be its third year--past winners were Jasper High School and the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science.
[edit] Notable speakers
Some famous and important speakers the World Affairs Council has presented include:
- Abdullah Alireza, Minister of State of Saudi Arabia
- James Baker, former Secretary of State
- Bono, lead singer of U2 and co-founder of DATA
- Paul Bremer, former Director of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance of post-war Iraq
- Clark Ervin, former Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security
- Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Ambassador to the United States
- Ari Fleischer, former White House Press Secretary
- Thomas Friedman, The New York Times Columnist and Pulitzer Prize recipient
- Carlos Alberto de Icaza Gonzalez, Mexican Ambassador to the United States
- Alan Greenspan, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve
- Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, United Staes Senator
- Gen. Ronald Keys, Commander of Air Combat Command of the United States Air Force
- David McCullough, author, historian, and Pulitzer Prize recipient
- T. Boone Pickens, founder of BP Capital
- Condoleezza Rice, United States Secretary of State
- Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric
- Zhou Wenzhong, Chinese Ambassador to the United States
- Carlos Westendorp, Spanish Ambassador to the United States