World Affairs Council of Northern California
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The World Affairs Council of Northern California is an international-affairs organization based in San Francisco, and is the largest such organization on the West Coast. It was founded in 1947, out of the interest generated by the founding of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945. In addition to their headquarters in San Francisco's Union Square, they serve their 10,000 members through chapters in Contra Costa County, Marin County, and the San Mateo County. They are the largest affiliate of the national World Affairs Councils of America. Jane Wales, its President and CEO since 1998, often presides over their events.
The organization hosts more than 200 events every year with leading political and business leaders, academics, journalists, and artists. Council events are an opportunity to engage in candid discussions with people who are shaping the world. Most events are open to the general public, and they encourage open discussion.
[edit] Notable speakers
Some of their notable speakers from the recent past include:
- Tony Blair, Prime Minister of United Kingdom
- HRH Prince Bandar, Saudi Ambassador to the United States
- Willie Brown, former Mayor of San Francisco
- Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter
- Wesley Clark, four star general and former presidential candidate
- F. W. DeKlerk, former President of South Africa, and Nobel Peace Prize Recipient
- Stuart Eizenstat, former U.S. Ambassador to the European Union
- John Kerry, U.S. Senator (D-MA) and presidential candidate
- William Kristol, founder and editor of The Weekly Standard
- Richard Meyers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- Vandana Shiva, founder and director of the Research Foundation for Science Technology, and Natural Resource Policy in New Delhi, India
- William Perry, Former Secretary of Defense
- George Shultz, Former Secretary of State
- Sam Nunn, Former US Senator
- Nancy Pelosi, Democratic House Minority Whip
- Lech Wałęsa, Former President of Poland and head of Solidarity
- Milos Zeman, Czech Prime Minister
- Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- Paul Wolfowitz, US Deputy Secretary of Defense
- Graça Machel, President, Foundation of Community Development (Mozambique)
- Andrew Grove, Co-Founder and Chairman of Intel Corporation
- David Halberstam, Pulitzer Price Winning Author
- Jorge Castaneda, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Mexico
- Fareed Zakaria, Editor of Newsweek International, ABC News Commentator
- Ehud Barak, Former Israeli Prime Minister
- Thomas Friedman, New York Times Columnist
- Joseph Stiglitz, Economist and Nobel Laureate
- Paul Krugman, New York Times Columnist
- Óscar Arias, Nobel Peace Prize Winner
- George Soros, International Financier
- Desmond Tutu, Archbishop
