Foreign Policy Association
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The Foreign Policy Association (FPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring the American public to learn more about the world. Founded in 1918, FPA provides independent publications, programs and forums to increase public awareness of, and foster popular participation in, matters relating to those policy issues. The Foreign Policy Association was founded as a loose association of individuals under the chairmanship of journalist Paul Kellogg, who called it the Committee on Nothing at All. The Association was reconstituted in 1923 as the Foreign Policy Association with a commitment to the careful study of all sides of international questions affecting the U.S. John Foster Dulles and Eleanor Roosevelt were among the incorporators.
FPA's mission remains much the same today. Its Web site affirms the organization's role: "The Foreign Policy Association serves as a catalyst for developing awareness, understanding of, and providing informed opinions on global issues. Through its balanced, nonpartisan programs and publications, the FPA encourages citizens to participate in the foreign policy process."
At the heart of FPA's outreach efforts lies the renowned Great Decisions Global Affairs Education Program. Great Decisions celebrated 50 years in 2004, and is composed of the annual Briefing Book, Great Decisions TV, the National Opinion Ballot Report, discussion groups across the country and the GD Online newsletter.
The Foreign Policy Association was founded in 1918 as the League of Free Nations Association. It was formed by 141 distinguished Americans to support President Woodrow Wilson's efforts to achieve a just peace. The Association was reconstituted in 1923 as the Foreign Policy Association with a commitment to the careful study of all sides of international questions affecting the U.S. John Foster Dulles and Eleanor Roosevelt were among the incorporators.
FPA's mission remains much the same today. However, the programs implemented to achieve this mission have changed with the times. Below are some of "FPA's Milestones," which help explain how FPA got where it is today.
Foreign Policy, Democracy, and the Art of Association
In the 1920s...
Saturday luncheon discussions on foreign policy were initiated by FPA at the Astor Hotel in New York City.
In the 1930s...
Discussions among citizens spread, and FPA branches in the 1930s and 1940s were forerunners of the independent World Affairs Councils of the 1950s.
FPA's publications, Foreign Policy Reports (1925-51), Foreign Policy Bulletin (1920-61) and Headline Series (1935-present), became known for their clear and impartial analysis of foreign policy issues.
FPA's "Off-the-Record" lecture series was formed in 1938 by 19 women wishing to be better informed about international affairs.
The OTR lecture series celebrates its 57th year in 1995. With a membership of close to 600, it continues to involve discerning participants from the Greater New York area who meet 11 times a year to hear and to question leading authorities on foreign affairs.
In the 1940s...
FPA pioneered international affairs radio discussions by broadcasting New York meetings and weekly talks on "The World Today" over the NBC network.
Today, FPA's national television and radio programs, and educational outreach across the country, bring FPA programs to millions of Americans.
In the 1950s...
In 1954, the Great Decisions program was launched in Oregon. Based on the annual briefing book prepared by FPA's editors, Great Decisions has become the largest nonpartisan public education program on international affairs in the world.
In the 1960s...
FPA undertook a new educational challenge--to improve the teaching of world affairs in the nation's schools.
Today the preparation of innovative study materials and teachers' guides, as well as workshops for teachers, are FPA priorities.
The forerunner of FPA's Citizen's Guide to U.S. Foreign Policy, prepared every Presidential election year, was published in 1968.
In the 1970s...
Great Decisions opinion ballots were tabulated nationally for the first time.
Every year results of ballot tabulations are presented to the White House, the departments of State and Defense, Members of Congress and the nation's media.
FPA emerges as the leading public foreign policy forum for national and international leaders.
Among those who have addressed FPA audiences are Great Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, China's Premier Zhao Ziyang, India's Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, Australia's Prime Minister Robert Hawke, the Soviet Union's Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduard A. Shevardnadze, His Majesty King Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho, Nicaragua's President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, President Carlos Salinas de Gortari of Mexico, President Carlos Saul Menem of Argentina, as well as then-Governor Bill Clinton, Secretaries of State and Secretaries of Defense.
In the 1980s...
FPA founded the World Affairs Council of Washington, D.C.
The first "Think International" Essay Contest for high school students was held.
FPA held its first Student Town Meeting in 1985. Students and their teachers have participated in town meetings where the following leaders have responded to their questions: General Alexander M. Haig, Jr., President Jimmy Carter, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, Congressman Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Donald F. McHenry, U.S. Ambassador to the UN, among others.
In 1986, FPA initiated its "model sites" project designed to foster collaboration among local school districts, community organizations and colleges and universities.
FPA founded the Young Professionals Group (YPG). Members meet regularly to discuss world issues with experts.
In the 1990s...
FPA and the Ford Foundation co-published five books in the South Africa UPDATE Series, a detailed account of South Africa in the 1980s.
The third edition of Guide to Careers in World Affairs, by FPA's editors, was published in 1993. FPA held its sixth annual Careers in World Affairs Seminar in 1994.
