Wednesday, December 9th, 2020 – 1:00 PM PDT The World Affairs Councils of Orange County Presents: Turning Point: Policymaking in the Era of Artificial Intelligence A free webinar with General John Allen & Director Darrell West, Brookings Institution Here’s the link to our independent bookseller, Chevalier’s Books.  Purchase Turning Point and receive a 15% discount John Rutherford Allen assumed the presidency of the Brookings Institution in November 2017, having most recently served as chair of security and strategy and a distinguished fellow in the Foreign Policy Program at Brookings. Allen is a retired U.S. Marine Corps four-star general and former commander of the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and U.S. Forces in Afghanistan. Beyond his operational and diplomatic credentials, Allen has led professional military educational programs, including as director of the Marine Infantry Officer Program and commanding officer of the Marine Corps Basic School. He twice served at the United States Naval Academy, first as a military instructor, where he was named instructor of the year in 1990, and later as commandant of midshipmen; the first Marine Corps officer to hold this position. Allen was the Marine Corps fellow to the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the first Marine officer to serve as a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, where today he is a permanent member. Among his other affiliations, Allen is a senior fellow at the Merrill Center of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. He is an “Ancien” of the NATO Defense College in Rome, and a frequent lecturer there. Allen is the recipient of numerous U.S. and foreign awards. He holds a Bachelor of Science in operations analysis from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Master of Arts in national security studies from Georgetown University, a Master of Science in strategic intelligence from the Defense Intelligence College (now National Intelligence University), and a Master of Science in national security strategy from the National Defense University. Darrell M. West is the Vice President and Senior Fellow of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. He holds the Douglas Dillon Chair in Governance Studies. Previously, he was the John Hazen White Professor of Political Science and Public Policy and Director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University. His current research focuses on American politics, technology policy, and artificial intelligence. West is the author of 25 books including Turning Point: Policymaking in the Era of Artificial Intelligence (Brookings, 2020; with John Allen), Divided Politics, Divided Nation: Hyperconflict in the Trump Era (Brookings, 2019), The Future of Work: Robots, AI, and Automation (Brookings, 2018); Megachange: Economic Disruption, Political Upheaval, and Social Strife in the 21st Century (Brookings, 2016), Billionaires: Reflections on the Upper Crust (Brookings, 2014), Digital Schools (Brookings, 2012), The Next Wave: Using Digital Technology to Further Social and Political Innovation (Brookings, 2011), Brain Gain: Rethinking U.S. Immigration Policy (Brookings, 2010), Digital Medicine: Health Care in the Internet Era (Brookings, 2009), Digital Government: Technology and Public Sector Performance, (Princeton University Press, 2005), and Air Wars: Television Advertising in Election Campaigns (Congressional Quarterly Press, […]

Thursday, December 17th, 2020 – 1:00 PM PDT The World Affairs Councils of Orange County Presents: The Future of Diplomacy in an Increasingly Complex and Globalized World A free webinar with Ambassador Nicholas Burns Ambassador Nicholas Burns is the Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professor of  the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations at the Harvard Kennedy  School. He is the founder and Faculty Chair of the Future of Diplomacy Project  and Faculty Chair of the Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship.  He serves on the Board of Directors of the Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for  Science and International Affairs, is a Faculty Affiliate of the Middle East  Initiative, and is a Faculty Associate at Harvard’s Weatherhead Center for  International Affairs.  Professor Burns has received fifteen honorary degrees, the Presidential  Distinguished Service Award, the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service  Award, the 2017 Ignatian Award from Boston College, 2016 New Englander of the  Year from the New England Council, the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public  Service from the Johns Hopkins University, the Boston College Alumni  Achievement Award, and the Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award from Tufts  University.  He has a BA in History from Boston College (1978), an MA in International  Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies  (1980) and earned the Certificat Pratique de Langue Francaise at the University of  Paris-Sorbonne (1977). He was a Visiting Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center  for International Scholars in summer 2008.

Saturday, March 13, 2021 – Time TBD Join the Academic WorldQuest Competition TODAY!!            Academic WorldQuest is a flagship program of the World Affairs Councils of America. This year the local competition will be held on March 13th, 2021. AWQ engages more than 4,000 high school students annually across the U.S to test their knowledge of global issues and foreign policy in competitions across the country. AWQ’s mission is to offer high school students an interactive way to learn about critical challenges in today’s world. A Once in A Lifetime Experience!! “We learned so much about the city, our government, our world, and each other. It was an unforgettable experience.” ~ Testimonial from Briana, Celine, Jacob, and Kiernan of Marina High School – 2018 Local Competition Winners Application Deadline: Monday, December 14, 2020 Announcing 2021 AWQ Topics: Country in Focus: Uzbekistan Global Protests Shifting Sands: The Arab Spring 10 Years On The International Labor Organization (ILO) The US Foreign Service in the 21st Century Exploring Peace in a World of Conflict Fraying Alliances Looking to a Post-Pandemic Economy Current Events