Upcoming Events
February 16, 2012 — Monthly Speaker Event
Speaker: Ambassador John Maisto
Topic: "Democracies & Dictatorships: Myth & Reality in Latin America"
Location: Broadmoor Hotel — West Ballroom
Time: 11:30 A.M.
Our often forgotten southern continental neighbor, Latin America, is a land of contradictions … our fastest growing trading partner … largest supplier of illegal drugs … largest foreign supplier of oil … a partner in developing alternative fuels … largest source of documented and undocumented immigrants to the US … economic growth and persistent poverty … new democracies and old dictatorships. Are there lessons learned? Lessons forgotten?
February 11, 2012 — Annual Teacher's Workshop
The Colorado Springs World Affairs Council is offering an all-day workshop for teachers wishing to learn more
about our position in a global and changing economy.
This workshop is for teachers only.
March 6, 2012 — Monthly Speaker Event
Speaker: Thom Shanker, New York Times Pentagon National Security Correspondent
Topic: After Iraq, Ahead in Afghanistan … and the Big Showdown over Military Spending
Location: TBD
Time: Reception at 5:30 p.m., Program at 6:00 P.M.
Over the past 15 years, U.S. defense spending doubled in real terms as America fought two unique wars and responded to a host of 21st century security challenges. Now what?
April, 2012 — Panel Discussion
Speaker: Korea Economic Institute
Topic: "Panel Discussion on The Future of Korea"
Check back later for more details.
May 3, 2012 — Monthly Speaker Event
Speaker: Ambassador Jendayi Frazer
Topic: "Africa: Challenges and Opportunities of a Too-Long Ignored Continent"
Check back later for more details.
President's Message
From your President, Dr. Schuyler Foerster
Before returning to Colorado Springs at the end of 2009—after a 20-year hiatus—I had the privilege of running the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh for over a dozen years. That was a much larger council, with several full time staff members, and a high school outreach that spanned eight counties, 275 school districts, and some 12-15,000 students each year. But here is where I want to be.
Partner Events
John J. Mearsheimer will be speaking on “Why China Cannot Rise Peacefully” on Wednesday, February 1, at Colorado College. The lecture will be in Gates Common Room in Palmer Hall at 7:30 P.M. Professor Mearsheimer is appearing under the auspices of the William Jovanovich Lecture in Public Affairs.
Mearsheimer is a renowned political scientist who has written widely on international relations theory and American foreign policy. He is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, where he has taught since 1982. Professor Mearsheimer is the author of five books, including The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (2001), The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy (with Stephen M. Walt, 2007), and Why Leaders Lie: The Truth about Lying in International Politics (2011). He is the recipient of many teaching awards and has lectured widely in the United States and the world. His work was recently featured in an essay by Robert Kaplan in the January/February 2012 issue of The Atlantic, “Why John Mearsheimer is Right (About Some Things).”
Of Interest
Honored Guests
Srdja Popovic and Slobodan Dinovic were honored guests at the May 2, 2011 COSWAC luncheon. They were founders of the OTPOR! (resistance) movement in Serbia and credited with initiating the successful non-violent overthrow of Slobodan Milošević. They also are credited with training the dissidents in the latest changes in Egypt.