Student Education Programs
Our students are the the future, a future that becomes the present in less time than ever before. We at the CSWAC are proud to offer our students a chance to learn and excel through the programs below with are made possible in part by a grant from the Jim & Diane Cameron Educational Fund. Please feel free to contact us for more information regarding any of the listed programs. Click here to Contact our Education Program Chair.
Click here for the High School Education Programs Letter.
CSWAC Selected to Participate in Turkish Cultural Program
The World Affairs Councils of America in Washington, D.C. selected the CSWAC as one of the 21 councils from across the country to participate in the second annual Turkish Cultural Program. Our Board of Directors decided to apply for this program in November 2007, and we were notified in late December of our selection. This program is sponsored by the Turkish Cultural Foundation and consists of a three-part agenda involving four high school teachers from our area.
- The first part of the program is a full-day Teachers’ Workshop that will be held later in the spring during which our four teachers will participate and learn as much as possible about Turkey.
- The second part will be a Study Tour of Turkey that will take place this summer and involve a 9-day tour of Turkey for the selected teachers.
- The third part will be a series of events in the fall referred to as a Portrait of Turkey that will be led by our teachers to reach as large of a local audience as possible. For example, we intend to expand the annual High School Symposium into a full day event with the afternoon session devoted to a program on Turkey developed by our teachers.
The Turkish Cultural Foundation will provide financial support for the Teachers’ Workshop and the Portrait of Turkey event. They also will fund all costs for the teachers while in Turkey plus other travel expenses. Our council will subsidize the domestic travel expenses for our teachers.
High schools within El Paso County were notified of this opportunity. Interested teachers completed an application with their qualifications, and we selected the four winners from those who applied. This is an excellent opportunity for our council and local teachers to expand our educational programs.
The winning teachers, who will travel to Turkey, are Brian Brown from Manitou Springs High School, Cynthia Cox from Sierra High School, Zach Holmes from the Classical Academy, and Cheryl Laslo from Air Academy High School. The teachers’ workshop took place on Saturday, April 5th on the campus of Colorado College. The academic presenters at the workshop included Professor Robert Hazan from Metropolitan State College of Denver, Professor Libby Rittenberg from Colorado College, and Professor Scott Edelman from the Air Force Academy.
High School Symposium
Conducted annually since 1989, the High School Symposium is conducted each fall at Colorado College. Centered on topics developed for the USAF Academy's annual "Academy Assembly", the Symposium provides a forum in which high school students from the Pikes Peak region participate in roundtable discussions of key issues in international relations and world affairs. The World Affairs Council provides financial support for student transportation, an honorarium for the keynote speaker and moderators for the round table discussions. Click here to Contact our Education Program Chair.
2007 Symposium
The Colorado Springs World Affairs Council sponsored its 18th annual High School Symposium on Thursday, September 27, 2007 in Armstrong Hall on the campus of Colorado College. Approximately 182 high school students representing 12 local schools attended along with 21 teachers and staff. The topic of this year’s symposium was “Close Together But Far Apart: The U.S. and Latin America”, and Professor Juan Lindau from Colorado College delivered the keynote address to the students. After the keynote address, two teams from Colorado College and the United States Air Force Academy conducted a spirited debate on the subject of U.S. relations with Cuba. The students then broke into 14 roundtable groups to discuss U.S.-Latin American relations in more detail before reconvening for presentations from student rapporteurs from each of the roundtables discussing the major findings from their respective groups. The morning concluded with lunch at the cafeteria in the Worner Center. Both the number of students and participating high schools increased this year over 2006 thanks in large part to the hard work of Professors Bob Lee from Colorado College and Brent Talbot of the Air Force Academy, the co-chairs, along with the organizational skills of Nancye Thayer who served as the registrar. Several members of the World Affairs Council participated as roundtable leaders.
College International Relations Committee
Begun in 2005, this program provides financial support for local college students engaged in world affairs programs. For example, in 2006, the council provided a grant to a team of students from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs to participate in an international Model United Nations competition. This program also sponsors college student participation at Council Broadmoor luncheons by subsidizing student attendance for students from educational institutions that purchase organizational memberships in the Council. Click here to Contact our Education Program Chair.
World AcademicQuest
The World Affairs Council of America began hosting national competitions in this "knowledge bowl" of world affairs in 2005. Each year, the Colorado Springs WAC has hosted a local competition, inviting area high school teams to square off in a fast-paced, wide ranging test of their knowledge of world affairs. Since 2005, the local Council has provided financial and administrative support for the local winner to travel to the National AWQ springtime competition in Washington DC. Click here to Contact our Education Program Chair.
Read Sample Questions asked to 2007 AcademicQuest Participants.
Model United Nations
Working in cooperation with the local chapter of the United Nations Association of the United States, the CSWAC has provided financial support for local high school teams to participate in regional Model UN Conferences. Click here to Contact our Education Program Chair.
School Luncheon Program
Each month, the Colorado Springs World Affairs Council subsidizes attendance at our flagship luncheon program at the Broadmoor for approximately 20 middle and high school students from the Pikes Peak region. Over the past 5 years, hundreds of local students have been able to listen to our high profile guest speakers' presentations on items of contemporary interest in world affairs. The program exposes students to key issues, prominent world figures, and community leaders in world affairs. Click here to Contact our Education Program Chair.
World Affairs Challenge
Conducted each spring at the University of Denver, this competition for junior and senior high school teams features four types of competition focused on world affairs: prepared presentations, impromptu presentations, posters and a global awareness quiz. Several dozens of schools from throughout Colorado compete, their work judged by a large panel of adult professionals. The Colorado Springs World Affairs Council provides grants to support the months of preparation and transportation to DU for local teams competing in the event. Click here to Contact our Education Program Chair.
