by Staff
By bringing nationally and internationally known speakers to town, the World Affairs Council of Jacksonville has two objectives in mind.
First, the WAC wants to help educate residents about international affairs in this age of terrorism, and second, the nonprofit group seeks to promote economic growth by promoting Northeast Florida on a global scale.
“The United States tends to be insular by nature and that is no longer an option after Sept. 11,” said Marilyn McAfee, a former ambassador and president of the council. “Globalization and terrorism are here and we must look at what we are up against and find the best way to deal with it.”
For McAfee and the council, that means bringing experts on international affairs to town to provide insight and analysis to the community about topics ranging from terrorism to economics in Asia. The group has partnered with the Chamber, the port authority and the University of North Florida to help in their efforts.
The local WAC chapter started in 1985 as the National Interest Forum. As it grew, the decision was made to join the World Affairs Councils of America, a national organization boasting 83 councils.
Currently, WAC and the Chamber are working to promote trade relations between Jacksonville and Brazil, which recently elected a leftist president, Lula da Silva.
The current U.S. ambassador to Brazil will be in Jacksonville April 7 as part of an economic mission to encourage trade between Jacksonville and Brazil.
“People from outside the United States tend to look at the U. S. in terms of the Beltway [Washington, D.C.] and not the great communities such as Jacksonville. Part of our effort is to expand their knowledge of our country, including Jacksonville.”
According to McAfee, bringing a speaker to town is part of a two-step process which begins with a member of WAC contacting a friend or former colleague who would be of interest to the community. After discussion, another member agrees to sponsor the speaker, who is then contacted and the necessary arrangements are made.
Recent speakers include Fareed Zakaria, the international editor for Newsweek, former ambassador Mark Johnson, an expert on the Middle East, and Admiral Jonathan Howe, who spoke on national security and military affairs.
Burton Gerber, a former CIA officer, is the next scheduled speaker. He’ll be at UNF April 14 to discuss terrorism and the intelligence challenge.