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Starts: 11/30/2022 @ 12:00 pm
Ends: 11/30/2022 @ 1:00 pm

1350 Main Street, 3rd Floor Community Room, Springfield, MA

The World Affairs Council of Western Massachusetts will present John Feffer, director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies, on "Right Across the World: Italy, Sweden & Brazil" on Wednesday, November 30, 2022 at Noon EDT, in the Community Room at 1350 Main Street in downtown Springfield. John Feffer is the author of several books and numerous articles. His latest non-fiction book is "Right Across the World: The Global Networking of the Far-Right and the Left Response ". He is a senior associate at the Asia Institute in Seoul and has been both a Writing Fellow at Provisions Library in Washington, DC and a PanTech fellow in Korean Studies at Stanford University. He is a former associate editor of World Policy Journal. He has worked as an international affairs representative in Eastern Europe and East Asia for the American Friends Service Committee. The Instant Issues series is generously sponsored by Wilbraham & Monson Academy, Glenmeadow, & Sir Speedy. Special thanks to NAI Plotkin

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Starts: 10/25/2022 @ 6:00 pm
Ends: 10/25/2022 @ 8:30 pm

Springfield Sheraton Hotel at Monarch Place

The Board of Directors of the World Affairs Council of Western Massachusetts cordially invite you to attend the 96th Annual Meeting and Dinner with featured speaker Farah Pandith on How We Win: Soft power and Fighting Hate. Farah Pandith is an author, foreign policy strategist, and former diplomat. A world-leading expert and pioneer in countering violent extremism, she is a frequent media commentator and public speaker. Her book is How We Win: How Cutting-Edge Entrepreneurs, Political Visionaries, Enlightened Business Leaders, and Social Media Mavens Can Defeat the Extremist Threat. She served as a political appointee under Presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, and most recently she was the first-ever Special Representative to Muslim Communities, serving both Secretaries Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. She has served on the National Security Council, at the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in various senior roles. She is a senior fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School as well as an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. In fall 2020, the Muhammad Ali Center named Pandith the first-ever Muhammad Ali Global Peace Laureate for her proven track record of and commitment to promoting diversity, cohesion and respect. Special thanks to NAI Plotkin This event is generously sponsored by M & T Bank.

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Starts: 09/28/2022 @ 12:00 pm
Ends: 09/28/2022 @ 1:00 pm

1350 Main Street, Springfield, MA

Our first Instant Issues brown bag lunchtime discussion of the 2022-2023 program year will take place at noon on Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 1350 Main Street in downtown Springfield. Dr. Dennis T. Yasutomo, Esther Cloudman Dunn Professor Emeritus of Government at Smith College, will speak on Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific: Evolution of a Eurasian Century? Dennis Yasutomo will look at the impact of the crisis in Ukraine on the emerging Euro-Asian geopolitical dynamics involving China, the US, Japan, Australia and Europe's enhanced involvement in the Indo-Pacific region. Advanced registration is required. No walk ins. Audience size will be limited to allow social distancing so be sure to register early!

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Starts: 05/18/2022 @ 5:30 pm
Ends: 05/18/2022 @ 8:00 pm

Valley Venture Mentors 276 Bridge St, Springfield, MA 01103

We are pleased to present Friends from Afghanistan: The Refugee Experience in Western Massachusetts a panel discussion featuring Nazifa Hassan Safie, Safieullah Safie, and Amran Faith, all of whom came to Western Massachusetts in the fall of 2021 after evacuating Afghanistan. Dianne Fuller Doherty will moderate. The event will begin with a light halal supper followed by the program. This program is generously sponsored by Incredible Toys and the Zonta Club of Quaboag Valley. Special thanks to NAI Plotkin.

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Starts: 04/20/2022 @ 12:00 pm
Ends: 04/20/2022 @ 1:00 pm

1350 Main Street, Springfield, MA

We are very excited that our return to in-person events will be an Instant Issues brown bag lunch discussion on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at Noon EDT, featuring Council favorite Dr. Laura Reed on "Avoiding World War III: Nuclear Threats in Europe", in the 3rd Floor Community Room at 1350 Main Street in downtown Springfield. Instant Issues is generously sponsored by Wilbraham & Monson Academy, Glenmeadow, and Sir Speedy. Audience size will be limited to allow for social distancing so please register early! Dr. Reed is a lecturer at the Commonwealth Honors College at the University of Massachusetts--Amherst. She served as Assistant Director of the Five College Program in Peace and World Security Studies, a Fellow in the Managing the Atom Program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and as a Research Scientist in MIT’s Security Studies Program. You must register and pay in advance. No walk-ins. Laura Reed’s talk will also be available virtually. Council board member Jeremy Cole and his company, Jdcole-TV, will be providing the equipment and personnel to stream her talk on YouTube Live. A link will be sent out to everyone on our mailing list closer to the date of the event. This will be free and you will not need to register. If you are not currently on our mailing list, please go to the home page of this website to subscribe.

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Starts: 03/09/2022 @ 12:00 pm
Ends: 03/09/2022 @ 1:00 pm

On Wednesday, March 9, 2022 at Noon EST, The World Affairs Council will present author Dr. Constantine Pleshakov at an Instant Issues event on Russia's Foreign Policy in the 21st Century. A former foreign policy analyst at the Institute of U.S. and Canada Studies in Moscow, Constantine Pleshakov emigrated to America in 1998. He has published six books on geopolitics, war, and revolution, translated into twelve languages. His most recent book is The Crimean Nexus: Putin's War and the Clash of Civilizations. Other titles include The Tsar's Last Armada: The Epic Voyage to the Battle of Tsushima, Stalin's Folly: The Tragic First Ten Days of World War II on the Eastern Front, and There Is No Freedom Without Bread! 1989 and the Civil War That Brought Down Communism. A native of Yalta in Crimea, he is currently a visiting professor at Amherst College. This event is free and open to the public.

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Starts: 02/17/2022 @ 12:00 pm

Freelance writer and podcaster Bill Scher will speak at an Instant Issues Online event on He Saved the World: Edward Stettinius and the Creation of the U.N. on Thursday, February 17 at noon ET. The almost-completely forgotten Secretary of State for Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, Edward R. Stettinius, Jr. did more than anyone to create the United Nations, navigating a thicket of international disputes to maintain consensus between FDR, Churchill, Stalin and a litany of smaller nations to forge the final U.N. Charter. Bill Scher is a Contributing Editor to Politico Magazine and a Contributor to Real Clear Politics. He is the host of the history podcast "When America Worked: True Tales of America's Pragmatist Heroes," as well as co-host of "The DMZ" online show and podcast with conservative writer Matt Lewis produced by Bloggingheads.tv.

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Starts: 01/27/2022 @ 12:00 pm

The World Affairs Council will present Dr. Omar Dahi, Associate Professor of economics at Hampshire College and a research associate at the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, at an Instant Issues event on "Global Insecurity: Climate Change, Inequality, and War in the 21st Century".