World Affairs Council of Miami

TO ENAGE OUR COMMUNITY ON GLOBAL ISSUES

Founded in August 2021, the World Affairs Council of Miami is an independent and non-partisan 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our goal is to serve as a public good to enhance local access to high-quality information on international affairs. We are a member of the World Affairs Councils of America, the United States' oldest and largest network of grassroots non-profits dedicated to educating the public on world affairs. 

We are building Miami's first independent think tank.

WHY WE EXIST

With around 100 countries diplomatically and commercially represented, South Florida is uniquely suited for a thriving international affairs sector. Despite this, greater Miami has no think tanks outside of academia to serve as independent voices on policy matters. Since 2021, the World Affairs Council of Miami has met this market opportunity by (1) hosting publicly accessible talks with policy experts; (2) connecting Miami-based diplomats with the broader community; (3) helping young Miamians become future U.S. diplomats; and (4) convening community leaders with global policymakersers to enhance South Florida's international profile.

HOW WE SERVE

In our three years of programming, we have held over 75 programs working with local institutions like Miami-Dade College, FIU, UM, Miami-based non-profits, local business, and county government as well as with consulates and embassies, world-class think tanks, renown NGOs, the U.S. government, and multilateral organizations like NATO and the United Nations. No matter the partner, our goal is to build programs to empower Miamians with knowledge of the complexities of a rapidly changing world. 

PROGRAMMING

• The Mark Samuelian Distinguished Speaker Series invites experts in international relations to share their knowledge of foreign affairs with the South Florida public. Past speakers have included U.S. and foreign Ambassadors, military leaders, think tank experts, and representatives of NATO and the United Nations. This program is proudly supported by Miami Dade College. In-person programs take place at the MDC Wolfson Campus in partnership with the Miami Dade College Honors College. It is free to attend for all.
• Academic WorldQuest is an annual, nation-wide international affairs trivia competition for high school students. Each spring, we host this program together with the FIU Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs to help accelerate youth interest in and knowledge of world affairs, geography, economy, current events, and global history. During the program, U.S. Ambassadors and State Department career specialists are invited to instruct the students how to become a diplomat. The top three teams are invited to a briefing at U.S. Southern Command on regional security in the Americas, while the competition's winning team is sponsored for a fully-funded trip to Washington, D.C. to compete in the national championship of their peers from across the country. While in Washington, students also visit Capitol Hill, foreign embassies, think tanks, and other D.C. institutions. The 3-time winning team, the Hialeah-Miami Lakes Global Trojans, were honored with a Proclamation by Miami Dade County for their success - while the program itself has been endorsed by Mayor Levine Cava for its excellence.
• The C-The-Future Series is a partnership program between the World Affairs Council of Miami and Venture Cafe Miami, which serves to connect Miami-based diplomats with our community's tech, innovation, and entrepreneurship scene. In that capacity, we invite Consulates to showcase their country's innovative trends, policies, and ecosystems in an interactive, moderated conversation with a Consul General to advance Miamians' connection to the wider world. We also work to exhibit each country's cuisine, music, aesthetics, dance, and general culture at each event. Partners have included the Consulates of France, Germany, Israel, Netherlands, Mexico, Canada, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, and the U.S. Navy.
• We convene Leadership Roundtables to facilitate expertise exchanges between policy-makers, diplomats, and cross-sector representatives in Miami. These bespoke programs include roundtable policy conversations, diplomatic briefings, conferences, and workshops such as a half-day event recently produced in partnership with the German Consulate and National Association of Hispanic Journalists to train Miami's community leaders on the risks posed by AI-manipulated information on our elections.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

The World Affairs Council is seeking broader community support to assist its capacity development. At the moment, we are an all-volunteer team. Our goal is to begin hiring staff to bring sustainability and scale to the Council’s programs and high-quality international affairs jobs to Miami. But we can't do it without you. Thank you very much for your support and for considering a contribution.