Chairman’s Message Dear web visitor, On behalf of the Executive Board and Board of Trustees, welcome to the World Affairs Council of Orange County. We are part of the World Affairs Councils of America, the largest non-profit international affairs organization in the United States. Our mission is to bring the world to Orange County and bring Orange County to the world. The Council seeks to meet this goal by hosting prominent speakers on topics of international importance at various meetings including our monthly dinner events. As a non-partisan organization, we present differing points of view on current events from all regions of the world. The Council strongly encourages participation in our events from local high schools, colleges and universities and has a standing scholarship outreach committee for that purpose. We encourage our members to get involved in Council activities by participating in the meetings of the following Executive Board committees: - Programs Committee: In charge of facilitating speakers - Ways and Means Committee: In charge of fundraising - Membership Committee: In charge of new and existing member outreach - Scholarship Outreach Committee: In charge of student participation, annual Academic Worldquest event and military outreach Please contact our Executive Director Karen Levesque at the Council offices for more information on how join a committee. In the meanwhile, we invite you to join us and hear from world leaders and experts on international affairs at one of our upcoming events. Cordially, Yasith Weerasuriya Chairman, World Affairs Council of Orange County