Institute of World Affairs: Evolving to Meet Changing Campus and Community Needs
Outreach: IWA
In 2003, the Center for International Education (CIE) expanded its innovative approach to international education by integrating the Institute of World Affairs into its teaching, research, and outreach missions. The Institute of World Affairs was established in 1960 as the “world affairs council” for Wisconsin, catering mainly to members of the community who had a special interest in international issues. A member of the World Affairs Councils of America, the Institute functioned like a traditional council and focused mainly on public programs featuring prominent experts and leading practitioners.
• The Honorable Jamil Mahuad, Former President, Republic of Ecuador • Helen Caldicott, anti-nuclear activist and one of the most influential women of the 20th century • Amy Goodman, Executive Producer, Democracy Now! • Justice Richard Goldstone, Chief UN Prosecutor for Yugoslavia and Rwanda; Former Chair, South African post-Apartheid commission of inquiry • Ambassador Peter Galbraith • Jan Egeland, Former UN Under-SecretaryGeneral for Humanitarian Affairs and the Former UN Emergency Relief Coordinator • Azarius Ruberwa, Former Vice President, Democratic Republic of the Congo • John Prendergast, Co-Chair of ENOUGH: a project to end genocide and crimes against humanity
Unlike its peer organizations, the Institute of World Affairs is based at a university and this has added a unique dimension to the Institute’s programming. It has intentionally sought to more closely align its programs with UWM teaching and research initiatives, without losing its critical mission to strengthen understanding of world affairs issues in the broader community. When the Institute moved from its home in the UWM School of Continuing Education (located off the main UWM campus) to CIE, this potential was more fully realized. This move was much more than just a change of address. Rather, it was reflective of a more profound proposition: that international education requires crossing traditional boundaries in order to bring global events and issues into the campus community and to bring the campus community out into the world. Ultimately, international education is not just “about the world;” it is “of the world.” While the university must continue to provide access to international learning opportunities for Wisconsin, there is an equal and compelling need for the UWM campus community to engage in ongoing dialogue on critical global issues such as climate change, peace and conflict, human rights, economic development, and social change.
In addition to the annual Kennan Forum, the Institute of World Affairs hosts the annual Great Decisions Series, eight programs on topics chosen by the Foreign Policy Association of New York and run by world affairs councils all over the US. The Institute has also produced one of the longest running television shows in Milwaukee: International Focus, a weekly world affairs news program that airs on Milwaukee Public Television and has taped over 600 episodes. While many have ready access to mediated information about current world affairs, the Institute has undertaken ongoing self-assessment to determine both the need for its programs and most effective delivery methods. It is the role of the university to provide a framework and standard for understanding and making complex connections between the global and local contexts. This is the critical niche that the Institute of World Affairs fills with its innovative, evolving programs.
Over the years, the Institute of World Affairs has brought extraordinary speakers to the Milwaukee community. The list is long and includes notable figures such as Henry Kissinger (1975), Bill Clinton (1992), and George F. Kennan, who spoke at the first Kennan Forum on International Issues in 1990. Since 2003, the Institute has also hosted:
CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
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