World Affairs Council

The World Affairs Council offers some terrific programs that are open to the public for free. I recently attended a film screening regarding South Africa and the apartheid movement as well as a public event held at the neighboring Marines’ Memorial building (a few blocks up the street on Sutter) which was an interview with Former Secretary of State George Shultz.
The quality of the speakers and programs is very high. If you have an interest in global matters, keep this non-​profit in your files.

The World Affairs Council focuses on creating a forum to share dialogue and discussion about topics that are timely and global in nature. They have a nice meeting venue right at 312 Sutter street, just down from the Sutter Stockton Garage and a block and a half from Union Square.
I used to belong to the Commonwealth Club, which is similar but often has speakers that are political in their focus, not just about World Affairs, but they are similar.
They have a regular calendar of events and membership is $ 95 a year, plus individual event costs.
If you are stimulated by the world around you and enjoy learning about it, and meeting people with a similar global scope, then this might be a good place to connect.

I put on a program at the request of the World Affairs Council. Except for a few staff members, I found them to be exceptionally rude, self-​aggrandizing and annoying. I thought maybe I’d misjudged them, and later, when I asked (with no priming) a friend who’s a frequent speaker at the WAC what he thought of the World Affairs Council, he scowled and declared them «insufferable.» Despite the miserable staff, consider them a necessary evil in order to attend programs that are an invaluable window into foreign, human rights and current affairs, as well as meeting a plethora of like-​minded local citizens.

You can meet some of the most amazing, intelligent people here. I’m serious! Their speakers are top-​notch and topics current and interesting. I’m glad there’s a place around the SF Bay Area for folks who love to talk global.

This is probably the best place in the city to meet people whose love for San Francisco is reinforced by adventures around the world. Take the time to enjoy a program, and then talk to other audience members afterwords for what always becomes a fascinating conversation.

I ran into their website searching for social groups yesterday, and 4 hours later found myself planning a green tech event with global vision for San Francisco… no, not on my own as a complete newcomer, but as part of an awesome group of exceptionally friendly and smart international young professionals.
International Forum (IF — in this case the Steering Committee) meetings are free to participate in, and they’re a great way to become familiar with and integral to World Council events. I could go on and on… instead I’ll check back in later with IF specifics and event details.

Do you want to know what’s going on in the world? Do you want to get out of your bubble and learn about the political, economic, and social issues of our country and of others? If so, check out WAC’s website and register to attend one of their meetings/​presentations. I went to a great presentation last week called «From Genocide to Abu Ghraib — How Good People Turn Evil» whose speaker was Philip Zimbardo, creator of the Stanford Prison Experiment.

I also rediscovered WAC. They have amazing International events and lectures to promote awareness. once a year they do Council Corp picnic and almost all the consulates in San Francisco are represented.
They do have great program around politics, economic and social events; but they also do great social events such as SF Salon (once a month Happy Hour), Movie nights (Subtitles & Subtleties) and language dinners.
Definitely check them out!

Bringing the world to San Francisco for little or no cost. They have EXCELLENT lecture series and other activities. Students usually get a discount. Check out their web site if you are interested in learning more about business, foreign affairs, economics, politics, etc.

I was a student ambassador for this wonderful organization. I got to attend so many interesting events and bring my friends and other people interested in foreign affairs to them for free, too! For instance, I heard Chris Patten (last governor of Hong Kong, Chancellor of Oxford, British statesman) speak, met the Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein (His Serene Highness), went to an interesting photo presentation on the world’s diets, and many more events. This place ROCKS, and it’s centrally located downtown!!! Everyone who works there is very nice and accomodating, too!

I have been an off and on member for well over 8 years now and recently became re-​acquainted due to some amazing lectures that have been circulating some strong interest amongst people I know.
You owe it to yourself to look into it if you have a passion for human rights topics or are genuinely interested in foreign affairs. And if you are like me and have a wide and diverse range of friends whose families are from different parts of the globe — you may want to keep this calendar in your monthly log b/​c its always nice to go see a speaker with a friend who can completely relate.
Anyhow, the face to face communication of some of the most interesting authors and lecturers who pass through here on a weekly basis not to mention their annual retreats will really add a lot to your life and I feel a much better way to gain knowledge than sitting and reading a subscription or watching the daily news…
It’s amazing how much you realize what you don’t know about what’s going on outside of la-​la land. Just how to come to grips with it exactly is a whole other ballgame.
Plus — if you are a traveler, they will gladly accept your travel photos to include in their annual calendar and the lifetime members here will love you dearly for it! If you go away for awhile — they always remember you when you come back too. that gets me every time.
Check it out and pm me about it! :)

The best deal in town! Join with all your roomies for only $ 125 a year and be wowed, informed, shocked, delighted, baffled, depressed, frustrated directly by the news-​makers almost every day of the week. BTW, that gold stuff in the carafe isn’t apple juice.