World Affairs Council of the Desert
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​About World Affairs Council of the Desert

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​The World Affairs Council of the Desert, a non-partisan and non-profit organization, provides a unique opportunity for the discussion of national and international topics. Founded in the early seventies as the “Desert Forum," it served initially as a branch of the Los Angeles Council. By 1975, the organization had changed its name to World Affairs Council of the Desert, began to increase its membership, and established itself as a separate non-profit corporation. Its primary missions are education outreach, promoting and providing interesting and affordable programs in a social setting, and covering a wide range of global topics.

​The Council does not take positions on issues, but encourages discussion on varied points of view. Featured speakers are experts in their fields of endeavor, usually well published, and cover current events. Speakers might be Ambassadors, corporate leaders, foreign dignitaries, national media persons, higher education professors, and are well known.

Our major program embodies monthly speaker/dinner events held on Sunday evenings from October through April at Thunderbird Country Club, located in Rancho Mirage. We feature a reception beginning at 5 PM, followed by dinner at 6 PM, then our guest speaker’s presentation. The evening concludes by 8 PM. Members and guests receive our trifold brochure at the beginning of each new season detailing our list of speakers as well as a membership application.

Reservations for dinner are required and can be made online at www.worldaffairsdesert.org or by calling our office at 760-322-7711. Reservations must be made by noon on Thursday prior to our scheduled dinner if space is available. Checks or credit cards are accepted. The public is also invited to these events. Attendance at speaker dinner events varies from 180 to 230 people.
​Membership dues and educational donations allow us to provide our speaker/dinner programs. The youth program reaches out to students in local high schools and colleges. Each month we invite students to attend the dinner/speaker events and our major student project is the Academic WorldQuest student outreach program. The Academic World Quest competition, held in February each year, brings together teams of students from local high schools competing for a chance to win and compete in the National WorldQuest Competition in Washington, D.C. each spring.
For more detailed information, look further throughout our web site, contact our office at (760) 322-7711, or email us at worldaffairs3@msn.com. You can also learn more about the World Affairs Council of the Desert by clicking on this link: Wikipedia.
View ​Sponsorship ​Opportunities
Donate to WACD
View 2022-2023 Student ​Program Benefactors

Platinum Ambassador Sponsors
$10,000 - $24,999​

Charles & Priscilla Porter


Barry Berlin
& Mary Reisher

​Gold Ambassador Sponsors 
$5,000 - $9,999

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Silver Ambassador Sponsors
 $2,500

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​World Affairs Council
of the Desert
​is a proud member of the
World Affairs Councils
​of America

We have earned a GuideStar/Candid 
​Gold Seal ​of Transparency
​Visit our profile on GuideStar so you can view our information and
accomplishments by clicking on the Gold Seal below.

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​​Copyright © 2022 World Affairs Council of the Desert. All rights reserved.
Website by Flipcause and Linda Borses
  • Home 2022/23
  • Membership 2022/23
  • WorldQuest 2023
  • Conversations
  • In Case You Missed it...
  • About Us
    • About WACD
    • Mission - Vision - Values
    • BOD 2022/23
    • Past Speakers 2019/2020
    • Past Speakers 2018/2019
    • Past Speakers 2017/2018
    • Newsletters
    • Emeriti
    • Links
  • Sponsorship
    • Corporate/Personal Sponsorship
    • Student Program Benefactors
  • Contact Us
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Event Photos