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.
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 at about 8:30 PM. Members and guests receive our trifold brochure at the beginning of each new season detailing our list of speakers and a monthly reservation letter and card before each event.
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 Friday prior to our scheduled dinner. Checks or credit cards are accepted. The public is also invited to these events. Attendance at speaker dinner events varies from 160 to 230 people.
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 Friday prior to our scheduled dinner. Checks or credit cards are accepted. The public is also invited to these events. Attendance at speaker dinner events varies from 160 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.
