Leadership Putnam Youth Briefed on World Affairs
Cookeville, TN,
June 7, 2007 – The nuclear weapons threat posed by
North Korea and Iran, the genocide in Darfur, the
global war on terrorism and the world’s sources of
energy for the United States were among the topics
raised by twenty four Putnam County high school
students during briefings at the Tennessee World
Affairs Council office in Cookeville. The rising
juniors from area schools were participants in the
week-long Leadership Putnam Youth Academy.
The group’s
visit to the newly organized Tennessee World Affairs
Council office included a quick global IQ quiz and a
briefing on world hotspots by the Council’s
President, Patrick Ryan. He encouraged the students
to become aware of situations overseas where
American interests were at stake through news
reporting in the daily papers, television and the
vast information resources on the Internet.
The LPYA students
learned about the purposes and programs of the
Tennessee World Affairs Council, a non profit
educational organization founded in February to
create global awareness among students and citizens.
Ryan briefed the students on several programs that
will be available in area schools including Academic
Worldquest, a team competition for high school
students that leads to a national championship
contest in Washington each year. Another program
called Doors to Diplomacy, sponsored by the US State
Department, provides the opportunity for middle and
high school teams to develop web sites demonstrating
international understanding and to compete for
scholarship prizes. “School officials have been
briefed on these program opportunities for the
coming school year and we will be working closely
with those interested.” He added, “The Tennessee
World Affairs Council is an independent educational
non profit group, but it is connected to the
national network of World Affairs Councils, and can
bring these and other programs, such as
distinguished visiting speakers that would not
otherwise be available to our students.”
At the conclusion
of the briefings Rachel Moses, incoming President of
the Cookeville Breakfast Rotary presented a donation
to help fund the LPYA program. The Breakfast Rotary
Club has partnered with the Tennessee World Affairs
Council to offer programs in the community.
Leadership Putnam
Executive Director Linda Welch and LP Alumni
Association member Randy Todd escorted the Youth
Academy students during the program. Welch said the
purpose of LPYA was to encourage leadership
development and familiarize the students with
aspects of their community they might not otherwise
experience.
Information about
programs offered by the Tennessee World Affairs
Council is available on the web site at:
www.TNWAC.org or by visiting the council’s office
at 31 West First Street in Cookeville.
Contact us
for more information and to
join,
support,
and
participate. Just drop us an
email at:
info@Tennessee-World-Affairs-Council.org |
