History
For more than 80 years, the Cleveland Council on World Affairs has been the premiere organization in Northeast Ohio providing understanding about and engagement in international relations and global issues.
Its founding stems from an organization created in 1923 by a group of women interested in promoting international peace and within two years merged with a men's international study group. Together they took on the broader role in keeping citizens of Greater Cleveland informed about major international relations under the strong board leadership of Newton D. Baker, former mayor of the City of Cleveland, founder of the law firm of Baker Hostetler, and Secretary of War under Woodrow Wilson. Over the years it has responded to changing conditions on the global scene by expanding its mission to encompass new programs and projects.
During the inspired 10-year staff leadership of Brooks Emeny, beginning in the mid 1930's during an isolationist period in this country, the Council greatly expanded its public programs and forums and provided education classes in collaboration with Cleveland College, then the downtown continuing education arm of Western Reserve University. Following World War II, the Council fostered the recovery of Western Europe through sponsorship in collaboration with Time magazine of a national conference in Cleveland.
CCWA has operated school programs from at least 1945, when it held its first Model United Nations conference for high school students and has done so annually since then, making it the oldest MUN in the country. It has programmed visits to Cleveland for international visitors since 1948 when Congress first authorized a State Department program designed to expose emerging leaders from countries around the world to Washington, D.C. and two or three other American cities. Three years ago, the Council absorbed the Cleveland International Program founded locally in 1956 for international exchanges, originally designed to enable social workers and health care providers to spend a year mentoring with their professional counterparts in Cleveland. The number of visitors programmed by the Council has risen dramatically over the past several years, up from 71 eight years ago to 400 and is expected to rise to 500 next year.
Ever willing to meet changing needs, the Council Board of Directors in December 2003 adopted a strategic business plan that included exploration of how to address the economic development needs of the Northeast Ohio region. Since then it has held a variety of programs for business executives aimed at helping Northeast Ohio be more successful in the global economy. CCWA has had country specific seminars (many half day) on China, India, Hungary and Ireland; a Going Global business series sponsored by National City Bank; and is now in the first year of implementing Global Cleveland. The Council currently is sponsoring a series of breakfast seminars featuring experts from the Peterson Institute for International Economics.