Dayton Council on World Affairs | Photo by Natalie Cunningham | The Wright State Guardian
The Dayton Council of World Affairs (DCOWA) is a chapter of the World Affairs Council of America.
DCOWA hosts events and activities such as an annual dinner in January and a major event every quarter.
As president, Vaughn Shannon began a program called “Global Views, Local Brews” that is hosted every month.
It is held the third Tuesday of each month at a local bar called Proto BuildBar and the event is a casual gathering with a short presentation by a local speaker.
DCOWA encourages the community to strive to better understand the world.
According to Wright State University’s website, DCOWA’s mission is to “promote informed opinion and decision-making concerning international issues. We engage people on diverse world issues, points of view, and cultures to link individuals and organizations with common interests.”
Shannon is also a professor of Political Science at Wright State.
DCOWA is a nonprofit and nonpartisan group who provide educational programming in regard to politics and world affairs. DCOWA also organizes and manages Junior Council of World Affairs (JCOWA), which has school clubs in 14 different high schools in the area.
“Our next [speaker] is actually an ex-foreign service officer from the state department who’s in the area. The global views means we cover a topic that somehow links the world to us,” said Shannon.
The dues rate for college students is a discounted $10 monthly fee. Being a member of DCOWA includes discounts, special access to events or certain aspects of events.
DCOWA was founded in 1947, after WWII ended. In 2022, they will be celebrating their 75th anniversary. There are currently roughly 75-to-80 dues-paying members of DCOWA, the DCOWA email list has over 100 subscribers, and JCOWA has roughly over 100 dues-paying students in the area.
“For example, we had Fred Arment in the spring come talk about something called the international cities of peace. The lecture was open to the public but only members could meet with him and we threw a little part basically before so you could meet the speaker and have access to refreshments,” said Shannon.
Shannon invites everyone to consider getting involved, even without becoming a member. He encourages the public to come to the DCOWA events and see what they think of the events and conversations being had.
“We really encourage people to try us out, you don’t have to join right away but seek us out. Seek out our events. See what you think,” said Shannon.
