With less than a month to go before the 32nd annual Southwest Model United Nations competition on March 3-4, preparations are intense. Twenty schools and more than 200 students from five Southwest Florida counties are registered. 

Syed Adnan, a graduate of Cape Coral High School and Florida International University in Miami, will be the keynote speaker. He is director of organizing and political outreach for the Pennsylvania American Federation of Teachers.

A total of $60,000 in scholarships in various categories will be awarded, based on generous donations of members and support by NCWA, which sponsors the competition in partnership with Florida Gulf Coast University. Alan Van Egmond, a member of the NCWA Board of Directors, is program chair.

For more details, click here to read the SWFLMUN Newsletter.

Tips to Help You Attend 
National War College Seminar

The National War College Seminar is sold out! For those of you who are attending, here are reminders to help you plan your arrival time:

Naples Grande Beach Resort, 975 Seagate Dr
9:00 am to 3:30 pm
Recommended arrival time: 8:30 am
The room has been changed
to the Orchid Ballroom.
You selected a lunch entree when you registered.

• Free self-parking at the Naples Brande Beach Resort parking garage is included in your registration. If you decide to use valet parking, there will be a fee. 
  
• Please allow time to check in at the welcome desk at the Orchid Ballroom. A ticket will be issued to you indicating which entree you selected. Place the ticket at your table.
• Except for those who paid $500 to sit with the faculty, there is open seating, seven people per table. If you wish to sit with a group, please arrive early to hold the table.

Out of Peril and Chaos:
Can We Find Order?

Upcoming Lectures for 2025

Friday, February 21: The Ninth Biennial National War College Event: Multiple speakers, “Our National Security”

Monday, March 10: "American Statecraft," Aaron David Miller, a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Monday, March 24: "Artificial Intelligence," Ylli Bajraktari, President and CEO, Special Competitive Studies Project making recommendations to strengthen U.S. competitiveness in emerging technologies reshaping our national security, economy and society. Previously chief of staff to National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster and in other Defense Department leadership positions.

Monday, April 7: "Immigration," Eddie Aldrete, Senior Vice President of International Bank of Commerce; chairman, National Immigration Forum.

             Videos of past 2024-25 lectures                              are posted on the website.
             Members only. Log in and click here.)

Bring a potential member as your guest to a lecture. For instructions, please click here.

NCWA Book Club to Discuss Genesis: Artificial Intelligence, Hope and the Human 

On March 4, we’ll discuss Genesis: Artificial Intelligence, Hope, and the Human by Henry A. Kissinger, Eric Schmidt, and Craig Mundie. Artificial intelligence (AI) is dramatically empowering people while also raising urgent questions about the future of humanity. AI will help us address enormous crises, from climate change to geopolitical conflicts to income inequality. It may solve some of the greatest mysteries of our universe, revolutionize fields such as medicine and architecture, and elevate the human spirit. But it will also pose challenges on a scale that we have never seen—usurping independent judgment and action, testing our relationship with the divine, and perhaps spurring a new phase in human evolution. Whom will we choose to lead our species through this wilderness? Or have we, passively and unwittingly, already chosen? For more information and the Zoom link, click here. 

On April 7, we’ll discuss The Art of Diplomacy by Stuart Eizenstat. 

The Book Club meets via Zoom on the first Tuesday of the month from 12:00 to 1:30 pm, November through April. For further information, contact Bill Korstad, bkorstad@mac.com or 303-887-7116.

The Naples Council on World Affairs and Me!

~ Thank you. Ian (Brzezinski) was terrific. I always enjoy hearing his point of view.                  -- Kim S., attending a                   lecture 

* * *

~ Good to see that the National War College is coming back in Feb 2025!! Love that day: I'm a grad of NWC.
       -- Pat

~ Internships, like the one I had with the Naples Council, played a crucial role in landing my job right out of college, allowing me to start working within a month of graduating.
      -- Nicole, Model UN alumna

* * *

~ Great new venue! Thanks for all your work!
      -- Nancy & Howard

~ I was able to join the conference yesterday. I am so happy that I did because I thought that the speaker was excellent. He spoke with such clarity about so many important issues around the world. I would have been sad if I had missed it.
         -- Rosame, attending a                 lecture via livestream

Join or Renew Your Membership!

We would love to have you join us at NCWA for timely and robust programs about the international events we hear about every day. Family and individual memberships are available.* Click here or reach our Call Center at 239-649-3942 to join us!

*Membership year runs July 1-June 30 of each year.