Vermont Council on World Affairs

The VCWA is a nonprofit dedicated to facilitating cultural exchange and promoting global awareness. Register for our events today:

[Vermont Council on World Affairs @VCWA]

Registration for Great Decisions 2027 is open! Join 8 live virtual sessions on U.S.–China engagement, AI and American choices, energy security, and more. Early bird pricing through Dec 3. Learn more and register: https://t.co/zoKBZBRWU8

[Vermont Council on World Affairs @VCWA]

Oct 7th- Members and leaders of Vermont’s globally engaged organizations gathered for the Vermont Global Exchange to discuss resilience, adaptation, and the future of their work in a shifting global landscape. Check out our LinkedIn for more details. Thank you to all who joined!

[Vermont Council on World Affairs @VCWA]

Sipha Lam, Founder and Owner, of Wilder Wine remarks: “I had to think about how much of myself I had to give to this space. Hiring a team has been a really important part of me being able step away a little bit”

[Vermont Council on World Affairs @VCWA]

Claire Zhu, Founder of Hootie Hoo, says: “Fairness and balance is very important to me and in business that means we do not gatekeep the outdoors”

[Vermont Council on World Affairs @VCWA]

Patricia Preston, President & CEO, states: When women lead - businesses grow stronger, communities become more resilient, and opportunities expand to everyone.

[Vermont Council on World Affairs @VCWA]

Sarika Tandon shares: “I am motivated by being able to look my decedents in the eye and saying I worked really hard on these impossible problems”

[Vermont Council on World Affairs @VCWA]

During our third and final session, our panel discusses The Other-ing Effect: Preventing Hate.

[Vermont Council on World Affairs @VCWA]

Courtney Chubb states: “We identify challenges … and we really hone in on the ones we can change and stay sustainable”

[Vermont Council on World Affairs @VCWA]

During our second session, Power and Presence: What Happens When the U.S. Steps Back, our panel explores the changing economic environment of international aid.

[Vermont Council on World Affairs @VCWA]

Christina Barsky shares: It makes me think about democracy as something that exists not just in its natural form, but it is something we experience every day

[Vermont Council on World Affairs @VCWA]

During our first session, From Conflict to Connection: Discourse as a Peace Tool, our panel discusses the role of civil discourse in maintaining peace.

[Vermont Council on World Affairs @VCWA]

Senator Peter Welch shares: What’s better than soft power, really nothing. The opposite of soft power leads to war.

[Vermont Council on World Affairs @VCWA]

A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS Hanson+Doremus, Pomerleau Family Foundation, Northfirld Savings Bank, Patrick Robins and Lisa Schamburg, Lintilhac Foundation, @WACAmerica, @bellwetherinternstional

[Vermont Council on World Affairs @VCWA]

THE VCWA’S INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE EVENT STARTS SOON! FOLLOW ALONG AS WE EXPLORE CIVIL DISCOURSE, THE EVOLVING ROLE OF INTERATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND MORE WITH “BUILDING BRIDGES IN A FRACTIONED WORLD”

[Vermont Council on World Affairs @VCWA]

Thank you, Sarwar Kashmeri, Dr. Pablo Bose, and Michael Igoe, as well as everyone who joined us today for Resilience of Global Partnerships in an Uncertain Era, the final session of our 2025 International Speaker Series.

[Vermont Council on World Affairs @VCWA]

Thank you to our moderator Michael Igoe, a Senior Reporter with Devex in D.C. where he covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance.

[Vermont Council on World Affairs @VCWA]

Our moderator Micheal Igoe shares, ""This question of who is making the rules, and who should be making them, is really central to the AI discussion"

[Vermont Council on World Affairs @VCWA]

Our speaker Dr. Choucri is a Professor of Political Science at MIT, focusing on cyberpolitics and computational social science. Her work spans geopolitics, the environment, and cyberspace, with publications on global security, sustainability, and international cooperation.

[Vermont Council on World Affairs @VCWA]

Choucri shares " The interesting thing about cyberspace is that it is in a co-evolution race with us, it is changing at a pace that is not what we are accustomed to."

[Vermont Council on World Affairs @VCWA]

Welcome to the third event of @VCWA's International Speaker Series: Navigating Global Challenges in Technology. For this event, we welcome our speaker Dr. Nazli Choucri.