Chicago Council on Global Affairs

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, founded in 1922 as The Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, is a leading independent, nonpartisan organization committed to influencing the discourse on global issues through contributions to opinion and policy formation, leadership dialogue, and public learning.

The Chicago Council brings the world to Chicago by hosting public programs and private events featuring world leaders and experts with diverse views on a wide range of global topics. Through task forces, conferences, studies, and leadership dialogue, the Council brings Chicago’s ideas and opinions to the world.

Activities

The Council seeks to provide its members, policymakers, and the general public with a forum for the consideration of international issues and their bearing on American public policy. The Council organizes more than 150 meetings each year, including lectures, seminars, conferences, and a travel program. The Council hosts policymakers and foreign experts from around the world, offering participants the opportunity to ask questions, voice their opinions, and engage in candid discussions.

The Council also produces publications, including an internationally renowned biennial public opinion survey, and reports generated by task forces convened to study a specific issue. Recent task force topics have included:

• "Engaging China and India: An Economic Agenda for Japan and the United States"
• "Modernizing America's Farm and Food Policy: Vision for a New Direction"
• "A Shared Future: The Economic Engagement of Greater Chicago and Its Mexican Community"
• Global Cities Index: Foreign Policy magazine, global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney and The Chicago Council on Global Affairs published the inaugral Global Cities Index in October 2008. The index is a comprehensive ranking of the ways in which cities are integrating with the rest of the world. Specifically, the Global Cities Index ranks cities’ metro areas according to 24 metrics across five dimensions - business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience, and political engagement[7]

Michelle Obama was listed as a director on the Chicago Council website until her husband started gaining more attention during the 2008 Democratic nomination race.

History

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs was founded as the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations on February 20, 1922. At its inception, the Council included 23 members with the purpose of opposing what they viewed as U.S. isolationism during the first World War.

External links

• Chicago Council on Global Affairs Official Site
• 2006 Public Opinion Survey