Institute of Current World Affairs

Institute of Current World Affairs

Formation	1925
Type	Private foundation
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Website	www.icwa.org

The Institute of Current World Affairs (ICWA) is an operating foundation established in 1925 to advance American understanding of international cultures and affairs by sending young professionals abroad to study countries, regions and globally important issues. Institute alumni include leading journalists, scholars, diplomats, activists and businesspeople.

ICWA says it selects its fellows from a diverse group of young professionals for two years of cultural immersion in locations around the globe. Fellows explore their topics through self-designed and fully funded programs of study, thought and writing. They record their research and analysis in monthly dispatches.

While in the field, fellows receive support and mentoring from ICWA staff, former fellows and ICWA members with expertise in fellowship areas.

Former fellows credit the intensive immersion experience of an ICWA fellowship, free from deadlines and career pressures, with enabling them to cultivate their talent and engage with their subject in ways that have a profound impact.

The Institute of Current World Affairs is recognized as a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Purpose and recent history[]

The Institute of Current World Affairs supports fellowships for promising young people to gain in-depth understanding of global affairs from a local perspective. ICWA says it chooses candidates with the potential to make substantial contributions to public life in the United States. It is credited with launching the careers of notable foreign policy experts, including the former U.S. ambassador to Kenya, Smith Hempstone,^[1] and the former assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern and South Asian affairs, Phillips Talbot.^[2]

The institute, which pays living expenses for fellows and their families, has sent more than 170 people abroad through its fellowship program.

The work of its fellows has appeared in numerous national publications, sometimes with controversy. As an ICWA fellow in Pakistan in January 2008, Nicholas Schmidle—now a writer for the New Yorker—wrote a Sunday magazine article for The New York Times titled "Next Gen Taliban."^[3] He was deported by Pakistan's government the day after the article appeared.^[4]

Many fellows have gone on to prominent positions. Pramila Jayapal (India, 1994-1996) is a civil-rights activist turned U.S. Representative from Washington's 7th congressional district. New York Times journalist Suzy Hansen's (Turkey, 2007-2009) book, Notes on a Foreign Country, was a 2018 Pulitzer Prize finalist.^[5] Susan Sterner Brazil, 1998-2000) documented First Lady Laura Bush as a White House photographer.^[6] Carol Rose (South and Central Asia, 1990-1993) is now Executive Director of ACLU Massachusetts.^[7] And Cheng Li (China, 1993-1995) is author of Rediscovering China: Dynamics and Dilemmas of Reform, as well as the Director of the John L. Thornton China Center and Senior Fellow at Brookings Institution.^[8]

In addition to publishing fellows' dispatches on its website, ICWA also offers analysis and commentary on global news and other developments.^[9] It also produces two podcasts: The Cable, which addresses threats to democracy in Europe and the transatlantic relationship,^[10] and From the Field, which takes listeners around the world with ICWA fellows studying cultures and societies in depth.^[11] In October 2020, ICWA launched a partnership with U.S. online magazine Slate to offer select fellow dispatches for publication.^[12]

Current Fellows[]

Recent Past Fellows[]

Current ICWA Board of Trustees[]

References[]

External links[]

• Institute of Current World Affairs