Academic WorldQuest™

Some 50 World Affairs Councils hold local Academic WorldQuest (AWQ) competitions for high school students in their communities. Since 2003, winning teams have traveled to Washington, DC, every April to vie for the national championship.

The Carlos and Malú Alvarez Academic WorldQuest National Competition is made possible by sponsors and sustained by our AWQ Endowment. To become a sponsor, please contact WACA by phone at 202-833-4557 or email waca@worldaffairscouncils.org.

2022 Academic WorldQuest National Competition

The Carlos and Malú Alvarez 2022 Academic WorldQuest National Competition will take place in April 2022.

Watch the AWQ 2021 USIP Keynote and announcement of the winning teams!

AWQ 2021 in the News:

• "Keeping Peacebuilding Alive During a Difficult Year" U.S. Institute of Peace, June 7, 2021
• "Carmel High School Teams Finish in Top 10 at WorldQuest National Competition" Current, April 30, 2021
• "Rampart High in Colorado Springs produces top competitors in world affairs" Colorado Politics, April 19, 2021
• "Academic WorldQuest 2021 Winners Announcement" WAC New Jersey
• "City sponsors global affairs quiz team in national contest debut" The Holland Sentinel, April 27, 2021
• "Pinnacle Group Academic WorldQuest" WAC Dallas/Fort Worth
• "Middletown: Team from Mater Dei Prep Headed to 2021 National Academic WorldQuest Competition" Rozlyn Engel -- Tap into Middletown, April 6, 2021
• "World Affairs Council of the Desert Continues Its Mission Virtually" Rebecca O'Connor -- Desert Sun, April 9, 2021
• "Coachella Valley Students Take Part in WorldQuest Competition" Patch, April 6, 2021
• "High Schoolers Take Bronze at WAC Houston's Competition, Advance to Academic WorldQuest 2021" The Posy Oak School, March 31, 2021

2021-2022 AWQ Topics

• Where Climate and Migration Meet
• Afghanistan: End of the 20-Year U.S.-Led Intervention
• Human-Centered Agenda to the Future of Work
• CDC and the Global Health Agenda
• Technology and Democracy: Threat or Promise?
• Great Decisions
  • Global Supply Chains and National Security
  • Persian Gulf Security Issues
  • Brexit and the European Union
  • Struggles Over the Melting Arctic
  • China’s Role in Africa
  • The Korean Peninsula
  • Roles of International Organizations in a Global Pandemic
  • The End of Globalization?
• 21st Century Money: Dollars to Digital Currencies
• Working for Peace Through Legacies of War: The Case of Vietnam
• Insecurity in China’s Neighborhood
• Current Events

Academic WorldQuest Sponsors