Join Your Internationalist Peers
Have you been wanting to learn more about diversity within Islam, changes in Latin America, or development issues in Africa? Would you like to know what working for the State Department is really like? Would you like to meet dignitaries and officials from around the world? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then The World Affairs Council's Young Professional (YP) program is just for you!
The YP's mission is to give those in the 21-40 age range an opportunity to learn about international affairs, to enhance their professional development skills, and to network through a variety of educational,cultural, and social events. If you are interested in becoming a member of the YP program, please call Jon at 503-306-5252, or send an e-mail to jon@worldoregon.org for more information.
Weekly Discussion Group
The YPs meet every other Wednesday at Madison's Grill (1109 SE Madison St.) to discuss various international issues. Topics are arranged ahead of time, and are announced via e-mail. Please contact the discussion group coordinator, Jeff Renfro, with questions or to be added to the e-mail list. The building looks like a house; the group meets upstairs in the back room.
Council Young Professionals Blog
The YP Blog, maintained by the Young Professionals Steering Committee, is intended to provide a forum for announcements, commentary, discussion, and general sharing of information relevant to Portland's Young Professionals.
Join the YP's on-line discussion at the Council YP Blog Note: The YP Blog is moderated independently by volunteers. As such, the Council takes no responsibility for content posted by visitors to the YP Blog.
YP-PDX Photo Gallery
To view some pictures of Council Young Professional events, please click here
Past Events
The CIA and You, Black Helterline Law OfficesField Agent, and sometime-recruiter, Lance Romney, brought exciting stories of international intrigue, as well as very down-to-earth descriptions of our Central Intelligence Agency's organizational bureacracy in his spirited visit with the World Affairs Council's Young Professionals. Lance provided us with a clearer picture than we might otherwise have had of just what the CIA is looking for in staffing its international and domestic operations. Covert-agent, operational, and analytical career opportunites all exist, and the push is on to increase staff in all these areas. Thanks to Lance for his visit to Portland, to Black Helterline for hosting us with a great view of the city as a backdrop, and to Young Professionals Steering Committee member Reno Tibke for his persistence in a nearly year-long quest to secure a representative of the CIA for a presentation to the YPs. Persian New Year Party, Blue Olive Restaurant Dr. Reza Kamali, Iranian Professor, spoke to the YP's about Persian New Year traditions, culutral customs, and the importance of increased understanding between cultures, especially at a crucial point in our history where once again the two proud nations of the United States and Iran seem to be at odds in the realm of foreign policy. All the while the Persian owners of the Blue Olive Restaurant in NE Portland welcomed us with open arms and took great care of us all with their fantastic Mediterranean menu! An Evening with Iraq's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Hamid Al-Bayati, Lawrence Gallery His Excellency Hamid Al-Bayati, Iraq's Ambassador the U.N., spent the evening with the Young Professionals. The Lawrence Gallery provided a beautiful and inspiring backdrop to this rare opportunity to make time with an important international diplomat. After a short presentation on the challenges of state-building and reconstruction in Iraq, and the recent increased deployment of U.S. troops to the troubled Middle Eastern nation, a frank and informal Q & A gave the YP's a clearer picture of the actual state of progress at this point in time. Iran: Through the Eyes of a New Generation Trinity Church A young man with an unbelievably impressive resume, Sage Khoshroo, currently a student at Harvard Law School, is an accomplished journalist, former assistant to past Iranian President Seyed Mohammad Khatami, and a young professional himself who was able to provide our Council Young Professionals with his understandings of and hopes for his home of Iran. After an enlightening presentation by Mr. Khoshroo, an audience of nearly 100 in one of Trinity Episcopal's hallowed halls weighed in with their questions, thoughts, opinions, and points of view. This expressive, and at times heated, Q & A left all of us with many new insights into how Iran perceives the world and much to think about, once again, in considering the currently strained relationship between Iran and the U.S.
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Recent YP Programs
Afghanistan Successes, Mercy Corps
The Council's Young Professionals were given the unique opportunity to not only hear from a field-experienced and passionate Mercy Corps development professional, but also to be welcomed by Nancy Lindborn, President of Mercy Corps' international operations. Nigel Pont, fresh off an over-night flight from Afghanistan, provided valuable perspective on the challenges present in rebuilding a nation that has just about been brought to its knees over the past three decades. From poppie cultivation to the efforts toward more licit means of agricultural development, and from microfinance to the traditional Afghan sport of "Goat Dragging"; Nigel highlighted the progress that has been made in rural Afghanistan in areas such as the multiplying opportunities for the economic empowerment of women, the building of increasingly more capable educational facilities and systems, and initiatives in reforestation and cultivation of crops such as pistachios and wheat grain. His balanced presentation was also tempered with realistic assessments of the struggles that are present daily for all Afghans, and the insecurity facing international humanitarian organizations that work tirelessly in different regions of this Central Asian nation.
Dance Mandal: Art of Nepal, SE Portland
Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya invited our group of World Affairs Council members and Young Professionals Program devotees into the world of Dance Mandal, the foundation where his students and troupe practice a sacred Buddhist dance form. Nicely detailed narrations accompanied varying dance pieces, informing and delighting a group of nearly forty with the beauty of this religious discipline of the priests of Kathmandu that dates back more than 1,000 years. Many thanks to Prajwal, his family, friends, and students for their generous hosting of the event, and for providing us all with their home-cooked, delicious representations of authentic Nepalese cuisine.
Doctors Without Borders
Souk Médecins Sans Frontières professionals Dr. Suniti Kumar and David Huntley gave us a look into the operations of the reknowned international non-governmental humanitarian aid organization. From how MSF is funded, to opportunities for individuals to get involved in helping people around the world where the need is greatest, Dr. Kumar and Mr. Huntley drew from their valuable experiences on the medical and logistical sides respectively, in Niger, Myanmar, and Indonesia, in helping our Young Professionals gain a better understanding of the struggles, challenges, and hope that exist in international humanitarian aid. Souk owner Julie Duryea provided the hospitality and attractive and innovative atmosphere of her new downtown hot desk location, we encourage young professionals and all entrepreneurs to check out the services Souk provides.
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