The World Affairs Forum

Future Global Leaders Awards &

$10,000 Merit Scholarship Program

World Affairs Forum

World Affairs Forum, 800 Summer Street, Suite 340, Stamford, CT 06901 www.worldaffairsforum.org

Objective: The Future Global Leaders Awards & $10,000 Merit Scholarship Program is sponsored by the World Affairs Forum (WAF) with the support of our lead sponsors Pitney Bowes and Peoples Community Foundation, as well as the support from Thomson Reuters, the Hutchins Family Fund, and Eni SpA. Its goal is to help develop future global leaders in Fairfield County high schools with the skills and qualities necessary to meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21^st century. The WAF intends to achieve this objective by recognizing and rewarding young leaders in Fairfield County who have demonstrated a commitment to understanding global issues and leadership qualities applicable to solving global problems.

Structure: The Future Global Leaders Awards & $10,000 Merit Scholarship Program is a two-tiered leadership awards & merit scholarship competition for the 2009-2010 academic year:

First Tier-- Principal’s Future Global Leader Award: for one high school junior at each participating high school to be selected by the principal and awarded as a Future Global Leader at the end of 2009-2010 school year.

Ø A certificate from the WAF will be awarded to a junior at the end of his/her junior year at each participating high school for outstanding leadership on global issues including academic studies, extracurricular activities and/or community service.

Ø The recipients of the Future Global Leader Award will be selected by the principal of each school participating in the program, according to the criteria established by the WAF (see below) and are to be awarded at “Prize Day” or its equivalent at the end of the 2009-2010 academic year at each participating high school.

Ø Each school will designate one student recipient and award one certificate, which the WAF will provide. The Future Global Leader Award winners will be invited as special guests to attend a fall 2010 conference at the Council on Foreign Relations in NYC and also will be invited to attend the WAF’s Great Decisions and Forum Series over the course of their senior year.

Ø The high schools eligible to participate include all high schools with college preparatory programs within Fairfield County (approximately 40 schools with an enrollment of approximately 50,000, 87% of whom are enrolled in public schools, 8% in parochial schools and 5% in independent/private schools).

Second Tier: $10,000 Merit Scholarship Award for college to Fairfield County’s Most Outstanding Future Global Leader selected by WAF panel of judges.

Ø Those juniors who receive the Future Global Leaders principal’s award at the end of their junior year are then eligible to compete for the WAF $10,000 Merit Scholarship for college, which will be awarded to Fairfield County’s most outstanding Future Global Leader. Merit Scholarship awards will also be given to the first, second, and third runners-up, $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000 respectively. Each high school’s Future Global Leader Award recipient must forward a principal’s recommendation, a 500-word essay on global issues, and a completed application form to the WAF no later than June 30, 2010. The essay topic will be determined by the WAF.

Ø The WAF will establish a panel of judges, which will include civic, academic and business leaders. This panel will determine the recipient of the $10,000 Merit Scholarship for college, plus the merit scholarship award winners for the first, second and third runners-up prizes.

Ø The recipient of the $10,000 Merit Scholarship and runners-up awards, will be announced in October of 2010 and will be honored at a WAF event.

Criteria: The criteria the high schools should use to determine their Future Global Leader Award recipient follow. The same criteria will be used by the WAF to determine Fairfield County’s most outstanding Future Global Leader, who will be awarded the $10,000 Merit Scholarship for college, and the runners-up awards:

Recipients of the Future Global Leaders Awards and Scholarship will be students who have demonstrated leadership, commitment and determination in understanding global issues, fulfilling their responsibilities as global citizens, and preparing themselves for the challenges and opportunities they will face in the interconnected global community.

Applicants will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Ø Demonstrated academic leadership and achievement with a particular focus on: 1) the student’s highly developed interest in global issues; and 2) the student’s ability to address innovatively problems with global impact (i.e., including math or science achievements with a global focus, achievements in social studies coursework relevant to understanding global issues, and/or achievement in foreign languages, etc.);

Ø Demonstrated leadership in related extracurricular school activities with an international focus, for example, Model UN, Debate Team, Academic WorldQuest, Building with Books, Global 20/20, etc.; and/or demonstrated leadership in community service with an international focus;*** and,

Ø Demonstrated ability to serve as a role model within the school community.

*** Overseas travel is not required or expected as a criterion for selection.

Timetable: Following is the timetable for the 2009-2010 Future Global Leaders Awards & Scholarship Program:

February 2010 WAF sends reminder to all participating high schools regarding criteria and protocol for selection and announcement of the Future Global Leaders in each participating high school.

May 1, 2010 Participating high schools inform the WAF of their Future Global Leader’s name so that the WAF can prepare the certificate for the recipient. A principal’s recommendation is due at this time for the Merit Scholarship competition.

May 15, 2010 WAF provides certificate and an information packet and application form to each recipient of the high school Future Global Leader Awards for the $10,000 Merit Scholarship competition for college.

May/June 2010 Each participating high school awards its recipient of the Future Global Leader Awards at its “Prize Day” or equivalent.

June 30, 2010 Deadline for the high school Future Global Leader Award recipients’ application to compete for Fairfield County’s most outstanding Future Global Leader Award who will be awarded the $10,000 Merit Scholarship for college.

October 2010 $10,000 Merit Scholarship recipient and runners-up announced. The Merit Scholarship recipient and the runners-up will be honored at a WAF event. All recipients of the 2009-2010 high school principal’s Future Global Leaders Awards will be invited to attend an afternoon conference at the Council of Foreign Relations in NYC.

The World Affairs Forum: The World Affairs Forum (www.worldaffairsforum.org) is a non-profit, non-partisan community organization dedicated to educating its members, the public and students of all ages about international developments and America’s role in the world. The Forum is an affiliate of the World Affairs Councils of America. The World Affairs Forum, representing Fairfield and Westchester Counties, was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Stamford, CT. Through its speakers series, the Forum brings to Fairfield and Westchester Counties the best thinkers, writers and policy makers involved in world affairs through approximately 30 programs each year. Along with the Future Global Leaders Awards & Scholarship Program, the Forum also seeks to educate high school and college students through its World Class program, offering a high school international knowledge competition, Academic WorldQuest, internships, and college study abroad scholarships to assure that young people are prepared for active participation in the global workplace.

Contact for future Global Leaders Awards & Scholarship Program:

Dr. Lori E. Murray
Board Member and Chair, Future Global Leaders Awards & Scholarship Program
World Affairs Forum
murraylori@aol.com
203-661-2122
202-329-6201 cell note “202” area code.

PRESS RELEASE

World Affairs Forum, 800 Summer Street, Suite 340, Stamford, CT 06901

E-mail: kmaxwell@worldaffairsforum.org

Date:               October 19, 2009
Contact:          Kay Maxwell
Phone:            (203) 356-0340

STAMFORD, CT--The World Affairs Forum announced today that Samuel “Gus” Ruchman, a senior at Brunswick School, is the winner of the Future Global Leader Award for Fairfield County and the recipient of a $10,000 Merit Scholarship for college, sponsored by Pitney Bowes and IBM.

An award ceremony hosted by Pitney Bowes Chairman, President & CEO Murray Martin, will be held in conjunction with the Global Economic Trends Lecture at Pitney Bowes World Headquarters on Oct. 29 at 6:45 pm. Nicholas S. Perna, Managing Director, Perna Associates, will be the guest speaker.

Ruchman, an outstanding student in math, science, languages and the arts, heads Brunswick’s Model UN, is a member of the Middle Eastern conflict resolution group Seeds for Peace, and founded and leads Brunswick’s Bear for Chairs, a community service team with the goal of aiding those who are mobility-challenged including wounded vets. He also organizes and performs on Daniel Pearl World Music Day.

The first runner-up is Amanda Ackerman a senior at St. Luke’s School in New Canaan. She is a Global Scholar who has combined her passion for music and international relations to support the work of Malaria No More and the Tony Blair Faith Foundation.

Second runner-up is S’ha Siddiqi a senior at Joel Barlow High School in Redding. She is trilingual and a recognized leader in the United Nations- sponsored Children’s International Summer Villages (CISV) and Care for Crisis, a student group that raises money for international disasters.

Third runner-up is Patience Mhlanga, a senior at Bassick High School in Bridgeport, who is a member of the Fairfield University Upward Bound and Talent Search program and is a recognized leader on hunger and refugee issues. She gives speeches at Youth Centers and raises money for the hungry in Bridgeport and in Ghana. She is also a student leader in the Build On program, which focuses on environmental sustainability.

The goal of the WAF’s Future Global Leader program is to help develop future leaders with the skills and
qualities necessary to meet the challenges of the 21^st century. “It is our privilege to work with our sponsors Pitney Bowes and IBM and the County’s educators to encourage and reward these outstanding students in Fairfield County who have demonstrated leadership in understanding global issues and solving global problems,” said Dr. Lori E. Murray, chair of the WAF Future Global Leader program.

“Pitney Bowes is proud to support the WAF’s Future Global Leader award program,” said Murray Martin, Chairman, President & CEO, Pitney Bowes Inc. ”Leaders with a global mindset provide organizations with a competitive edge in their ability to deliver and tap into successful new business opportunities. I congratulate the winners on both their accomplishments and bright futures.”

Gene Rostov, Chairman of The World Affairs Forum, noted, “We are pleased to have initiated this innovative program to promote better understanding of international issues among high school students. We believe it is all of our responsibility to encourage students of all ages to know more about the world in which we live and to become leaders in that world. To this end, our groundbreaking Future Global Leaders Award and Scholarship, conceived and executed by Dr. Murray and generously underwritten by Pitney Bowes and IBM, is a bold, creative and worthwhile endeavor.”

Ruchman, and runners up Ackerman, Siddiqi and Mhlanga were chosen from the group of 40 Future Global Leaders from each of the 40 participating high schools in Fairfield County. These 40 leaders were then eligible to compete for the $10,000 Merit Scholarship. The principals at each high school selected their school’s future global leader based on criteria established by the World Affairs Forum. An independent judging committee selected the merit scholarship winner and the runners-up also based on the same criteria. The independent judging committee included:

Helene Cooper, NY Times White House correspondent
Jeffrey Garten, Professor, Yale School of Management and former Dean of the Yale SOM
Helene Gayle, President and CEO of CARE
Ned Lamont, 2006 Democratic Senatorial candidate CT and Founder and Chairman of the Board Campus Televideo
Lou Noto, Managing Partner, Midstream Partners, LLC, former Chairman and CEO of Mobil and Vice Chairman ExxonMobil

The World Affairs Forum is a non-profit, non-partisan community organization dedicated to expanding understanding of global affairs and America’s role in the world. The World Affairs Forum is an affiliate of the World Affairs Councils of America.

Stamford, CT-- The World Affairs Forum announced today the winners of the 2009 Future Global Leaders Awards from the 40 participating Fairfield County high schools.

The WAF Future Global Leader Award Program, funded by Pitney Bowes and IBM, was established this year throughout Fairfield County to honor students completing their junior year at each participating high school, who demonstrated outstanding leadership in understanding global issues and solving global problems. The high school principals designated their Future Global Leader based on this criteria established by the World Affairs Forum.

“It is our privilege to honor these accomplished and dedicated Future Global Leaders and to work with the high schools to encourage the efforts of their students to understand the global challenges of the 21^st century,” said Dr. Lori E. Murray, chair of the WAF Future Global Leaders Awards program.

The Future Global Leader Award winners have received a certificate of award and an application form to compete for the World Affairs Forum’s $10,000 merit college scholarship, which will be awarded to the outstanding Future Global Leader in Fairfield in the fall of 2009. The 40 Future Global Leader Award winners will be invited to attend an afternoon conference sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City in the fall. And, the Future Global Leaders will be invited to WAF lectures and events in Fairfield County throughout the 2009-2010 school year.

The judging committee for the WAF $10,000 merit scholarship for college include:

Helene Cooper, NYTimes White House correspondent
Jeffrey Garten, Professor, Yale School of Management and former Dean, Yale SOM
Helene Gayle, President and CEO of Care USA
Ned Lamont, 2006 Democratic Senatorial candidate CT and Founder and Chairman of the Board Campus
Televideo
Lou Noto, Managing Partner, Midstream Partners, LLC, former Chairman and CEO, Mobil and Vice
Chairman ExxonMobil
Christopher Shays, former US Congressman, 4^th District, CT

The 2009 Future Global Leader Award winners from the 40 participating Fairfield County High Schools are:

For Immediate Release
Date:               November 22, 2008
Contact:          Kay Maxwell
Phone:             (203) 356-0340

FORTY FAIRFIELD COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLS TO VIE FOR

FUTURE GLOBAL LEADERS AWARDS AND

$10,000 SCHOLARSHIP

Stamford, CT -- Forty Fairfield County high schools representing 50,000 students will participate in an innovative program to develop young leaders dedicated to understanding and solving global problems, the World Affairs Forum announced today. The Future Global Leaders Awards Program will recognize one outstanding junior from each participating school and then award a $10,000 Merit Scholarship to one of these forty young leaders.

The Future Global Leaders Awards Program, which is supported by Pitney Bowes and IBM, was created by the World Affairs Forum and joined by educators and businesses that share the belief that today’s interdependent world requires leaders with a global perspective and 21^st century skills.

“As an organization dedicated to educating the public about global issues, we recognize that developing young leaders capable of addressing complex global problems is a responsibility we all share,” said William Galvin, Chairman of the Board of the World Affairs Forum.

Connecticut Education Commissioner Dr. Mark K. McQuillan stated that the new program is consistent with the statewide priority for secondary school reform. “We are committed to assuring that all Connecticut high school students are prepared for careers in a competitive global economy and that they develop 21st Century skills in order to keep Connecticut’s economic edge in the nation and world,” he said.

“Pitney Bowes’s support of the World Affairs Forum is indicative of our commitment to the communities in which we work and live,” said Patrick Brand, President, Document Messaging Technologies, Pitney Bowes and board member, WAF. “The Future Global Leaders Awards program will achieve significant progress in developing young leaders for our future workforce. In addition, the program will increase student awareness of the complex challenges and opportunities of the global economy.”

At the end of the 2008-2009 school year, principals of each participating high school will designate one Future Global Leader from the junior class who will receive a certificate of award from the World Affairs Forum. The 40 Future Global Leaders are then eligible to compete for the $10,000 merit scholarship for college, which the World Affairs Forum will award in October 2009.

Dr. Lori E. Murray, the Forum board member spearheading the program, said, “We created this program to support our school principals who are leading the charge in the County to transform education to adapt to new global realities.”

The World Affairs Forum is a non-profit, non-partisan community organization dedicated to educating its members, the public and students about international developments and America’s role in the world. The Forum is an affiliate of the World Affairs Councils of America.

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