The Competition
Who Can Participate in the World Affairs Challenge?
Any middle or high school student in the world can form or join a team!
Student Teams:
Consist of 2-10 students
Can participate from anywhere in the world
Compete in either a middle school or high school competition bracket
Can include members from more than a one school
Finals are held every spring at WAC Event Day in Denver, Colorado. Teams can attend in-person in Denver or virtually.
How to Participate in the World Affairs Challenge:
Each year we announce a theme that includes several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These are the basis for the team’s Community Action Project.
The breakdown:
Students create and register their team, and decide on an issue (based on the annual WAC theme) they want to solve.
Teams can focus their project on any place in the world where their chosen issue exists.
Teams will find a Community Partner to seek guidance from and connections to expertise in their chosen issue (this can be a business, organization, or community leader). Teams will work alongside their Community Partner to implement a community service project surrounding their specific issue.
Teams will innovate a sustainable solution to their issue and design a creative formal presentation about their Community Action Project and solution that they will present to a panel of judges as part of the WAC Event Day.
About WAC Event Day
WAC Event Day is held in person in Denver - and virtually - every spring. The Event has three scored components:
The Formal Presentation - teams will offer their formal presentation of their Community Action Project and solutions to a panel of judges.
The Collaborative Question Experience - At the competition, students have the opportunity to work with competitors from other teams to solve a real global issue in just an hour!
The Global Awareness Quiz is taken by all students on WAC Event Day and is a chance for them to showcase their knowledge of global current events.
How Much Time Does it Take to Participate?
Teams typically spend 1-2 hours per week over a minimum of 6-8 weeks to prepare for the World Affairs Challenge.
We provide a schedule with milestones to keep teams on track.
The next in-person WAC Event Day is Saturday, April 2, 2022, beginning at 9:00 a.m. MST.
Next: Learn About the 2022 WAC Theme and Sustainable Development Goals
