Academic WorldQuest Coming to Missoula

Missoula, February 26, 2013
UC Ballroom – 3^rd Floor University Center – UM Campus

On February 26th, 2013, nearly 250 high school students from around the State of Montana will compete at the 9th annual Academic WorldQuest (AWQ) competition organized by the World Affairs Council of Montana!

AWQ is a competition between teams of four high school students testing competitors’ knowledge of international affairs, geography, history, culture and more. Teams have been preparing for several months to answer questions from ten categories, including U.S. Energy Policy, U.S. Economic Competitiveness, and the Middle East. Each school will bring their best and brightest students to the University of Montana campus to compete.  The Council is also fortunate enough to present Missoula Mayor John Engen as the evening’s MC. Community members are invited to attend the competition and try their luck at answering the category questions.

Many teams fundraise for the trip on their own and drive hours to participate. The full-day event in Missoula will include a presentation from Council Founder, former Ambassador Mark Johnson, a foreign film discussion with University of Montana Professor Udo Fluck, a roundtable discussion with UM foreign students, and a Global Group Team Challenge focusing on the Cuban Missile Crisis and its impact on today’s strategic environment.

The winning high school team will represent the state of Montana at the National Academic WorldQuest Competition in April, where they will compete against schools from around the country. Montana teams are a force to be reckoned with, as they have consistently placed in the national top-ten! While in Washington D.C., the winning team will have the opportunity to meet with Montana’s Congressional Delegation and tour the Capitol. These events are generously sponsored by the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation.

The World Affairs Council of Montana is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to engaging citizens on global issues.  The Montana Academic WorldQuest program began in 2005 with only three teams competing. Since then the program has greatly expanded to 59 teams in 2012.

The above text is from the official press release distributed by the World Affairs Council.