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PLEASE PLEDGE A TEAM BY DEC. 2!
TIME AND DATE
The Academic WorldQuest 2006 competition is scheduled for March 31 - April 2, 2006. The weekend will begin at 6:00 pm on Friday, March 31 and ends at noon on Sunday, April 2.
PLEDGES
We have 24 teams pledged so far. The target is 60 teams. Pledged teams are listed at the end of this e-mail. Please check that your pledge is on the list. Pledging ends on December 2 so please make sure to send in your pledges as soon as you can.
You do not have to give us the name of the school or students by Dec. 2. We are simply asking your council's commitment to participate in AWQ. The best team is a set of students representing a school, a city, and a council. Students may however come from more than one school if necessary. Only one team per council please.
CONTEST QUESTIONS
Each round will have 10 questions. There will be 10 rounds. Most questions will have four multiple choice answers. Questions will be projected on a screen by PowerPoint and will be read out by the Moderator. The rounds will not necessarily be in the order below.
Round A: Great Decisions 2005
The Great Decisions 2005 topics are:
- US Intelligence Reform
- Putin's Second Term: A Scorecard for Russia
- Outsourcing Jobs: A US Dilemma
- China: Economic Giant Emerges
- Sudan and the War in Darfur
- US and Global Poverty
- US Challenges in Iraq and the Muslim World
- Freshwater and Foreign Policy: New Challenges.
Questions for this round will be drawn from these Great Decisions articles. We can email you the eight Great Decisions texts upon request.
Later in October, you will be able to access the 8 GD texts through the password-protected section of this website. Passwords are only available to teachers, council staff, and team coaches.
Upon request, we can send you 6 copies of the Great Decisions 2005 book by mail. No more than 6 will be available for one council, city, and team.
Round B. Current Events
This round will consist of questions on world news and world events happening in January, February, March of 2006. To prepare, students should read the world news section of the New York Times or use BBC News on-line.
Round C. People in the News
This round will focus on world leaders and newsmakers involved in events around the time of the competition.
A&E Biography
Searchable index of celebrities and political leaders
Info Please Biographies
Searchable but also has categories
Round D. Countries
This round will be on general knowledge questions about countries: type of government, location, leaders, history, and current events.
State Department Country Background Notes
BBC News Country Profiles
Information about current political events and links to local news outlets
Round E. Flags
Students will be expected to identify flags of countries or international organizations from a PowerPoint screen.
flags from both international organizations and countries
Round F. United Nations
Questions on the United Nations will cover current UN issues, Secretariat, General Assembly, Security Council, and specialized agencies such as UNICEF, WHO, UNHCR, UNESCO, and many others.
Round G. US Neighbors
Questions will focus on Canada and Mexico and be about politics, states or provinces, cities, population, society, famous people, current events, economy, and more.
Wikipedia - Mexico
Contains links to other sites in addition to introductory information
Canada
A comprehensive site by the Canadian government about Canada.
Round H. Famous Landmarks
Students will need to be able to identify photos and answer questions on famous world landmarks, including natural sites, statues, monuments, and buildings.
Wonders of the natural, ancient, medieval, and modern worlds
Round I. Peoples of the World
This round will focus on the culture, language, and religions of peoples across the globe. The questions will be on nationalities and ethnic groups.
Wikipedia list of Ethnic Groups
Summaries vary in content, but do contain links for further information.
Round J. Nobel Prizes
Students will answer questions about Nobel Prizes, winners, and discoveries over the last 100 years.
Nobel Prize Website
Contains list of winners and biographies
None of the above-mentioned websites or sources are intended to be exclusive sources of information for each round!
WEEKEND PROGRAM
This weekend will include:
FRIDAY, MARCH 31
- Dinner and a mixer for the students from 6:00 onwards
SATURDAY, APRIL 1
- Free time to visit monuments, memorials, and museums in the morning.
- Discussion event with a prominent Washingtonian
- Main competition 2-5 in the afternoon
- Pizza dinner
- Capitol Steps musical political satire performance
SUNDAY, APRIL 1
- Free time to visit monuments, memorials, and museums.
NAMES AND SCHOOLS
We need the names and schools of participants by February 28, 2006. Student names should be as they will appear on a name tag. School names should be as they will appear on the WorldQuest T-shirt. Short names are better. We also need the names, phones, faxes, and e-mails of the chaperone by February 28, 2006.
COSTS
There is no fee for entering a team. National sponsorship funds will cover the event costs in Washington,
including:
- Friday evening dinner
- Continental-style breakfasts at the hotel
- Main competition
- Pizza dinner
- Capitol Steps performance
- Prizes
- Facilities
- Buses
Local teams will need to cover the costs of getting to and from Washington and the hotel costs in Washington.
In the past teams have done the following to save money:
- driving rather than flying to Washington
- doubling, tripling, or quadrupling up in hotel rooms
- having team members stay with friends in DC
- getting plane tickets donated
- getting parents to cover some costs
- getting a grant to cover costs
- asking a company or wealthy individual to sponsor the team
NATIONAL WEBSITE AND SAMPLE QUESTIONS
Look at questions from two previous competitions to get an idea on the format and the level of difficulty of the national competition questions.
LIABILITY
The World Affairs Councils of America has a general liability policy covering all its activities including the Academic WorldQuest weekend.
PLEDGED COUNCILS
Anchorage
Brattleboro
Buffalo
Colorado Springs
Dallas
Greensboro
Hampton Roads
Houston
Jacksonville
Juneau
Las Vegas
Louisville
Mid-Hudson Valley
Missoula
Palm Beaches FL
Palm Springs CA
Peoria
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Portland ME
Reading & Berks County
San Antonio
St. Louis
Wilmington
Questions
Contact Melissa Lawrence at (202) 833-4557.
Academic WorldQuest is a Flagship Program of the council system. It is on its way to becoming a major national high school competition.