News Release
March 3, 2006
Seven Denver Middle And High Schools To Compete In World Affairs Challenge On Saturday, March 4; Theme Is Conflict
The World Affairs Challenge for middle and high school students is Saturday, March 4 at the University of Denver.
This is not your parents' social studies course! The World Affairs Challenge encourages young people to discover and explore exciting new content as they work with peers on a collaborative project.
Middle and high school students from seven Denver schools that are participating sharpen research and presentation skills, learn to formulate and defend an argument, develop leadership and negotiation skills, and confront real-world scenarios to propose viable solutions. The seven schools are: Grant, Henry, Horace Mann, Merrill and Rishel middle schools and East, North and South high schools.
The 2006 theme challenges participants to investigate a timeless and universal topic: conflict. The goal for this year's participants is to acquire a greater understanding of the dynamics of conflict - the reasons that conflicts begin, the consequences that follow, and the organizations that seek to prevent or resolve disputes. While the United States may be involved in the conflict that is the subject of student presentations, the primary focus must be outside of the United States and chosen from within the last 15 years.
The program challenges young people to think about their relationship to the rest of our world while taking part in a fun competition. Four events, focused on the overarching annual theme, assess student knowledge about what's going on in the world and highlight students' creativity, analytical, and presentation skills.
The World Affairs Challenge, hosted by the Center for Teaching International Relations at the University of Denver, is an excellent opportunity for middle and high school students to discover and explore exciting global issues.
For more information about the event, please contact Liz Beindorff, University of Denver, at 303-871-7442, ebeindor@du.edu or www.worldaffairschallenge.org.