Founded in 1993, the Columbia World Affairs Council (CWAC) is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization that serves as the bridge between our local community and its global counterparts. In recent years, South Carolina has experienced rapid growth in international business, politics, and culture. Devoted to promoting intercontinental awareness in South Carolina, the CWAC exists for the benefit of its citizens by enhancing their opportunities to engage with the international community. OUR MISSION: • Develop programs to foster and expand grassroots understanding of international affairs within and beyond South Carolina’s borders • Serve as a catalyst for building and maintaining relationships between South Carolina and the rest of the world • Increase the visibility of South Carolina as a world-class state through participation in Sister Cities International, local programming and international partnerships CWAC, as a member of Sister Cities International, has administered the Sister Cities of Columbia program on behalf of the City since 1996. The global citizen diplomacy initiative aims to further cultural understanding by encouraging and assisting the city and its communities to link with similar communities throughout the world. Columbia's Sister Cities include Kaiserslautern, Germany; Accra, Ghana; Taichung City, Taiwan; Cluj-Napoca, Romania; and Plovdiv, Bulgaria; Chelyabinsk, Russia; and Yibin City, China. The CWAC is a member of the national World Affairs Councils of America network with 40 state member councils, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, over 350,000 participants, and many affiliated organizations.