The World Affairs Conference

irst held in March 1983 and initiated by UCC student David James Wilson, working in collaboration with faculty advisor, Paul W. Bennett. The first Keynote Speaker was Dr. William Epstein, United Nations Expert on the Nuclear Arms Race. The program format combined speakers, panels, theme plenaries and student-moderated discussions, first initiated by Stephanie Reford's Introducing the World Program. In 1984 and 1985, UCC student Ira Nishisato became Chair and WAC expanded. In February 1985, WAC attracted some 1,600 students from over 70 different high schools across North America. A student organizing committee carried the conference forward over its first 10 years, guided at first by Paul Bennett, then by Thomas Matthews. Both Faculty Advisors went on to become Headmasters in other Canadian independent schools. In 2011 the conference welcomed speakers including economic speech-writer for President Bush David Frum, Deputy Speaker of the Ontario Legislative Assembly, and Cheri DiNovo. Today the conference continues to maintain its history as Canada's the oldest annual student-run current affairs conference. The most popular keynote speakers have included: UN Ambassador Stephen Lewis, Editor Robin Morgan, Ralph Nader, and Lord David Owen. Other noteworthy speakers at WAC include: David Frum, Marc Garneau, Michael Ignatieff, Susan Faludi, Gwynne Dyer, Bob Rae, Jeffrey Sachs, and Samantha Nutt. Senior students from UCC and Branksome Hall began working together in the late 1980s and have sustained the annual conference for over 25 years. More recently, the conference has drawn attention from around the world, hosting a number of well-established speakers.