17 Teams from Denver Public Schools Participate
as Part of the Janus Foundation Grant in 2007

In 2007, nearly 200 students form the Denver Public School (DPS) district participated in the 16th annual World Affairs Challenge. These young people were part of a special sponsorship by the Janus Foundation, which supported their participation.

During the competition all participants demonstrated their knowledge of world affairs and of the annual theme "The Global Marketplace ."

This is the fourth year that the Janus Foundation has supported the Center for Teaching International Relations (CTIR), the World Affairs Challenge, and specifically underserved schools in DPS. For the second year, CTIR worked with teachers and students involved in the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program.

In total, 23 teams from DPS took part in the Challenge, which reflects the highest number in Challenge history! The schools that brought teams are:

The groups researched a wide range of topics related to the "Global Marketplace " theme, including Fair Trade Coffee, Black Market Weapons, Pollution, Outsourcing to India, Human Trafficking, Sweatshop Labor, and Immigration.

Students who compete in the World Affairs Challenge participate in three events: the Formal Presentation, the Collaborative Question, and the Global Awareness Quiz. For the Formal Presentation, teams of 7-12 students deliver a prepared, creative presentation they have designed based on in-depth research of a specific topic. All topics relate to the annual theme. The Collaborative Question groups students into new teams with peers from other schools and asks them to solve a hypothetical problem related to the annual theme. The Global Awareness Quiz challenges students to gain a general awareness of world events. Community members involved in international business, politics, non-profit organizations, and more, serve as event judges.

The World Affairs Challenge is administered by the Center for Teaching International Relations (CTIR), a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing public understanding of international affairs by strengthening international studies in K-12 classrooms. As part of the University of Denver's Graduate School of International Studies, a top 10 international studies graduate program*, CTIR is in a unique position to offer award-winning, innovative content and programs to assist schools wanting to add a global dimension to their elementary and secondary school curricula.

For more information please visit us on the web at www.ctir.org, click on World Affairs Challenge, or contact us at 1-800-967-2847.

*Foreign Policy Magazine, November/December 2005