It all began when a big idea became a reality, and the passion of a small group of individuals transformed into a team which has consistently punched above its weight for more than a decade and a half. The idea was to celebrate diversity in our own backyard by showcasing individuals, institutions, and organizations with a global reach or diverse cultural connections.  After almost a year of planning, the first Global Summit was held in February of 2010 when more than a thousand local people turned out for the event featuring more than 50 booths, ethnic food vendors, and live entertainment, all highlighting cultural and global perspectives.  A year later another Global Summit was held to build upon the success, and a realization that there was a space to fill in the Northwest Ohio Community for celebrating all things global.

Over the next months,  WACNWO founders Bill Hilt and Val Virag continued to explore ways in which their passion could become contagious.  They began to work closely with Dr. Elizabeth Balint, whose Great Lakes Consortium for International Training and Development was an early supporter of the Global Summit.  Eventually the plan emerged to form a local World Affairs Council, and join the more than 90 Councils across the U.S., and four in Ohio.  

While working toward the challenges of becoming a 501(c)3 and integrating into the World Affairs Councils of America network, the budding organization continued toward their goal of bringing world affairs to Northwest Ohio.  Relying on student exchange programs, professional visitors from abroad, and university programs, WACNWO started to serve as a valuable partner in helping to ensure the success of these programs, but it wouldn’t take long for the organization to emerge as a leader.  

Developing a Global Studies Diploma in 2012, to encourage student involvement provided a cornerstone program for the organization, and more pieces fell into place as the organization brought in national speakers, both in-person and virtually, multicultural events, professional programs for international visitors, youth programs, service projects, and other programs to benefit the local community.

WACNWO began to receive some grants from respected funding institutions which helped them gain legitimacy in the domain--small at first, but increasingly larger and more complex as time went on.  Funding partners included the World Affairs Councils of America, Carlson & Carlson Family Foundation, European Union, Erasmus+ Program, Carnegie Corporation, Turkish Cultural Foundation, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Korean Economic Institute, and The Congressional Office on International Leadership, to name a few.  But support also came from local people who chipped in to help with funding and volunteering time and effort to make WACNWO the organization it is today.  Always a nonpartisan, all-volunteer council, WACNWO has emerged as “the little council that could...”