Submitted by the Lopez Island Library

The Lopez Island Library is pleased to present the 2nd annual Great Decisions discussion group program, focusing on the most critical global issues facing America today.

Beginning on Saturday, February 2nd from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., and meeting every other Saturday through May 11th, the Library will facilitate eight discussions on contemporary foreign affairs. The topics are chosen in advance by a panel of experts from the Foreign Policy Association.

The format of the program is to provide background information and policy options in advance for each of the eight discussions to participants. Participants then gather at the library to watch a short video and discuss the designated topic together, facilitated by library staff and/or locals with expert knowledge of the subject. This grassroots face-to-face model was adopted by the Foreign Policy Association more than 50 years ago and continue today with tens of thousands of participants taking part in discussions nationwide annually.

Each year, Great Decisions discussion program participants are polled about their views on the topics discussed. The results are compiled in the National Opinion Ballot Report and distributed to the White House, members of Congress, the departments of State and Defense, the national media and participants in the Great Decisions Discussion Program. The Report is a valuable way of sharing the informed opinions of citizens with the people who shape U.S. foreign policy. For more information, or to pre-register for the program, please contact Library Director Lou Pray at 360-468-2265 or lpray@lopezlibrary.org. To see a full list of topics, visit the Great Decisions program website at the Lopez Library: http://lopezlibrary.org/library-programs/great-decisions-discussion-group-2019/.

The first discussion group meets Saturday, Feb. 2 at 11:30 a.m. -1 p.m. in the Library Community Room. The topic will be “Refugees and Global Migration.”