CAZENOVIA — In February, the “Great Decisions” discussion group will return to the Cazenovia Public Library (CPL) under the leadership of CPL Adult Programming and Service Coordinator Renee Joseph.
Great Decisions is America’s largest discussion program on U.S. foreign policy and world affairs.
The approximately 1.5-hour discussions are guided by a series of questions listed at the end of each topic presentation in the Foreign Policy Association’s (FPA) Great Decisions 2024 Briefing Book. Before each conversation, groups watch a 20-minute FPA video on the week’s topic.
Founded in 1918, the FPA is a non-profit organization with a mission to serve as a catalyst for developing awareness, understanding, and informed opinion on U.S. foreign policy and global issues. Through its balanced, nonpartisan programs and publications, the FPA encourages citizens to participate in the foreign policy process.
According to the organization’s website, the Great Decisions program provides background information and policy options for the eight most critical global issues facing America each year.
The 2024 topics, which were chosen by a panel of experts, are “Mideast realignment,” “Climate technology and competition,” “Science across borders,” “U.S.-China trade rivalry,” “NATO’s future,” “Understanding Indonesia,” “High Seas treaty,” and “Pandemic preparedness.”
The local discussion series will begin on Wednesday, Feb. 7, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in the Betsy Kennedy Community Room. The program runs for eight consecutive weeks.
Briefing booklets are available for $28 through the library. Money should be dropped off at the circulation desk by Jan. 10.
A booklet will also be available at the circulation desk for patrons to read while at the library, but it will not be available for checkout.
Cazenovia resident Wendy Taylor, of the League of Women Voters, started the local Great Decisions discussion group in 1990 and last ran the program in February 2020.
The discussion group met at the Gothic Cottage for many years and then at Saint James Catholic Church before moving to the library.
“I heard what a popular program this was, so I reached out to Wendy,” said Joseph. “[She] was very helpful and still very interested in being involved but was happy for the library to take the reins after so many years and perhaps reach an even wider audience.”
For more information on Great Decisions, visit fpa.org/great_decisions.
To register for the series, visit cazenoviapubliclibrary.org or email Joseph at [email protected].
Other library news
On Jan. 23 at 6 p.m., CPL will host an artist talk by Stephen Carpenter called “Visual Music.” His art will be featured in the CPL Gallery in December and January as part of an interactive exhibit inspired by an organ improvisation of “Bolero” by Maurice Ravel. Viewers will be able to scan a QR code with their phones and hear the measure of music that inspires each piece.
On Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m., Jim Joseph will discuss the rise, fall, and reinvention of an industry giant in his presentation “The Oneida Ltd. Story: 1848 to Present.” Joseph is the former president and CEO of Oneida Ltd. and the current vice president of advancement and innovation and dean of the Madden College of Business & Economics at LeMoyne College.
