With the outbreak of World War II, the Students' International Union was no longer able to guarantee the safety of its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and in 1941 relocated to the United States.  New headquarters were established in New York City and summer seminars were conducted in Salisbury, Connecticut.  Located on 300 acres of farmland in northwestern Connecticut, the seminar site consisted of a farm house which housed administrative offices and guest rooms, a library, dormitories for men and women, a barn, and a chicken coop.  It also boasted lakefront facilities at nearby Twin Lakes.  During this time, the name of the organization changed to the Institute of World Affairs, although its mission and activities remained the same.

A summer seminar participant operates the tractor

Life at the Summer Seminar

During most of its history, the primary activity of the Institute of World Affairs was the annual summer seminar for college students.   Participants were selected from around the world to take part in a two-month session designed to provide an intellectual and social foundation for world leadership.   Summers spent at the Institute of World Affairs were filled with academic challenges, daily tasks, and recreational activities in an environment designed to encourage mutual cooperation and interpersonal harmony.  Each seminar was organized around a particular topic such as problems of the Third World, arms control, international law, the Cold War, world energy, and the impact of international financial institutions.   IWA seminars also enabled students to develop their leadership skills.  At the beginning of each session, a student government was formed with elected officers.  In addition to attending seminar lectures and completing writing assignments, students performed chores such as picking vegetables, mowing the lawn, washing dishes, sweeping, typing reports, gardening and operating the tractor.

A summer seminar participant cleans up debris

Within the busy summer schedule there was also time for fun.  Evenings were filled with visits to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, performances by the Berkshire Players, chamber music recitals, and dance programs.   Time was also set aside for swimming, boating on the lake, hiking, picnics, softball games, hay rides and dances.

By the end of the summer, the students' lives had been enriched intellectually and personally.  Having spent an entire summer living, working and socializing with one another, a firm foundation was built based on mutual respect and understanding.  Ehud Sprinzak, a 1964 participant, commented:

"...my deepest experience was to meet for the first time in my life intelligent students from the opposite side- Egypt- if only for understanding that we are really on the same side.  This meeting made me think about the whole problem from a new point of view almost impossible before.   Coming back now to Israel, I cannot but realize how narrow and conservative are the common and accepted conceptions of the problem."

Participants gather in native costumes for a parade

Along with good-byes and well-wishing which accompanied the end of the summer seminar often came the question, where do we go from here?  Students were encouraged to take what they had learned and pass it on to others so as to multiply the impact of their unique experience.  Post-seminar activities included organizing and attending international relations conferences, writing articles for college newspapers, conducting radio programs consisting of speeches and round-table discussions, and presenting talks to university groups, community organizations, embassies and governments.