World Affairs Seminar 2025: Understanding & Embracing Immigration Through Community Dialogue & Action

Over the past 37 years, the Rotary Clubs of Shepherdstown and Martinsburg have organized an annual World Affairs Seminar that addresses a relevant global and national issue, with the participation of leaders from the local high schools in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. This year we have added support from the Rotary Clubs of Charles Town and Berkeley Springs

Immigration remains one of the most pressing and complex global issues, influencing societies at every level—from national policies to local communities to international relations. As political “climates” shift, migration patterns evolve, and tensions intensify, there is an urgent need for promoting well-informed, compassionate, and strategically balanced responses to immigration at the national and local levels.

The 2025 World Affairs Seminar addresses this urgency by providing participating students with a balanced understanding of immigration’s multifaceted nature, including the various issues and opportunities arising in the Eastern Panhandle.