Academic WorldQuest Competition

What is WorldQuest?

Academic WorldQuest, the World Affairs Councils of American’s flagship youth education program, is a fun, fast-paced team competition for high school students.  

Academic WorldQuest tests players’ knowledge of current international politics, geography, global economics, history, and world cultures. Each year, over 35 World Affairs Councils across the country, including AKWorld, hold local Academic WorldQuest competitions for high school students in their communities. Since 2003, winning teams have traveled to Washington, DC every April to vie for the national championship.

Why WorldQuest?

Preparing the next generation of leaders, scholars, and decision-makers to thrive in a rapidly changing world—where our national interests are intertwined with the global community—is one of the greatest challenges facing our country. It requires a renewed enthusiasm for global studies in our high schools. Too many American students today fall behind their counterparts from other countries in their knowledge and understanding of world history, geography, and current international events.

The mission of Academic WorldQuest is to close the gap.

2027 AKWorld
Academic WorldQuest Competition

It’s time!   Get those teams put together and start studying!   The AKWorld 2027 Academic WorldQuest Competition will be held in late January or early February 2027.  The winning team of high-school students will have the opportunity to travel to Washington, DC in April to compete at the National Academic WorldQuest Competition.      

The competition is open to Alaskan high school students, on teams made up of 1-4 students.  Teachers may register up to 15 teams or students may self-organize and apply to participate.  Registration is available here for the AKWorld Academic WorldQuest competition.    

 The study guide is available here.  

Thank you to our generous 2027 AKWorld Academic WorldQuest Sponsors!   

Interested in sponsoring the next competition? Please contact siobhan.choi@alaskaworldaffairs.org

2026 Academic WorldQuest Recap

Last year we were thrilled to welcome over 300 students from Eagle River High School, Chugiak High School, South Anchorage High School, Highland Academy, Steller Secondary, Bartlett High School, Wasilla High School, West High School, and Romig Middle School for a day of global trivia, teamwork, and seriously impressive brainpower. The energy in the room was electric from start to finish!

A huge congratulations to our reigning champions from Eagle River High School, who defended their title — taking 1st and 3rd place this year! And congratulations to Chugiak High School for an incredibly close 2nd place finish.
 
We are so excited to send our winning team from Eagle River to Washington, DC this April to represent Alaska at the national Academic WorldQuest competition. What an achievement!
 
Thank you to everyone who made this event possible: ConocoPhillips for serving as our generous event sponsor; Elizabeth Astle, our phenomenal trivia emcee, for keeping the energy high and the rounds moving; our incredible staff and interns, who kept everything running smoothly behind the scenes; and our in-kind donors — Wild Scoops, Moose’s Tooth, Alaska Rock Gym, and Subway — for providing fantastic prizes for students between rounds.
 
Most of all, thank you to the students and teachers who show up year after year ready to engage with the world. Your curiosity, teamwork, and global knowledge give us so much hope for the future.