Matt P. Ward will present at Kennebunk Free Library on Tuesday, December 5 (snow date: 12/6) at 6:00 PM. His presentation, The Dragon and the Eagle, is sponsored by the Camden Conference, in cooperation with the World Affairs Council. KFL is a participating library bringing an extension of this conference to our community.

The Dragon and the Eagle examines the increasingly complex relationship between the United States and China as it evolves in the 21st century. The presentation will discuss the history of the U.S.-China relationship as well as examining each nation’s self-image, world view and their respective roles in a modern world order. A discussion period will follow the presentation.

Matt Ward is a retired Foreign Service Officer. He is Past-President of the World Affairs Council of Maine and has been an Adjunct Professor at the USM School of Social Work where he taught multicultural social work, and in the Political Science Department where he taught modern Chinese politics. He currently lectures on international issues and consults on cross-cultural matters.

Matt Ward served the United States as a career Foreign Service Officer from 1967 to 1996. Specializing in developmental and humanitarian issues, Matt served in Vietnam, Cambodia, Haiti, Myanmar, Iran, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Luxembourg, China (including Taiwan and Hong Kong) and the Sudan. In Taiwan, he was the Director of the Chinese Language and Area Studies School, which, under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan, prepared American diplomatic personnel for service in China. In addition to Chinese language(s) training, the school provided training in Chinese history, government, economics and culture.

He was a pioneer in developing refugee processing systems for “boat people” arriving on the shores of Indonesia and Singapore.

In both the Bush and Clinton White Houses, Matt was Director for European Economies in Transition, the office that oversaw trade, developmental and humanitarian policies for the several nation-states that came into being with the dissolution of the former Soviet Union.

Matt finished his diplomatic career as a Senior Inspector for the Foreign Service.

From 1999 to 2003, Matt was the Director for Refugee and Immigration Services at Catholic Charities Maine. During that period he served on a number of State and local boards and committees dealing with cultural and linguistic diversity.

Matt is a graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. He is a past-President of the Chinese and American Friendship Association of Maine (CAFAM) and the Foreign Affairs Retirees of New England (FARNE). He is a member of the American Foreign Service Association and Diplomatic and Consular Officers Retired.

The Camden Conference is a non-profit, non-partisan organization whose mission is to foster informed discourse on world issues. This year’s conference, New World Disorder and America’s Future, will be held February 16-18, 2017. 

This program is free and wheelchair accessible. Kennebunk Free Library is located at 112 Main St., Kennebunk. For more information, please call 985-2173 or visit the website kennebunklibrary.org