Celebrating Local Champions of International Engagement

The World Affairs Council of Austin’s inaugural Global Impact Awards will be presented during the closing Texas-Europe Business Summit reception on March 31, 2026.

The Global Impact Awards honor individuals and organizations in Central Texas who have made outstanding contributions to fostering international awareness, education, and diplomacy from the local level. The Awards aim to promote global engagement and highlight the region’s international footprint through education, storytelling, and service.

Award categories:

Ambassadorial Legacy

Global Educator

Emerging Global Leader

Global Author or Communicator

Civic Partner

Sharon M. Schweitzer (pictured left), founder of Access to Culture, will present the awards and highlight the importance of cultural intelligence in today’s global economy. At its core, Access to Culture serves a diverse range of clients—from multinational corporations and law firms to universities and entrepreneurs—by equipping them with the tools to succeed across borders. Through consulting, training, and education, the firm emphasizes a simple but powerful idea: “Cultural intelligence is the competitive advantage of the 21st century.” Based in Austin, the organization plays a key role in connecting global insight to local impact. By helping businesses understand the unspoken cultural dynamics shaping markets in Europe and beyond, Access to Culture enables Central Texas organizations to engage more effectively in international trade, investment, and collaboration. For Schweitzer, the Texas-Europe Business Summit is a natural extension of this mission. As she explains, “The Texas-Europe Summit creates a formal platform for exactly the kind of high-value dialogue we champion: strategic, culturally informed, relationship-driven engagement.”  Please join the Texas-Europe Business Summit Organizing Committee, World Affairs Council of Austin, and Access to Culture for the post-summit reception where the inaugural World Affairs Council Austin Global Impact Award recipients will be recognized. Admission to the Global Impact Awards and post-summit reception are included in your Texas-Europe Business Summit registration.

We’d like to thank Access to Culture for their generous sponsorship of both the Texas-Europe Business Summit and the post-summit reception. Additional details about the 2026 Texas Europe-Business Summit’s speakers and panel topics are available at www.texaseusummit.org