BOOKLET (pdf) | INVITATION (pdf) | CONCEPT NOTE

You are cordially invited.

Assembly of Turkish American Associations and The Light Millennium, Charitable Global Human Advancement Organization – Associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications; and Turkish Anti-Defamation Alliance proudly co-present the following titled webinar:

DOWNFALL OF DEMOCRACY – Covid-19 and Natural Disasters: VISIONS TOWARD SOLUTIONS

In support of the International Day of Democracy (September 15);

SDG-16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions & 
SDG-17: Partnerships for the Goals

“As the world confronts COVID-19, democracy is crucial in ensuring the free flow of information, participation in decisionmaking and accountability for the response to the pandemic.” 
 
– UN Secretary-General António Guterres

WHEN: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2021 
Time Zones: 12:30–2:30 p.m. (EDT) | 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. (CDT) | 9:30–11:30 a.m. (PDT) | 10:30 a.m. –12:30 p.m. (CR) | 19:30–9:30(TR) | 22:00–21:30(IN)

Via Zoom platform – Please REGISTER:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pBtCwLZYQCGhtQz39bXM0A 

(You will receive confirmation after registration. Please connect 10 min. before the starting time. Thank You.)

Language: English | CONCEPT NOTE

Sponsoring Mission :  Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the United Nations

Contributing Organizations : Azerbaijan Society of America & Peace Caucus

For more information, please email to: 
contact(at)lightmillennium.org | newyorkvp(at)ataa.org | assembly(at)ataa.org

BOOKLET (pdf) | INVITATION (pdf) | CONCEPT NOTE

• WELCOMING REMARKS: Mr. MAZLUM KOŞMA, President, Assembly of Turkish-American Associations | ATAA

• HONORARY SPEAKER: 
H.E. Mr. RODRIGO A. CARAZO, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations; and Vice-President of UNICEF’s Executive Board

• KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Mr. BRUCE FEIN, Attorney at Law, Author and Legal Advisor of Turkish Anti-Defamation Alliance (From the U.S. Constitution Perspective)

• SPEAKERS: 
Mr. DANE WIGINGTON, Lead Researcher, GeoenginereingWatch.Org
Dr. FARIZ ISMAILZADE, Executive Vice Rector, Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy (ADA) 
Mr. ÖZGÜR ÖĞRET, Turkish Freelance Journalist & Turkey Representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Dr. WALE IDRIS AJIBADE, Executive Director, African Views 

• “VISIONS TOWARD SOLUTIONS” (Interactive Session)
Youth, Student and attendees are invited to submit their VISIONS on the given subject ‘toward solutions’ during the webinar via Chat-Box, to be read to and shared the best ones with the attendees of the session. Or, please email your vision with 100-150 words to > contact(at)lightmillennium.org or newyorkvp(at)ataa.org or assembly(at) ataa.org by September 10, 2021.

• Moderator & Closing Remarks: Ms. BİRCAN ÜNVER, Head Rep. of
The Light Millennium, Charitable Global Human Advancement Org. to the
United Nations Department of Global Communications;  
Chair, ATAA Committee on UN Relations and New York Region V.P.

• INTRODUCERS:  
Mr. UĞUR KARA, President, Turkish Anti-Defamation Alliance
Ms. TOMRİS AZERİ, President, Assembly of Azerbaijan Society of America 
Mr. ALI ALP GÜRER, Youth Member, ATAA Committee on UN Relations 

• OPENING & CLOSING Music by Ms. TİRAJE GÜNEYMAN RUCMAN, Pianist (Video)

• THANK YOUs

BRIF BIOS OF THE SPEAKERS

Honorary Speaker: H.E. AMBASSADOR RODRIGO A. CARAZO, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations in New York; and Vice-President of UNICEF’s Executive Board

H.E. Mr. RODRIGO A. CARAZO, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations in New York; and currently Vice-President of UNICEF’s Executive Board. 
Professional development in the public sector includes: first Ombudsman of the Republic of Costa Rica (1993-1997); Member of the Legislative Assembly (2002-2006). 
Professional development in the private sector includes: being a liberal professional since 1971 in the fields of Economy, Law and International Relations. He has also served as a consultant for International Organizations (Government, Intergovernmental, Non-Governmental) as well as for private entities. 
He has 48 years of experience as a businessman in commercial, industrial, tourist, agricultural and service sectors. 
Academic background includes: serving as a university professor in Costa Rica and the United States; Member of the Board of the public Distance University in Costa Rica; he holds a Law Degree from the University of Costa Rica and a similar degree in Economic and Social Sciences from the University of Costa Rica, a PhD in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Geneva- Switzerland and has completed further studies in History and International Law. 
He speaks Spanish, English and French.
Ambassador Carazo is 73 years old, married, father of 4 daughters and grandfather of 11 grandchildren.

Keynote Speaker: BRUCE FEIN, Attorney at Law, Author, and Legal Advisor to TADAlliance.Org

Bruce Fein has worked in the corridors of power in Washington, D.C. for nearly 50 years Among other things, he has served as associate deputy attorney general of the United States, general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission, counsel to the Joint Congressional Committee on Covert Operations in Iran, special assistant to the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of Justice, testified 200 times as an expert witness before congressional committees, and state legislatures, has litigated cases in the United States Supreme Court and the International Criminal Court, published hundreds of articles in the Washington Times, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and Financial Times, appears regularly in the national and international media to comment on legal, political, and international affairs, and has authored Constitutional Peril: The Life and Death Struggle for Our Constitution and Democracy and American Empire Before The Fall. 
[Bruce Fein] I will discuss the two books on the International Day of Democracy. The first first examines the extraconstitutional actions of the Executive Branch in trampling on due process, the Fourth Amendment right to privacy, and checks and balances in the War on Terrorism ignited by 9/11. 
The second traces the abandonment of liberty and a fair opportunity of all to develop their faculties and pursue their ambitions free from domestic predation or foreign aggression as the glory of the United States in favor of Empire in which the summum bonum is word domination by force of arms and the armored knight eclipses wisdom and benevolence in public adulation.
My presentation will elaborate on the twin pillars of democracy:  separation of powers which prevents any one faction from dominating or oppressing another; and, public education inculcating an appreciation that fair process is our salvation, not personalities or immediate results.

Mr. DANE WIGINGTON, Lead Researcher, Geoengineering Watch

Dane is the lead researcher and administrator for the website www.geoengineeringwatch.org, and is the executive producer for the groundbreaking climate engineering documentary, “The Dimming”. He has a background in solar energy, was a former employee of Bechtel Power Corporation and was a licensed contractor in California and Arizona. Dane has devoted the last 20 years of his life to constant research on the issue of covert global climate engineering operations and the effort to expose and halt them.
His personal residence was featured as a cover article in the worlds largest renewable energy magazine, “Home Power”. He owns a wildlife preserve next to Lake Shasta in Northern California. Dane has appeared in numerous films and interviews in his effort to educate the public on the extremely dire environmental and health dangers we face from the ongoing global climate intervention operations.

Prof. FARIZ ISMAILZADE, Vice-Rector, Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy (ADA) 

Fariz Ismailzade is Executive Vice Rector at the ADA University (since 2011). He has joined ADA in 2006 and worked in the positions of Director of Executive Execution (2006-2010) and Executive Dean (2010-2011). Mr. Ismailzade has Doctoral Degree at the Maastricht School of Management. He holds an Executive MBA from IE Business School (Spain), and a Masters Degree in Social and Economic Development from Washington University in St. Louis, and a BA in Political Science from Western University in Baku with one-year interim studies at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.
Mr. Ismailzade has done research at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C and Embassy of Azerbaijan in the US. His research interests include political affairs in the Caucasus and Central Asia, energy security, and development. He has presented papers at the symposiums at Heritage Foundation, MGIMO, Columbia University, Stanford University, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, UCLA, Vienna Diplomatic Academy as well as at international conferences such as Association for Study of Nationalities (ASN), Wilton Park Conferences, Middle East Studies Association (MESA), German Marshall Fund and NATO Advanced Research Workshop. Mr. Ismailzade has regularly published with Eurasianet.org, Transitions on Line, Jamestown Daily Monitor and Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst, Institute for War and Peace Report, East-West Institute, Analysis of Current Events, Freedom House and Caucasus Context. Most recently he co-edited the book “South Caucasus 2021: Oil, Democracy and Geopolitics” (2011, Jamestown Foundation Press, 2012) and “Azerbaijan in Global Politics: Crafting Foreign Policy” (2009, ADA Press)

ÖZGÜR ÖĞRET, Turkish Freelance Journalist & Turkey Representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Born in Izmir, Turkey in 1976, Özgür Öğret is a Turkish freelance journalist and the Turkey representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). He has been part of the organization since 2011 and was the lead researcher for the 2012 CPJ special report, titled “Turkey’s Press Freedom Crisis.” He worked at Turkey’s oldest English-language newspaper Hürriyet Daily News from 2008 to 2011 as a reporter, and furthermore was a regular contributor to the Turkish music magazine Headbang from 2007 until the closure of the publication in 2021. Öğret has also worked as a fixer and stringer for several international media outlets, including the Swiss Radio, the New York Times and the Telegraph. Before his career in journalism, he used to be a producer in advertising business and afterwards in documentary making between 2002 and 2011.

WALE IDRIS AJIBADE, Ph.D. Executive Director, African Views

Wale Idris) is the founder and Executive Director of African Views, (AV), a nonprofit Organization in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The Organization focuses on the wellbeing of Society by promoting cultural sustainability and cultural harmony through social research, community assessment, resource mapping, and project development. He is the architect of the AV framework, which includes the African Cultural Exchange programs, a new concept for connecting children in Africa with children in other continents. He developed and produced programs such as African Health Dialogues, which led to the approval of the African Institute for Disease Control. He designed the global outreach for Youth Initiatives, Sustainable Development Goals, Green Africa, Culture Diplomats, New Deals, the Anti Violence against Women Act (AVAWA), Spirit of Peace, and African Views Television (AVTV). 

Opening & Closing Music by TIRAJE GUNEYMAN RUCKMAN, Pianist(Video) 

Native of Turkey, studied at the Istanbul Conservatory, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and at the Juilliard School, where she received the Artist Diploma and the Post-Graduate Diploma. She has performed as soloist with the Presidential Orchestra of Ankara, the Istanbul Philharmonic, and the Dayton Philharmonic. She has been and adjunct music faculty member at Sinclair Community College and at the University of Dayton, where she also served as staff accompanist. She performs frequently with her husband Robert as Ruckman Piano Duo, regionally and locally.
In addition to doing collaborative and solo performing and adjudicating, Tiraje Ruckman also directs the Ruckman Piano Studio in Dayton, Ohio, where she resides.

About the CORE-ORGANIZERS

ASSEMBLY OF TURKISH AMERICAN ASSOCIATIONS (ATAA.Org)

The ATAA, representing over 50 local chapters and 500,000 Turkish Americans throughout the United States, serves locally and nationwide to develop an informed and empowered Turkish American community and to support strong U.S.-Turkish relations. The ATAA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed under the laws of the District of Columbia in 1979. As a non-faith-based organization, ATAA is open to people of diverse backgrounds. In July 2020, ATAA has associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications.
The founding principle of ATAA was the need to create cohesion and cooperation among the large numbers of social/cultural Turkish American organizations around the US. The Assembly’s main goal is to be a link between all communities, large or small, and pursue their interests in Washington and beyond. The main objectives of ATAA are two-fold. One is to create an informed national Turkish American community that can help foster US-Turkey relations and take an active part in promoting a balanced and truthful picture of Turkey in the US. The other is to educate Americans in government, the media, and the public at large about Turkey and issues that concern us as Turkish Americans. www.ataa.org 

THE LIGHT MILLENNIUM, CHARITABLE GLOBAL HUMAN ADVANCEMENT ORGANIZATIONS (LMGlobal.Org)

Has sustained a good standing as an associated NGO with the United Nations Department of Global Communications (formerly, UN-DPI since 2005). The LM publishes online issues, organizes public events, produces-and-presents television programs on the local channels (LMTV) and develops/presents various concepts in multi-platforms. It was introduced on the Web in 1999, and officially founded based in New York in 2001 by Bircan Ünver. The LM mainly has been focused on public awareness via multi-media platforms, has encouraged active participations from the all walks of life and promotes the following matters within its capacity as a ‘rights based’ organization, based on its initial 2001 Certificate of Incorporation: Human Advancement, Democracy-Equality-Justice, Fostering World Peace, Freedom of Expression, Encouraging Intellectual Productivity, Girls-Women Rights, Cultural Diversity, Advancing Culture of Peace, and Global Connectivity… 
The LM is a non-religious, non-political, not-for-profit (501-c-3), nongovernmental (NGO), and
independent secular organization. The Organization received the “approval” of the “Amended–and– Broadened” Certificate of Incorporation and gained a new capacity towards becoming a ‘service’ and ‘rights’ based organization, effective as of December 17, 2019. www.lmglobal.org

TURKISH ANTI-DEFAMATION ALLIANCE (TADAlliance.Org)

Turkish Anti-Defamation Alliance (TADA) is a non-profit, tax-exempt, membership organization under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
TADA’s overarching mission is to protect and defend the constitutional and legal rights of Turkish Americans.
TADA defends the rights of Turkish Americans in the media, before school authorities, in courts, in legislature bodies and before executive officials.
TADA protects the historical documents to be used and referenced in Law and History topics by Students, Attorneys, Writers, Researchers and Scholars.
TADA conducts educational programs to train the next generation of attorneys and scholars to defend the legal rights of Turkish Americans.
Incorporated under the US Non-Profit Law in 2017 based in New York.

BOOKLET (pdf)

CONCEPT NOTE: 
https://www.lmglobal.org/2021/08/19/downfall-of-democracy-covid-19-natural-disaster-and-svisions-toward-solutions/

https://www.ataa.org/press-releases/downfall-of-democracy-covid-19-natural-disasters-visions-toward-solutions

Contact: Bircan Ünver (on behalf of) The Light Millennium (lmglobal.org) & Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ataa.org), email to: 
contact(at)lightmillennium.org | newyorkvp(at)ataa.org | assembly(at)ataa.org

WhatsApp# 001-917-332-6364

A joint collaborative webinar, Flyer & Booklet prepared by Bircan Ünver 

Logos of the Intl. Day of Democracy and SDGs: UN.Org Sources

Special Thanks to: Ms. TOMRIS AZERI, President, Azerbaijan Society of America
Ms. PAULINE CANTWELL, Peace Caucus

Core-Organizers are:

• Assembly of Turkish American Associations (1979, D.C. – www.ataa.org)

• The Light Millennium, Charitable Global Human Advancement Organization (2001, NY – www.lmglobal.org)

• Turkish Anti-Defamation Alliance (2017, NY – www.tadalliance.org)

• Sponsoring Mission :  Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the United Nations

• Contributing Organizations : Azerbaijan Society of America & Peace Caucus

Hashtags #InternationalDayofDemocracy, #StrongAndFree #DemocracyRules #GlobalGoals #SDG16 | SDG17 #UNWithCivilSociety #UNDGC_NGO #CostaRicaONU #A_T_A_A  #lightmillennium #lmglobal #tadaalliance

www.lmglobal.org | www.ataa.org | www.tadalliance