Our history, experience & achievements

Foundation

A meeting of the leaders of the Cause-NY program — uniting leaders of various ethnic communities — resolved to establish a nonprofit organization for the leaders of ethnic communities and diasporas. On 14 April 2014 the New York Secretary of State registered the Assembly of the World Diasporas; the State Department of Education approved it, and the IRS recognized the organization as a nonprofit under Section 501(c)(3).

First Human Rights Conference · U.S. Congress

The first International Human Rights Conference, "On the Threat of the Revival of Nazism in the World," was organized and held in the U.S. Congress.

Holocaust Remembrance Conference · United Nations

The international conference "On the Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust and the Lessons of the Second World War" was held at United Nations Headquarters.

First Medical Container to Ukraine

In New York, the Assembly organized the collection of the first 40-ft container of medical equipment and supplies for medical institutions in war-torn Ukraine. Activists from many of New York's ethnic communities took part. The equipment was delivered to hospitals and medical posts in the Cherkasy, Chernihiv and Kyiv regions.

SAVE UKRAINE NOW · Northbrook, Illinois

The Assembly sponsored, organized and held a series of events under the banner SAVE UKRAINE NOW at the Pavilion Events Center in Northbrook, Illinois — a prayer breakfast, a strategic briefing and press conference, and a charity fundraising banquet for Ukraine.

Participants included General (ret.) Wesley K. Clark and respected religious leaders of Ukraine and the United States — among them Bishop Epiphany, Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Yaakov Dov Bleich, Bishop Valery Reshetinskiy, Rev. Ray Berryhill, Bishop James Dukes, Bishop Ed Peecher and Rev. Isidro Casillas — singer Anastasia Bukina, Pastor Gilford Monrose, community leader Mohammad Razvi and Mikhail Nemirovsky.

"Heavenly Hundred" Memorial · Bloomingdale, Illinois

The Assembly took part in creating and sponsoring the "Heavenly Hundred" Memorial Monument in Bloomingdale, Illinois. An Assembly delegation joined Ukrainian community leaders and activists, Metropolitan Filaret, clergy, members of Congress and representatives of regional councils at the memorial's opening.

People's Diplomacy · Washington · New York · Albany

Under the program "People's Diplomacy: Mutual Understanding and Cooperation," the Assembly and the Ukrainian University of Political Education organized a visit by young politicians, city and regional deputies, businesspeople, Diplomatic Academy students and media representatives, who met senior American politicians.

In New York the delegation met diplomats of Ukraine's UN Mission, City Comptroller Scott Stringer and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, and visited NASDAQ. In Albany it was received in the State Senate by Majority Leader John Flanagan and Minority Leader David Carlucci. On 7 April, on Capitol Hill, the delegation met Senators Roger Wicker, Jeff Sessions and Joni Ernst, and advisors to Senators Bob Corker and Ted Cruz.

Babyn Yar · 75th Anniversary, Kyiv

Members of the Assembly's Board of Directors and the head of its Representation in Ukraine joined the U.S. delegation in Kyiv — led by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker — for events marking the 75th anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy. Meetings with President Petro Poroshenko, presidential chief of staff Boris Lozhkin, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, first President Leonid Kravchuk, members of the Verkhovna Rada, religious leaders and the business community established lasting contacts. The Assembly was the only American organization invited to take part in the international Babyn Yar Memorial project.

Ukrainian Association of Football · U.S. Visit

At the Assembly's invitation, a delegation of the Ukrainian Association of Football visited the United States to learn about American football leagues across levels and age groups, and the schools and clubs where young players from the Ukrainian community train. The program included meetings with the leadership of the U.S. Soccer Federation in Chicago, a New York league match featuring a Ukrainian diaspora team, and a meeting at the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington.

Babyn Yar · 80th Anniversary, Kyiv

The Assembly organized a New York State delegation for the state events marking the 80th anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy. The delegation included New York State senators and Assembly members, the Queens Borough President, New York City Council members, Holocaust survivors and former ghetto and concentration-camp prisoners, and community and religious leaders. The delegation was received by Metropolitan Epiphany of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Azman, Verkhovna Rada deputies Liza Yasko and Dmytro Lubinets, and the leadership of the Ukrainian Association of Football. An exclusive tour of the Chornobyl exclusion zone was arranged for the delegation.

Memorial at Kyiv's Olympic Stadium

At Kyiv's Olympic Stadium, the Assembly and the Ukrainian Association of Football held a commemoration for the victims of Babyn Yar. Before the league match between Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk, a historical account of the events of September–October 1941 was read, the song "Babyn Yar" was performed by American Jewish singer Svetlana Portnyanskaya — a member of the Assembly's Board of Trustees — and a Minute of Silence was observed before 35,000 spectators. It was a historic event, held in Ukraine for the first time.

"Gates of Immortality" Project Presented

The American part of the "Gates of Immortality" project for the Babyn Yar Memorial was presented to the memorial's directorate. A site, concept and design for the American project were agreed. Following the start of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, implementation was postponed indefinitely.

Eleven Containers for Ukraine's Hospitals

The Assembly organized the collection and shipment of eleven 40-ft containers of equipment for hospitals in Ukraine.

Holocaust & Heroism Memorial · Queens

The Assembly advanced the Holocaust and Heroism Memorial project in Queens, working with New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards.

Ground-Breaking · Memorial Garden, Queens

The ground-breaking ceremony for the Holocaust and Heroism Memorial Garden in Queens, New York.