Our history, experience & achievements

In January 2014, a meeting of the leaders of the Cause-NY program — which brings together leaders of various ethnic communities — was held, at which the decision was made to establish a nonprofit organization uniting the leaders of ethnic communities and diasporas. On April 14, 2014, the Secretary of the State of New York registered the Assembly of the World Diasporas, the State Department of Education approved it, and the IRS recognized the organization as tax-exempt, nonprofit under Section 501(c)(3).

Activists from various ethnic communities of New York took part in this noble initiative. The equipment was delivered to hospitals and medical facilities in the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, and Kyiv regions.

A delegation of the Assembly, together with leaders and activists of the Ukrainian community, Metropolitan Filaret, clergy, members of Congress, and representatives of regional councils, took part in the unveiling of the Memorial.

In attendance: head of the delegation, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. During meetings with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, his Chief of Staff Borys Lozhkin, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, first President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk, members of the Verkhovna Rada, leaders of religious denominations, and representatives of the business community, valuable contacts were established that furthered the development of the Assembly of the World Diasporas. Thanks to its standing, the Assembly of the World Diasporas was the only American organization invited by the Organizing Committee to take part in the international project to create the Babyn Yar Memorial. (Such a project was submitted for the committee's review in October 2021.)

A prayer breakfast, a strategic briefing and press conference, and a charity fundraising banquet for Ukraine. The events were attended by General (ret.) Wesley K. Clark, and respected religious leaders of Ukraine and the U.S., including Bishop Epiphanius of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Yaakov Dov Bleich, Bishop Valeriy Reshetynskyi, Rev. Ray Berryhill of Evangel Assembly of God, Bishop James Dukes of Liberation Christian Church, Bishop Ed Peecher of Chicago Embassy Church, Rev. Isidro Casillas of First Spanish Assembly of God, celebrated Ukrainian singer Anastasia Bukina, and honored guests from New York — Pastor Gilford Monrose, Pakistani community leader Mohammad Razvi, and Russian-speaking Jewish community leader Mikhail Nemirovsky. The purpose of the event was to draw attention to the critical situation in Ukraine and secure support for collecting and shipping containers of clothing, medicine, and personal hygiene supplies.

...for young politicians — deputies of city and regional councils, businesspeople, officials, students of the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine, and media representatives — who were given a unique opportunity to meet and talk with senior American politicians in Washington, New York, and Albany. In New York, members of the delegation met with diplomats from Ukraine's Mission to the United Nations, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. The delegation visited the main office of the NASDAQ stock exchange (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation). At the end of the day, the delegation took part in the exchange's Closing Bell Ceremony, with the giant screen at the exchange displaying: 'Ukrainian Interparliamentary Delegation. April 4, 2016.' In Albany, the capital of New York State, the delegation was received in the State Senate by Senate Majority Leader, Republican Senator John Flanagan, and by Minority Leader, Democratic Senator David Carlucci. The head of the Ukrainian delegation was presented with a Proclamation of the State of New York, in which the senators, in addition to their greetings, expressed their support and respect for the people of Ukraine. Copies of this proclamation were given to every member of the delegation. The most important part of the Ukrainian delegation's visit took place in Washington on April 7. On Capitol Hill, delegation members were received by three U.S. senators, and at the offices of two more senators, delegation members met with their aides and advisors, in particular on legal matters and issues of national security and international cooperation. The delegation from Ukraine was received by Senator Roger F. Wicker, Chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and chairman of subcommittees on communications, technology, innovation, and budget; Senator Jeff Sessions, one of the most senior members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and chairman of its Immigration Subcommittee; and Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, chair of the Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety. In addition to the meetings and conversations with the American senators named above, delegation members took part in discussions of pressing issues of cooperation and U.S.–Ukraine relations with the legal and security advisors of Senator Bob Corker, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and of Senator Ted Cruz, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness and of the Subcommittee overseeing the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the federal courts. The experts answered questions and discussed possible prospects for Ukraine's development and for relations between the two countries, in particular regarding security, territorial integrity, and Ukraine's economic growth.

Meetings were organized for delegation members with the leadership of the US Soccer Federation in Chicago, attendance at a New York football league match featuring a Ukrainian diaspora team, and a meeting at the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington. (photos)

The delegation included New York State senators and Assembly members, the Queens Borough President, New York City Council members, Holocaust survivors who had been held in ghettos and concentration camps, and leaders of community and religious organizations. In addition to taking part in all the events dedicated to the memory of the victims of Babyn Yar, the New York State delegation was received by Metropolitan Epiphanius of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Azman, Verkhovna Rada members Lisa Yasko and Dmytro Lubinets, and the leadership of the Ukrainian Association of Football. An exclusive tour of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone was organized for delegation members. During this visit, on October 3, 2021, at Kyiv's Olympic Stadium, the Assembly of the World Diasporas, together with the Ukrainian Association of Football, organized and held a commemoration for the victims of Babyn Yar. Before the start of the central match of the Ukrainian championship between the country's leading football clubs — Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk — a historical account was read of the events that took place at Babyn Yar in September–October 1941, followed by the song 'Babi Yar' performed by American Jewish singer Svetlana Portnyanskaya, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Assembly of the World Diasporas. When the players of the participating teams took the field, a Minute of Silence was observed in complete silence before 35,000 spectators. It was a historic event, held in Ukraine for the first time. The American portion of the 'Gates of Immortality' project for the Babyn Yar Memorial was presented to the Memorial's Directorate on October 8. During discussion of the project, the site as well as the concept and design of the American portion were agreed upon. However, as is known, following the start of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the project's implementation was postponed indefinitely.