A reception was held by the Journalists and Writers Foundation (JWF) in New York on September 30, 2013, to promote its two international projects, the Istanbul Summit and Peace Projects.

Numerous representatives to the United Nations (UN) who came to New York to attend the 68th UN General Assembly meeting were hosted alongside journalists, academics, and foreign diplomats at the JWF office on Fifth Avenue. Reception attendees included Andrei Abramov, the Chief of the Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) Branch of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC); Narinder Kakar, Permanent Observer to the UN; Florentino Sotomayor Basabe, Press Counselor of the Permanent Representation of Spain to the UN; and Maisah Sobaihi, Adviser to the Permanent Representation of Saudi Arabia to the UN.

During his opening speech at the reception, JWF President Mustafa Yesil outlined the activities that the Foundation is conducting to promote dialogue and coexistence. Yesil noted that JWF is the only NGO from Turkey that has general consultative status with ECOSOC, and it has opened two branches — in New York and Geneva — since it obtained this status in 2012. Referring to the significance of the Foundation’s international projects, the Istanbul Summit and Peace Projects, Yesil indicated that JWF will continue to closely monitor the agenda of the UN and develop projects to promote this agenda. Then, presentations were made to introduce the Istanbul Summit and Peace Projects.

The Istanbul Summit is a project developed by JWF to organize summit meetings among NGOs. The first such meeting is titled “The UN Post-2015 Development Agenda from the Perspective of Women,” and it is scheduled to be held in Istanbul in May 2014 with the participation of female NGO representatives, parliamentarians, and leaders. JWF is further planning to crown its 20 years of experience in coexistence and dialogue with its Peace Projects Grant Program, which will provide feasible peace projects with funds amounting up to $50,000.