[Peace] Annual Dialogue and Friendship Banquet by Intercultural Friendship Foundation (IFF)

[Karen Medina]

[karen medina acting as conduit yet again]

We would like to invite you to our Seventh Annual Dialogue and
Friendship Banquet. Through this event, we aim to raise intercultural
understanding and dialogue within the Champaign Urbana community by
bringing together individuals from diverse backgrounds including
students, faculty, politicians, administrators, businessmen, religious
and community leaders.

We will be pleased to see you with us in this welcoming and friendly
evening. Please RSVP with your meal choice at
http://www.iffillinois.org by October 15, 2010.

7th Annual Dialogue and Friendship Banquet
Wednesday, October 20th, 6:30pm

“Putting ideas into action: Cooperative actions in the pursuit of the
common good”

Place:                                    Illinois Hotel and
Conference Center, 1900 S. First Street, Champaign

Date and Time:                 October 20 2010, Wednesday at 6:30 pm

Admission Fee:                $15 per guest (*) (Please mail checks
payable to IFF, to PO Box address above or pay at the door)

Please see the details of the program below.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Best regards,

Sherzod Madrahimov, President

Intercultural Friendship Foundation (IFF)

PO Box 2005 Champaign, IL 61825

iff at illinois.edu

http://www.iffillinois.org



(*) The cost of organizing the event is approximately $35 per guest.
The admission fee ($15) that we are asking for is to help defray the
costs for the organization of this year’s dinner event. IFF is
sponsoring the event through generous donations from the attendees as
well as SORF and PCC funding on campus. If you are not able to attend
due to the admission fee, please contact us for a possible fee waiver.
We would like to see you with us at the dinner event!



7th Annual Dialogue and Friendship Banquet

“Putting ideas into action: Cooperative actions in the pursuit of the
common good”

2010 Peace and Dialogue Award

We will be presenting our fifth Peace and Dialogue Award to Sister
Janice Keenan from St. John's Catholic Newman Center to honor her
contributions to interfaith dialogue in our community.

The former recipients:

(2009) Dr. Lee Melhado, the (former) Executive Director of the
Champaign-Urbana Jewish Federation,

(2008) Dr. Irfan Ahmad from Central Illinois Mosque and Islamic Center (CIMIC),

(2007) Dr. Rajmohan Gandhi, the Director of Global Crossroads and a
faculty of Center for South   Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at
UIUC,

(2006) Dr. Steve Shoemaker, the (former) Director of University YMCA.



2010 Community Service and Campus Achievement Awards

Starting this year, we are presenting two new awards for extraordinary
efforts in intercultural dialogue and friendship at University of
Illinois and the Champaign-Urbana community. This year’s recipients:

2010 Community Service Award - May Kao Xiong, Assistant Director at
the Asian American Cultural Center (AACC).

2010 Campus Achievement Award - Interfaith in Action, a student
organization on campus.



Keynote speaker:  Dr. Ali Yurtsever, American Islamic College, Chicago

“Putting ideas into action: The Example of Gulen Movement”

Dr. H. Ali Yurtsever, a native of Turkey, graduated from Physics
Department, Bogazici University in 1989.  He earned his Ph.D. degree
in Mathematics (1998). He joined the Department of Mathematics at
Fatih University, Istanbul as a faculty in 1999. He later taught at
Florida International University, Miami in 2003. From 2004 to 2009,
Dr. Yurtsever was a Visiting Professor at Georgetown University.  At
that time he also served as the president of the Rumi Forum, a
think-tank organization located at Washington DC.  Since September
2009, he has held the position of Instructional Coordinator at Niagara
Educational Services in Chicago and currently serving as an Interim
Executive Committee Member of the American Islamic College.  He is the
author of a book and several research articles. He is married with
four children.



About Intercultural Friendship Foundation (IFF)

IFF is a registered student organization at the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign. You can find more information about our
activities at our webpage: http://www.iffillinois.org

Our mission is to serve societal peace and friendship on campus and
within the Champaign-Urbana (C-U) community by striving to spread
values such as cross-cultural understanding, tolerance, respect, and
dialogue. IFF was the recipient of the 2007 International Humanitarian
Award given by the City of Champaign.