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ATOP Meaningfulworld UN Annual Conference 11 June 2015 Press release

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11 June, 2015 Marayah Ayoub-Schreifeldt, ATOP Meaningfulworld United Nations Intern Dr. Ani Kalayjian, ATOP Meaningfulworld Founder and President      As attendees arrived at Meaningfulworld’s annual conference at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City on 11 June they were greeted by an ambience that was warm, relaxing, and colorful thanks to fabrics from around the world, the glowing flicker of lit candles, and flowers in all the seven colors of our chakras. Participants greeted one another and expressed how comfortable and relaxed they felt as Tibetan chimes gently rang out in the background. The theme of the event was Transforming Racial, Ethnic, and Religious Divisionism: Nurturing Human Dignity & Ecological Harmony, which took place under the heading of Meaningfulworld’s annual Mind-Body-Eco-Spirit Festival. A very diverse audience of more than one hundred people attended, including United Nations delegates, academicians, government and non-governmental organizations, integrative healers, students, and alternative medicine practitioners. Meaningfulworld Intern Coordinator Raman Kaur welcomed everyone and invited all assembled to observe a moment of silence for reflection and grounding. Then she introduced Dr. Kalayjian as the Founder and President of the Association. In order to start the event off on a loving note, Dr. Kalayjian recited one of her poems called “Let Love Transform You.” After her moving poem, Peter Maniscalco preformed a shamanic drumming meditation while Manny from YogaFit demonstrated yoga movements. The audience was encouraged to participate, and many gladly did so.      Dr. Kalayjian then announced the Integrative Healing Panel, which opened with Lama Rangbar Nyimai Ozer, President and Founder of Bodihivastu Foundation for Enlightened Activity, who led the audience in a peaceful mediation. After everyone had experienced a deep sense of relaxation through this meditation, the panel continued with Alex Simmons’ presentation on transforming ethnic stereotypes through comic book writing and illustration. He spoke about how people are represented in stereotypical ways in comic books and how this impacts children negatively. He suggested that by stopping ethnic stereotyping in comics, discrimination could be prevented in our everyday lives. His passionate talk was followed by Dr. Kalayjian’s informative presentation on the 7-Step Integrative Healing Model. She talked about different traumas that have occurred throughout history and how they impact us generationally, and she ended her talk by stating that one should always be cautious of one’s actions, because they will affect the next seven generations. Each panelist was very passionate and enthusiastic about his or her topic, which generated a very positive atmosphere. Throughout the panel the audience was very attentive and gestures of agreement showed a very strong level of involvement.      After the presentations a film of Meaningfulworld’s Humanitarian Mission in Haiti was shown, which was timely since the Meaningfulworld Humanitarian Team is getting ready to leave for Haiti again on 19 June. During the networking break participants enjoyed the beautifully arranged and delicious food buffet. The break was followed by the graduation of Meaningfulworld’s Ambassadors: Renoude Charles, Ramandeep Kaur, Kathy Orchen, Yasmin Quaddoumi, Michael Reda, Lorraine Simmons, Susan Smith, Natalia Tomassini, Pamela Timmins, and Jean Weiss. All of the graduates offered up a short reflection on what is meaningful in their lives and how the training program impacted them, and they all thanked Meaningfulworld and Dr. Kalayjian for such a beautiful experience and expressed how transformative the journey had been.        After each graduate received a diploma, Lorne Schussel, PhD candidate at Teachers College, Columbia University, led the group in the “Best Self Meditation,” which was very uplifting and empowering.       Dr. Barbara Wallace presented the keynote address on New Unified Health Psychology for Healing Global Trauma from Racism and/or Oppression: Integrating African and Indigenous Perspectives. Before the closing, Dr. Kalayjian opened up the floor for questions from the audience, during which many asked where they could continue practicing the meditations and yoga that were presented during the panel. To conclude the proceedings Dr. Kalayjian led the group in the Heart-to-Heart Circle of Gratitude and Love, bringing all the participants together into a form of meditation circle with Native American drumming provided by Ohstonha Ohskennonoton.       The festival was very well received by the participants. One attendee, Dr. Sharma, shared her experience: “I really enjoyed your conference and my students gained a new perspective on the UN. It was a great mélange of East-West therapies.” One of Meaningfulworld’s members also expressed tremendous gratitude: “Thank you for the wonderful graduation experience, it had me in tears! My guest, Harry Kendall, thought it was magical. He is an 82-year-old yoga instructor who commented, ‘The conference healed the old man’s soul!’”       Our next event is on 25 July, a “Pamper Yourself Party” in Dr. Ani’s Peace and Forgiveness Garden.

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An Open Letter To My Fellow American-Armenian Brothers And Sisters Dr. Ani Kalayjian

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Ramgavar Mamoul October 31, 2012 My cousin, a 60 years of age diabetic male, has been kidnapped from his own mechanic shop in Aleppo, Syria, by the Syrian opposition. For the last five months the opposition has been targeting the Armenian Christian minority in Aleppo, Damascus, Azez, and Der Zor. They have systematically destroyed Armenian churches, Armenian schools, nursing homes, and Armenian neighborhoods. I called my other cousin and could hear the bombs blasting at any hour of the day and night. The opposition is waging war against the Assad government, but Armenians have nothing to do with this war. Although loyal to their country’s government, Armenians are also loyal to their neighbors, and humanity at large. My other cousin has been hiding in the basement of her daughter’s house, in fear, with the house shaking from the blasts, afraid they can no longer live there. Just a day ago they blasted a huge truck in the middle of a courtyard in Aleppo, killing many innocent people. The government is not the force behind all this destruction—it is the Syrian opposition that we Americans are supporting.             In 1915 Syria opened its arms when Ottoman Turks were annihilating Armenians and throwing them out of their homes of 3,000 years. One-and-a half million Armenians were systematically annihilated, and others walked through the Arabian deserts to make it to Syria. Since 1915 Armenians have been building Aleppo, Azez, Latakia, Damascus, Kesab, Der Zor, and other parts of Syria. Armenians have their own private schools, churches, and community centers. Now in 2012, 97 years after the Genocide, Armenians are being subjected to another mass trauma of murder, destruction, ransacking, kidnapping, and torture. The Syrian opposition is backed by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey. Turkey has been selling arms to the opposition and finding any excuse to attack the border in northern Syria, which is populated by Christian minority Armenians. Turkey has taken advantage of this chaotic war situation and has destroyed the Genocide memorial and the Armenian Church in Der Zor. The opposition also threw elderly Armenian residents out of the Armenian Elders Home in Bostampasha and turned it into their headquarters to send bombs and missiles to destroy the rest of the Armenian community. These Armenian older adults had been thrown out of their homes at the beginning of their lives by Ottoman Turks, and now, once again, at the last stage of their lives, they are being thrown out of their homes by Syrian opposition forces and Turkish criminals. I am a humanitarian worker and President of the Meaningfulworld, a charitable organization, servicing the world in over 45 countries, and it hurts me in the core to not being able to go to Syria and help the surviving community that is in shell shock, experiencing severe trauma. Where is the UN Declaration for Human Rights? When we contacted the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, their response was that their office is in the dark and cannot help. Where is justice? What can we do to stop this madness? Why is the opposition destroying the Armenian community? If they want to lead Syria, they should oppose the Syrian government and not attack innocent Armenian people who are the Christian minority. Howmany times does a nation gets displaced? Where is the UN Declaration for Human Rights? When we contacted the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, their response was that their office is in the dark and cannot help. Where is justice? What can we do to stop this madness? Why is the opposition destroying the Armenian community? If they want to lead Syria, they should oppose the Syrian government and not attack innocent Armenian people who are the Christian minority. How many times does a nation gets displaced?               Please help in any way you can, pray for the Christian Armenian minority that is innocently being targeted by the Syrian opposition, hold prayer circles, send donations to help feed our Armenian family, talk with your congressional representative, tell him or her what is REALLY going on in Syria—a totally different story than what the opposition and mainstream media are broadcasting to convince the world. Please educate your circle of Americans and others so they will stop supporting and sponsoring the opposition. Cliffside Park, New Jersey, U.S.A

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ATOP MEANINGFULWORLD 69th Annual United Nations General Assembly

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In September, United Nations New York Headquarters held its 69th session of the UN General Assembly beginning 16 September- 1 October, 2014; which contained a morning and afternoon session that involved various high-level meetings, speeches, and conferences. The air was filled with excitement and booming with activities as Presidents, Ambassadors, UN personnel, Delegates, and Academicians from all over the world reunited in the newly renovated GA to address many global issues such as climate change, terrorism/war, peace, and education as well as the actions ready to be taken in creating a sustainable change. ATOP Meaningfulworld has participated in the GA sessions annually. As an ATOP Meaningfulworld Alternate Representative Intern, I had the honor of attending the Thursday session on 25 September, 2014, a day-long conferences and plenary addresses by world leaders voicing the urgency to take stand in the Post 2015 Agenda; including our very own President Obama. The Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, prioritized his commitment to the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals in a conference titled “Moving to Implementation: Findings from UNDG Dialogues on Post- 2015 Implementation” with a focus on ‘the world we want.’ Civil societies were informed to organize council on Sustainable Development in an open and inclusive manner, and take lead in institutional and global change. The needs for inclusive partnerships, voices to be heard, quality of life and education were stressed by speakers of all countries. I proudly applauded Forest Whitaker, American actor and UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation, for delivering a presentation on “Moving to Implementation: Findings from UNDG Dialogues on Post-2015 Implementation,” advocating for technology access, better quality of education, and peace in developing countries. He emphasized that education needs to be used as a power to promote peace and reconciliation in communities. The value of cultural education, transforming violence, and human connection were the focal point of the day’s sessions. I was impressed and inspired by the action plans of many world leaders who aimed to provide real-time tools to handle challenges, fight against terrorism/aggression, and democratize education for a more sustainable growth not only in their country but worldwide. Overall, it was one of the best times to be present at the UN as it provided the opportunity to meet and be educated by dedicated and powerful leaders who have great experience in dealing with global issues. I felt incredibly enriched having experienced an unforgettable and informative General Assembly.   ____________________________________________________________ Founded in 1990, the Association for Trauma Outreach & Prevention (ATOP) Meaningfulworld, charitable organization affiliated with the United Nations Dept. of Public Information, has achieved international recognition as a leader in training humanitarian outreach professionals as well as responding to two decades of global and local disasters. ATOP is committed to health and global education promoting state-of-the-art scientific theory, peace, forgiveness, consciousness research, internship, and the development of technical skills to train mental health professionals, teachers, psychologists, art therapists, nutritionists, alternative medicine practitioners, clergy, nurses, mediators, interfaith ministers, and lay persons committed to service the self and humanity. Meaningfulworld Humanitarian Outreach Teams have helped rehabilitate survivors from over 45 calamities, making a daily difference in people’s lives helping to transform tragedy and trauma into healing and meaning-making through post trauma growth, resilience, emotional intelligence, mindfulness, mind-body-ecospirit health, visionary leadership, empowerment and artful collaboration through a new world view. Our Motto: When one helps another BOTH become stronger

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Press Release Dr. Kalayjian on ABC and BronxNet

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      OnWednesday, December 19th, 2012, Dr. Ani Kalayjian, founder and president of the Association for Trauma Outreach and Prevention/ Meaningfulworld, will appear on an edition of Open, hosted by Daren Jaime. Dr. Kalayjian will discuss the trauma of the school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut that occurred the prior Friday, as well as her work with victims of trauma and survivors from around the globe. Dr. Kalayjian was also interviewed this past Sunday with ABC Channel 7 regarding the school massacre of 26 elementary aged children and 6 adults in Newtown. Known as an internationally recognized expert on mass trauma, Dr. Kalayjian has been committed to healing survivors locally and internationally, has served on United Nation panels, and has been a psychology professor at Fordham University. The segment will air live on December 19th, 2012 from 10am-11am on BronxNet Television 67 and Verizon Fios Channel 33.

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