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ATAA at the United Nations

On July 14, 2020, Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA)’s “Association” with the United Nations Department of Global Communications (UN-DGC) was approved and the ATAA Committee on UN Relations was formed. Under the leadership of ATAA President Gökhan Özalp (2020–2022), and with the assistance of Bircan Ünver, the Founder-President of the Light Millennium, a Charitable Global Human Advancement Organization (LMGlobal.Org), the ATAA-UN Association was established.

Gökhan Özalp

Gökhan Özalp

ATAA Former President (2020-23)

Bircan Ünver

Bircan Ünver

First Chairperson

ATAA UN Relations Committee

Executive Officers

Alev Wieland

Alev Wieland

ATAA President

Yücel Burdurlu

Yücel Burdurlu

ATAA Secretary, UN Committee Co-Chair, Membership Committee Chair

Dr. Selim Erhan

Dr. Selim Erhan

ATAA UN Committee Co-Chair, Board of Trustees Member

Sean Özalpaşan

Sean Özalpaşan

ATAA UN Youth Representative

Members

Burcu Tansu

Burcu Tansu

ATAA Western Region Former VP

Nilgün Özsoy

Nilgün Özsoy

Indiana-American Turkish Association Past President

Dr. Fatma Gül

Dr. Fatma Gül

Contemporary Education Foundation President

Canan Özaktay

Canan Özaktay

ATAA Southeast Region VP

Gizem Kılıç

Gizem Kılıç

PhD student, Cornell University

Gizem Şalcıgil White

Gizem Şalcıgil White

Coffee Wellnesspreneur / Founder at Turkish Coffee Lady

Tuğçe Arıt

Tuğçe Arıt

Legal Assistant

Ebru Çetin Milci

Ebru Çetin Milci

Scholar & Library Specialist

Youth Forum

Burcu Alapala

Burcu Alapala

Serkan Gomez

Serkan Gomez

Bora Gündoğan

Bora Gündoğan

Ela Gӧkçiğdem

Ela Gӧkçiğdem

Bengisu Kara

Bengisu Kara

Sanem Kara

Sanem Kara

Arda Keskin

Arda Keskin

Yasemin Knott

Yasemin Knott

Sinemis Kobaner

Sinemis Kobaner

Levent Ozaktay

Levent Ozaktay

Sean Özalpasan

Sean Özalpasan

Alya Rana

Alya Rana

Ezgi Satıroğlu

Ezgi Satıroğlu

Ceyda Ural

Ceyda Ural

Arden Van Winkle

Arden Van Winkle

Ece Yenigün

Ece Yenigün

UN Partner Organizations

Hülya Koç

Hülya Koç

ETAC-USA Co-Founder & Co-President

Berna Gürdal

Berna Gürdal

TWLA President

Fatma Aldaş

Fatma Aldaş

TWLA Past VP

Esra Doğru

Esra Doğru

TWLA Vice President

Bircan Ünver

Bircan Ünver

The Light Millennium Founder

Deniz T. Conger

Deniz T. Conger

Bridge to Türkiye Fund Executive Director

ATAA – UN Commitments

Background

July 14, 2020, Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) “Association” with United Nations Department of Global Communications (UN-DGC) was approved and ATAA Committee on UN Relations was formed.

UN Expectations

Join the global effort to support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, promote and defend human rights, and promote peace and security.

  • Follow the guidelines on the appropriate use of the SDGs visual material
  • CSO is entitled to receive six grounds passes each year to enter United Nations Headquarters in New York. (subject to change due to COVID)
  • CSO Representatives are invited to attend the Thematic Briefings organized by the Civil Society Unit in DGC, featuring United Nations officials, government officials and other experts from the civil society community.
  • Every two years CSO organization is requested to submit a compulsory “Biennial Review”. Biennial Review is required to further designate representatives from your organization to DGC.
ATAA Expectations

Purpose of the ATAA Committee on UN Relations is to identify and implement UN Projects within ATAA collectively with the Associate Organizations. Be the liaison between ATAA – UN-DGC relations and take an active part in promoting our projects and issues that concern Turkish Americans in UN-DGC.

Vision
  • Engage with the United Nations, on issues of global concern and in line with UN priorities.
  • Empowered as the voice of Turkish American and Turkish Canadian Associations in the UN
  • Communicate, educate, and find solutions to the problems impacting our community and sustain.
Mission
  • Identify inspiring projects to implement that relative to our community members from 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Get Turkish American Communities engaged in the projects identified
  • Identify and collaborate with other CSO organizations within UN
  • Utilize Zoom Webinar Technology for the projects
Core Values Committee Operates By
  • Mutual respect and trust
  • Listen each other with open mind
  • Don’t beat dead horse
  • Punctuality
  • Consensus decision making
  • We are accountable to each other
  • Transparency: avoid hidden agendas

Events and Projects

Upcoming Events & Projects

  • November 8, 2026 | World Science Day for Peace and Development (Nov 21st)
  • December 5, 2026 | Turkish Coffee and Culture Day
  • December 15, 2026 | World Turkish Language Day Conference
  • 2026 Fundraising STEAM Program to support Youth Programs

Past Events & Projects

In the News

Announcements

All UN posts →

UN · February 19, 2026

Power of Mother Language and Multilingualism

This event aims to explore the power of the mother tongue in shaping individual identity, academic achievement, and cultural continuity through a multi-voiced perspective ranging from children and youth to academics and parents.

UN · January 25, 2026

Legal Rights of Immigrants in the U.S. and the Challenges They Face

On February 1, 2026, Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), Akcok Law Office held a virtual event titled “The Legal Rights of Immigrants in the U.S. and the Challenges They Face” in support of (18 December) International Migrants Day (A/RES/55/93).

UN · November 13, 2025

Celebrating December 15 World Turkic Language Family Day

World Turkic Language Family Day, proclaimed by UNESCO on December 15, is an important observance that celebrates the deep-rooted history, linguistic unity, and cultural connections among Turkic languages and the communities that speak them.

UN · November 11, 2025

Inspiring Change: Young Minds, Global Goals

Celebrated every November 10, World Science Day for Peace and Development highlights the significant role of science in society and the need to engage the wider public in debates on emerging scientific issues.

UN · April 3, 2025

Fostering Peaceful Dialogue

Program's objective is to educate community, engage experts and youth in a dialog about historical events, to foster peaceful solutions and practices to promote peaceful behavior within community.

UN · February 28, 2025

Gender Empowerment and Equality

This program’s objective is the empowerment and equality of the next generation youth, particularly young women and adolescent girls for lasting change.