Dear Colleagues:

We are gratified and appreciative of the high level of positive response to the invitation from the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) on behalf of the Iranian Mission to the United Nations to meet on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 24th, from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, and U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee. The meeting will take place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on 42nd Street and Park Avenue, and admission will be based on prior registration. We are seeking a venue for a pre-meeting gathering and will share that site with you when secured. Approximately 150 will be in attendance.

The meeting is being held in order to introduce President Ahmadinejad to the peace community in the United States and to illustrate how this sector of civil society works to oppose war and the use of violence to resolve differences. Given the large level of interest, the short period of time available, and the need to allow time for simultaneous translation between English and Farsi, we have devised the following approach.

First: We invite you to briefly tell the story of how your organization has come into being and how it works to advance its agenda in practice. Such stories might best be tied to an example of particular success. Such stories, we believe, will illustrate the power of civil society and nonviolence to effect change in the world and to lift up how, in this democratic society, despite challenges and obstacles, we continue our commitment to these principles and practices. Where there are multiple representatives from a given organization we urge you to work together on this story. It needs to be brief, crisp, and potent.

Second: We invite you to shape one or more statements of concern, as a question or as an observation, about the current relationship between the United States and Iran, which would elicit a response from President Ahmadinejad or the Foreign Minister or U.N. Ambassador, adding clarity or nuance to issues which are present in this relationship between the United States and Iran.

A small group of volunteers [**] has agreed to read and compile all submissions; to look for close parallels, and to ask selected participants to present their story or question on behalf of the group. All of the submitted content will be collected and distributed to all in attendance and with the Iranian participants. Submissions should be directed to Mark Johnson at mjohnson@forusa.org no later than 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, September 18th. [** The compiling team includes Mark Johnson and Leila Zand from FOR, Robert Naiman from Just Foreign Policy, Rostam Pourzal and Ana Edwards from the Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII), and Scott Kennedy from the Resource Center for Nonviolence.]

We anticipate that submitted stories and queries might be collected under headings such as: U.S. foreign policy and how it can be changed; nuclear program issues (energy, weaponry, disarmament, arms trade and control); issues of substance and rhetoric (the Iraq war, Holocaust, national autonomy and integrity, and other regional concerns); religious diversity and tolerance for pluralism; Iran delegations and people-to-people programs; the Iranian-American community; political analysis and perspectives; prospects for democratic change in the U.S.; military veterans and the experience of war.

If in providing your story and elicitive question you feel particularly qualified and comfortable to be the voice of your story and question, be sure to let us know.

Logistics:

After a brief exchange of greetings of welcome, Mark Johnson, executive director of FOR, will moderate a sharing of selected submitted stories by their authors, a posing of questions and concerns by participants, a response by President Ahmadinejad and his foreign minister, and as time allows, further exchange and dialogue.

We ask that no public media attention be drawn to this event prior to its conclusion at 7 p.m. on September 24th. The strategy around this meeting is to avoid publicity beforehand, to avoid attracting protests or other chaos, but we certainly join you in wanting to get word out as soon as it is over. Our planning committee will work to draft a partial press release so that we can plan to fill in details from the meeting and release it that evening. We also anticipate recording the session so that content is available for use by all groups following the session.

We propose convening a de-briefing of the experience on Thursday, September 25th in the morning to assess potential future steps by the community of peace activists present regarding relationships between the United States and Iran.

Because this event takes place during the season of Ramadan, participants should know that there will be no refreshments provided during the session.

If you should need information about lodging options in New York City, please contact FOR's office by e-mail and we will forward you a list that we have available.

Thanks again for your interest and participation.