2008 is promising to be a watershed year for the foundation. Our mission is being well served:
· 700 youth leaders attended the Youth Assembly at the UN last August,
· There has been a marked increase in requests for FAF to facilitate exclusive concert tours and other exchange programs, and
· The foundation created a burgeoning youth symphony in 2006 that has attracted one of the most talented young Musical Directors in the world.

The foundation is also approaching some milestones that deserve recognition:

FAF turns 35 in 2008 - a rare mark for any nonprofit, tax exempt organization and of which we feel duly proud.

Why not join us in New York, for our great 35th Anniversary celebration week?
August 9 - 17, 2008: a wonderful opportunity to perform or otherwise attend in celebration of our mission and goals.
· Performances by ensembles associated with the foundation sicne our icneption, at the UN and other sites during the Anniversary celebration week;
· Special night at Tavern on the Green for the 35th Anniversary Bash!;
· Opportunity to enjoy a week in New York, including other concert venues, U.N. Delegates Dining Special Event, as well as the chance to sit in on the global gathering: the 5th Annual Youth Assembly at the United Nations.
Other optional programs are available for those individuals who can only stay a night or two, or for performance ensembles who may wish to join us for an entire week or more!

2008 also marks the 15th anniversary of Executive Director Patrick Sciarratta at the helm of the organization. During his tenure, Mr. Sciarratta has guided the organization through a phase of recovery and redirection in the early 1990's. Later in that decade, he was selected by the White House as a Presidential Representative and partnered with UNESCO to create cultural exchanges that helped heal the social fabric in the Balkans after the wars there.

After 9/11, he and colleague Szilvia Agoston launched a multimillion dollar effort to heal and reintegrate 9/11 families back to their once productive lives through cultural exchange and travel programming.

Along with this, Patrick worked with several close associates to launch two programs of note since 2001:
· The Youth Assembly at the United Nations. With partner Dr. Elaine Valdov and Project Director Ildiko Szucs, youth leaders from around the world have been invited to visit the United Nations in New York, where they conduct substantive discourse and offer cultural presentations that highlight recent global topics, and with great success.
Now celebrating the Fifth Annual Assembly, this year's focus will combine practical advice on NGO development and concert opportunities from ensembles throughout the world. 2008 will mark the last year for large public access to the building itself, due to extensive renovations planned for the next few years.
· FAF's youth symphony is now in its third season and is dedicated to enabling middle and high school musicians to use their craft in order to provide service to communities in special need. He and co-founder of the youth symphony, FAF Artistic Director Yin-Chu Jou, are proud to be working with one of the most talented young conductors anywhere, FAF Youth Symphony Music Director P. George Mathew, on the exciting, current season of performances and tours.

"There is still so much more I would like to accomplish in this position," states Mr. Sciarratta. "Not only for youth but intergenerationally. As U.S. citizens continue to re-engage in global exchange through meaningful cultural tourism, it is vital to keep this interest at the forefront of our thinking." He added, "I think we all know how important this kind of global interaction is for Americans, especially right now."
Patrick concluded, "I hope that FAF enables me to work with many more organizations and ensembles in order to achieve the goals we have set at FAF: to enable meaningful exchange as the road to mutual understanding and global cooperation."

" ... On the wonderful work that Friendship Ambassadors is accomplishing, I commend you for your leadership in promoting cultural exchange between people both young and old around the world. Hillary joins me in sending her best wishes."
Former President Bill Clinton

5th Annual Youth Assembly at the U.N.
August 12 - 14, 2008
In 2007, 700 delegates attended the 4th Annual Youth Assembly at the United Nations, a project of FAF, led by YA Secretary General Dr. Elaine Valdov. Created by she and FAF Executive Director Patrick Sciarratta, the project has blossomed into the premiere global gathering of youth interested in bringing a cultural consciousness to the United Nations.

In 2007, the Youth Assembly focused on social entrepreneurship and the success of the Millennium Development Goals. In 2008, Project Director Ildiko Szucs has suggested that the focus may center around individuals and groups (especially performing ensembles) discovering practical ways to get involved with development and service campaigns worldwide.

Applications will appear online for the events at the UN in early January.
5th Annual Youth Assembly at the U.N.
August 12, 13, and 14, 2008
SAVE THE DATES!

Final?
Yes, this is the final Youth Assembly AT the United Nations for some time and is a good reason to plan to join us. For next three to five years, public access to the United Nations will be severely limited as they renovate the entire structure. This is a final chance to visit, get deep inside, perform at the Dag Hammerskjold Auditorium, meet global UN delegates, and be a part of the new history by witnessing the old for the very last time: The 5th Annual Youth Assembly at the United Nations is one of the last major public events at headquarters prior to major renovations. Group leaders, conductors, choreographers, faculty, religious and community leaders will all want to alert their constituents to this important event, not to be missed.

The U.N.'s renovation plans are definitely moving ahead -- so if you always wanted to take part in a major event here, now is your last chance for several years, at least. According to a recent UN press release on the subject: "The Executive Director of the Capital Master Plan, Michael Adlerstein, said the renovation of the United Nations, under the new Accelerated Strategy IV of the Capital Master Plan, would begin groundbreaking for the temporary North Lawn building in late spring of 2008 and staff members would begin vacating the Secretariat in late 2008 ..."

In 2009, 2010, and 2011, directors Sciarratta and Valdov are looking to venues in other areas of the world, including Paris, Jordan, Turkey, Hungary, and several destinations in Asia. More to follow ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRIENDSHIP AMBASSADORS FOUNDATION (FAF) MOURNS THE LOSS OF FOUNDER, HARRY MORGAN, ONE TIME WESTCHESTER RESIDENT AND ROVING EDITOR AT READERS DIGEST. MORGAN AND PARTNER CAPPY DEVLIN BROUGHT PRIVATE CITIZEN GROUPS ABROAD TO PROMOTE MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING AND GLOBAL COOPERATION THROUGH CULTURAL EXCHANGE in 1970s.

Greenwich, CT - Harry W. Morgan, who, with partner Cappy Devlin (Cappy's Travel, Mt. Kisco), pioneered private citizen, cultural exchange programs for the United States, across the former Soviet Union and in "Red" China, died Tuesday in the western Romanian city of Timisoara. He was 73. Morgan died of a heart attack, three weeks after he was admitted to a hospital there with breathing problems.

Morgan traveled around the world with American citizen groups of all kinds and met numerous presidents and personalities, among them Mother Teresa, Eleanor Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Elvis Presley, Ernest Hemingway, and former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, who crisscrossed America with Morgan in a donated Rambler wagon in 1960 (SEE PHOTO: WWW.FAF.ORG/aboutfaf/ aboutfaf.htm). Morgan advised Annan to pursue a career with the United Nations.

"This is a terrible loss for us," states current Friendship Ambassadors Foundation (FAF) Executive Director Patrick Sciarratta in their Greenwich offices. "Since I met him in Chappaqua fifteen years ago, he changed my life forever; I know there are countless people like me who feel the same. Since our inception, the foundation has served over 100,000 participants on these very special cultural exchange programs and we are recognized as a leader in the field. Now celebrating our 35th anniversary, FAF is proud that he and Ms. Devlin were honored during their tenures with us for encouraging Americans to travel together as communities, as private citizen groups, around the world.

"They led mostly amateur arts ensembles and educational groups - which was the genius of their plan," Sciarratta continued. "FAF created the concept of cultural exchanges devoid of business, religion, or politics between global communities through their efforts."

Fulbright Scholar Harry Morgan moved to Romania in 1994, when the Romanian government invited him to assist in the development of journalism schools at the universities of Bucharest, Sibiu and Timisoara at a time when Romania's free press was still in its infancy. For the past 11 years he had lived in Timisoara, in western Romania, where he taught at the university and set up a journalism club and an American library. He was made an honorary citizen of the city.

Morgan is survived by his wife, Margareta, and four sons.

Know an ensemble that is looking for a unique concert tour or cultural exchange in the Baltics without all the constant packing and unpacking? Want to experience cruise luxury on one of the most beautiful routes in the world? Want to have fun in a communal sing, led by Maestro Harold Rosenbaum and with the St. Petersburg Orchestra? Just want to relax on a great cultural tour?

Then Join us next July for all the fun:
· All arts disciplines welcome;
· Individual singers can join in on the group sing, of course;
· Dance, music, and choral ensembles can all perform under their own direction and join in the group sing in St. Petersburg, or not -- this is the most flexible and relaxing concert travel experience ever!

email: friendshipambassadors@faf.org

web: http://www.faf.org