Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, Xusk û Birayanî berêz:

I am honored to welcome you on behalf of the Kurdish American Youth Organization. First and foremost, I would like to thank all of you, guest speakers and conference attendees, for your participation in our very first official conference for the Kurdish Youth in America.

I would also like to give a special thanks to the sponsors of our conference event:

• Vanderbilt’s International Awareness Committee – Mr. Tyler True & Mr. Taha Jan
• The Kurdish National Congress of North America
• Kak Dler

I would also like to thank Mr. Luqman Berwari for his continuous support for KAYO and his great contributions to the flood relief project. Also, many thanks to all the Kurdish American Youth Organization members who participated in the Conference Committee and helped in making this event take place.

A little over a year ago, the Kurdish American Youth was simply an idea, not only by those who founded this organization, but by many others who saw the need for the young Kurdish generation to come together, share ideas and help one another, to be more involved in their communities and uplift the sense of what we as Kurds call Kurdayetî.

Today, with the will and effort, as well as the support from the Kurdish communities, the Kurdish American Youth Organization has become what it is today; existing to serve the Kurdish youth as their platform in working towards our common goals.

The Kurdish American Youth Organization – or KAYO as many of us call it– is an independent organization aiming to provide the Kurdish youth with a platform to create stronger alliances and better communication among young Kurds themselves and among the younger and older generation of Kurds as well.

KAYO’s goals remain as to provide assistance to young Kurds in North America seeking support from the organization in a wide range of fields: education, social services, community development, and cultural expression. We wish to initiate and coordinate projects and activities to benefit and help Kurds in North America; and to initiate and coordinate programs to help our people back home in Kurdistan as well.

KAYO also aims to spread awareness of the Kurdish people to introduce Kurdistan to the American public, and to develop relationships with other similar organizations and communities in order to develop stronger bonds between Kurds and non-Kurds.

KAYO brings together young motivated Kurds from all over North America, and allows them to work together while providing structure and guidance in their projects and activities. KAYO is what the members shape it to be; it allows young Kurds to transform their ideas into realities and find others who are interested in helping them achieve these goals, giving young Kurds a stronger voice through an alliance that stretches across North America rather than solely resting in one particular city or state. KAYO not only aims to bring young Kurdish individuals together but local Kurdish youth groups as well. While the common youth group usually focuses most of its efforts in its respective communities, KAYO aims to reach goals that can be achieved regardless of each individual’s location.

During the past year, the members of KAYO participated in a number of projects and activities. Among those were

• Research projects conducted on the social problems existing within Kurdish-American families and communities, as touched on during our Kurdish Culture & Bridging the Gap panel today,
• Humanitarian efforts to raise money in the Kurdish-American communities to help the Kurdish people back in Kurdistan who needed our donations as presented earlier,
• Cultural events held at Universities to create a better understanding between Kurds and non-Kurds, and to introduce Kurdistan to the American public,
• And other current projects underway, such as our efforts to provide assistance to young Kurds in Kurdistan to come study at Universities in the U.S.

KAYO is an organization whose doors are open to all Kurds regardless of region (or what part of Kurdistan you are from); regardless of religious or political affiliations, or linguistic or dialectal differences. Our goal is to bring everyone together and our focus is our common ground as Kurds.

We heard many great speakers share their ideas and give their opinions today. We had great questions and great answers, and we discussed ideas and prospects for the future of not only this organization, but for the Kurdish people in general. This event, like any other Kurdish conference or event, can serve as only the beginning in transforming those ideas heard and discussed today into real actions. Individually and collectively, we very often set goals for ourselves that rarely transpire. It must therefore be in our will and it must be each and every person’s decision to take that further step in carrying out and accomplishing the goals that we have set here today.

I have had many discussions with individuals who believe that events such as conferences do not benefit our cause. They say that we do not achieve anything by simply holding discussions. They ask what the purpose is of having events such as this one…

The purpose is simple. However, we must first examine our own reasons for being here today. For most, I believe the reason is beyond that of one's simple desire to participate in a large gathering such as this one. We are here because we care for something that we should care for. We are here because we recognize the fact that the Kurdish nation is one in desperate need of help and of relief.

It is never new to hear a Kurd speak about their troubled homes, their imprisoned family members - even their dead grandparents, uncles, aunts - even mothers, fathers and sisters and brothers; those who have become victims to the atrocities committed in this world by people who do not value human life or the rights of people who simply want to live. The Kurdish people are indeed a people in desperate need of help. We thank our all of our non-Kurdish friends all around the world who have always defended human rights and made countless efforts and contributions that have benefited the Kurdish people; some of them who are with us today. We thank them for helping defend the rights of people who so often have difficulty in defending themselves.

I say that we have difficulty defending ourselves and the reasons go well beyond the scope of this speech. However, knowing that we have such difficulties, events such as these are important in order to overcome these difficulties. We must overcome our differences and it is important that we come together as a people to help one another resolve our problems - whether they are political, social or cultural - in order to finally put to rest the tall tale that Kurds will never reach freedom and peace.

I mentioned this in a previous talk I gave and I would like to share it with you all today. It is a saying that I may not so much agree with but it is, nevertheless, clever...

There was an old poet who once said, "Kurds have a sad past and a harsh and difficult present," and said, "Thank God we have no future"… Although it is clever, I disagree with this poet. Indeed we have a sad past and the harsh realities of our present are sometimes difficult to accept. But if we continue to work hard together and dedicate ourselves to helping one another, I believe we will have a very promising future.

I thank you all again for attending this event. And I hope that everyone's goals can and will be achieved.

Serkeftin.

Goran Sadjadi
KAYO - President
February 10th, 2007