Annual Friendship and Dialog Dinner 2011 was held in Hilton-Austin on October 30th, 2011. About 200 guests including prominent civic and religous leaders attended the event. 

The event started out with a reception where the atendees had a chance to meet with other Austinites, taste Turkish finger foods and browse items on a silent auctionincluding original Turkish handmade home décor items and learn more about the Interfaith Peace Garden which just broke ground in Houston and eventually will include a church, a synagogue, and a mosque build around a common yard to give a message of unity of the Abrahamic faiths. During the reception UT Middle eastern Ensemble “Bereket” entertained the guests with music.

In the dinner program,  a keynote by Jim Harrington, Director of Texas Civil Rights Project on “What We Can Learn from Democratic Developments in Turkey and the Gülen Movement” was delivered.