Organizational Background

Founded by Nevzer G. Stacey in 1998 as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization in Washington D.C., HasNa Inc. has been bringing groups with different ethnic and cultural backgrounds together for collaboration on projects that improve their communities and their relations with one another for more than 20 years. HasNa’s mission is to promote cross-cultural understanding, economic empowerment, and peace in culturally divided communities. Over the last two decades, HasNa has implemented more than 100 training programs at the grassroots level to build dialogue and understanding between Turkish and Kurdish communities in Turkey, between Turkish and Greek Cypriots in Cyprus, and between Turks and Armenians. 

HasNa’s vision for ethnically divided societies is to integrate all members of a community through constructive dialogue based on respect and professional collaboration that leads to economic development for the entire community. To achieve this, HasNa uses innovative peacebuilding methods to bring people from different ethnic backgrounds together in programs that emphasize job skills and professional development training with a special focus on communication and conflict resolution. Among many different peacebuilding methods available to non-profits and practitioners in the field, HasNa uses economic development as the main vehicle to integrate divided communities and to create peaceful relations. Our development strategies prioritize joint professional trainings and economic collaboration across ethnic lines, bringing mutually beneficial economic gains to all members of the community and consequently promoting peaceful relations within divided communities.