On Monday, November 13, a symposium, “For Unity”, was held in the National Cathedral in Washington DC sponsored by the Appeal-Conscience Foundation, Sustained Dialogue Institute and the George Cannon Institute. The main goal of the forum was to gather individuals who are looking for ways of interaction between the people of Russia and America through a dialogue of culture, art and religion.

The participants of the discussion included a priest of the Episcopal Church; the president of the Sustained Dialogue Institute, Mark Farr; the founder and president of the "Appeal-Conscience" foundation, Rabbi Arthur Schneier; President of the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Institute, Deborah Rutter; director of the George Cannon Institute, Matthew Rozhansky and the director of the Institute of Russian Culture and History at the American University, Anton Fedyashin. Representing the Russian Orthodox Church was His Grace Bishop John of Naro-Fominsk, representative of the Russian World People’s Council to the UN.

At the end of the symposium, the participants visited a concert of classical music performed by the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra conducted by People's Artist of the Russian Federation Valery Gergiev. Repertoire on the piano was performed by People's Artist of the Russian Federation Denis Matsuev.