CategoryGlobal Efforts for Peace

From September 26 to October 7, the exhibition “Everything You Treasure,” jointly created by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and the SGI (Soka Gakkai International), was shown at the University of Guanajuato’s Guanajuato Campus. Miguel Ángel Cervantes of the Rector’s Office of the Guanajuato Campus delivered a speech at the opening ceremony, which was

On September 25, SGI-Argentina (SGIAR) youth held a peace event at the Museum of Anthropology of the National University of Córdoba. SGIAR displayed exhibitions on gender equality, environmental conservation and the “Everything You Treasure—For a World Free From Nuclear Weapons” exhibition, jointly created by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and the SGI (Soka Gakkai International).

On September 16, the SGI (Soka Gakkai International) issued a statement at the Transforming Education Summit, held at the UN headquarters in New York on September 16, 17 and 19. The statement puts forward three points for discussion toward enhancing education, based on President Daisaku Ikeda’s 2022 peace proposal. Director of the SGI Office for UN Affairs Hiro Sakurai represented the

On September 14 and 15, Soka Gakkai Vice President Hirotsugu Terasaki participated in the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev gave welcoming remarks, followed by His Holiness Pope Francis, Grand Imam of al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed El Tayeb, Chairman of the Department for External Church

On September 11, the Soka Renaissance Vanguard Drum and Brass Corps won top honors in the Senior Drum Corps and the General Public marching sections of the Japan Cup Marching Band and Baton Twirling Competition. This is the 18th time the group has won these awards.   

From September 8 to 23, the exhibition “Everything You Treasure—For a World Free From Nuclear Weapons,” jointly created by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and the SGI (Soka Gakkai International), was shown at the University of Guanajuato in Mexico. Dr. José Maldonado Salas, general coordinator of academic development at the university, delivered welcoming remarks

On September 5, the Ministry of the Interior of Taiwan conferred an award on Taiwan Soka Association (TSA) in recognition of their social contribution activities. The organization was one of a small number that were singled out from among 15,000 religious organizations in Taiwan. TSA has now received this award 20 consecutive times.

On September 4, commemorating the 65th anniversary of second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda’s September 8, 1957, Declaration Calling for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons, the 31st Youth Summit on the Renunciation of War was held at the Kanagawa Culture Center in Yokohama. Youth and Future Division members from Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Okinawa and other regions joined the

On August 19, Soka Gakkai of Mexico (SGMex) hosted a forum at its center in Guadalajara to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first meeting between President Ikeda and British historian Arnold J. Toynbee. The forum took place in person and was connected with venues across the country online. Professor José Manuel Jurado Parres of

On August 17, Amnesty International, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the SGI (Soka Gakkai International) co-organized a third conversation session with young human rights educators from around the world. Themed “Fighting Human Trafficking Through Human Rights Education,” the online event invited Ms. Aiki Matsukura to speak on her work combatting

On August 8, some 300 Soka Gakkai Singapore (SGS) youth members performed a choreographed routine in the National Day Parade (NDP) 2022, held at the Marina Bay floating platform, to commemorate the 57th anniversary of Singapore’s independence. Under the NDP theme “Stronger Together, Majulah!” The event was attended by 25,000 people including President Halimah Yacob

On August 7, a new SGI-USA center opened in San Juan, Puerto Rico. To mark the occasion, the City of San Juan issued a proclamation recognizing President Daisaku Ikeda’s contributions to peace. The proclamation was introduced during the opening ceremony.  

On August 6, SGI-New Zealand (SGINZ) and the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Otago cohosted their Inaugural Peace Symposium 2022 at the Auckland University of Technology. The first panel discussion was on the theme of “Envisioning Peace in a Time of Uncertainty.” The panel featured young peace activists, Haris Murtaza,

On August 6, some 280 Student Division members from 20 countries across Europe joined an online summer course. The daylong course featured a faith experience by a Soka Gakkai member from Switzerland, encouragement from senior SGI Europe leaders and a study presentation on second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda’s Declaration Calling for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons.

From August 1 to 26, the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is being held in New York. On August 4, the SGI cosponsored a side event titled “Avoiding Nuclear War: What Short-Term Steps Can be Taken?” with the Permanent Mission of the Republic of

On August 4, the SGI (Soka Gakkai International) cosponsored a panel discussion titled “Avoiding Nuclear War: what short-term steps can be taken?” during the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), held from August 1 to 26 in New York. The event was organized together with the Permanent

On July 29, the Soka Gakkai affiliated Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue held its first in-person Dialogue Nights event since the pandemic on the theme “Revitalizing Our Relationships: What Does That Look Like Now?” Some 30 university students and young professionals discussed pandemic-related concerns and how to build and maintain healthy relationships. Read more here.

On July 27, the Soka Institute of the Amazon hosted an event focusing on digitalization as a path to sustainability. The hybrid event brought together 200 participants from the Amazonas Hub of the UN Global Compact. Dr. Oscar Kenjiro Asakura, an expert on the Brazilian General Data Protection Act, stressed that digitalization can help minimize the use

From late July to early August, a series of events were held in Japan to commemorate the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On July 24, the Soka Gakkai Youth Division in Hiroshima hosted an event where youth and future division members visited the Peace Memorial Park. On August 6, in

On July 17, a new Korea SGI (KSGI) center opened in Pohang City in North Gyeongsang Province. KSGI members and guests attended the opening ceremony during which Pohang City Mayor Lee Kang-deok commended President Daisaku Ikeda and KSGI members for contributing to peace in the world.