CategoryGlobal Efforts for Peace

On October 11, the SGI (Soka Gakkai International) cohosted a side event on humanitarian disarmament education at the UN Headquarters in New York. The side event was part of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA77) First Committee on Disarmament and International Security. Permanent Representative of Kiribati Ambassador Teburoro Tito shared the devastating impact of

Between October 11 and 15, the Soka Institute of the Amazon participated in a book fair organized by the Social Service of Commerce Amazonas and held at the Vasco Vasques Convention Center in Manaus. The Institute displayed seeds of various Amazonian plants and saplings from its nursery and the “Seeds of Hope & Action: Making the SDGs a Reality” exhibition, a

On October 2, Soka Gakkai Italy held an open day at its Ikeda Cultural Center for Peace in Milan to commemorate World Peace Day (October 2)—the day in 1960 President Daisaku Ikeda embarked on his first trip abroad to support the faith and Buddhist practice of members there and the international development of Nichiren Buddhism. The event included a

On October 1, a new Taiwan Soka Association (TSA) center opened in Kaohsiung City. The six-story building houses an auditorium, conference room and the Soka Art Museum. President Daisaku Ikeda sent a congratulatory message to the opening ceremony. On October 2, the opening ceremony of the Soka Art Museum was held. The event was attended by over

On October 1, the Mahatma Award for Social Good and Impact was conferred upon Bharat Soka Gakkai (BSG) in recognition of BSG’s contributions to peace, culture and education. Other recipients of the Mahatma Award were also present at the award ceremony. The ceremony was held at the India International Centre in New Delhi and was

On September 28, former president of the Republic of Palau Tommy Remengesau visited the Soka Gakkai Headquarters in Tokyo and met with Soka Gakkai Senior Vice President Hiromasa Ikeda. He expressed his gratitude for President Daisaku Ikeda’s efforts to promote friendship between Palau and Japan through people-to-people and educational exchanges. He also expressed his expectations for

On September 26, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Japan, the Japan-China Friendship Association and the Soka Gakkai, among other organizations, launched an exhibition on Chinese premier Zhou Enlai (1898–1976) and Sino-Japanese friendship to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. The launch took place

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,