Victory Over Violence in Action
The following list includes some of the larger VOV activities that have
taken place throughout the United States and abroad since 1999. In addition,
many smaller group discussions and school meetings continue to go on.
- Over 5,000 small group discussions have been held throughout the
United States.
- 110,000 pledges have been signed.
- Presentations have been given to various city officials around the
country.
- San Francisco youth held a VOV meeting that attracted over 1,000 people
and included 20 Non-Governmental Organizations.
- The mayor of Memphis, TN declared October VOV month.
- SGI-USA youth marched together with the Santa Monica, California Police
& Fire Departments and other youth groups in "Night Out Against
Violence"-a march to unify the Santa Monica community against violence.
- VOV meetings have been held in high schools and colleges throughout
the nation.
- The Victory Over Violence project has received international attention
with requests for information coming from France, England, Turkey, Mexico
and other nations.
- A VOV portable exhibit was created and has been traveling around the
United States since February 2000.
- Members created a VOV booth and participated in the Los Angeles Million
Mom March where over 850 pledges were signed.
- Youth Peace Committee members in New York hosted an exhibit called
"Closing the Gaps to Create Cultures of Peace" which was attended
by Bangladesh's Ambassador to the United Nations, Anwarul Chowdhary.
- VOV project was presented at the Northern California United Nations
Association on May 12, 2000 and at the Creating Cultures of Peace Committee
meeting in April 2000 in San Francisco.
- VOV.com, the Victory Over Violence website, went online in February
2000.
- A Victory Over Violence dialogue entitled, "Fostering Nonviolent
Activism in Youth" was hosted by the YPC and published in the March
2000 issue of Living Buddhism magazine with youth representatives from
the Gandhi Institute, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, the Simon Wiesenthal
Center/Museum of Tolerance, Soka University and the SGI United Nations
office.
- On May 25, 2000, Yvette Edmond, YPC Advisor, spoke about VOV at the
SGI sponsored seminar in support of the Millennium NGO Forum, "Toward
Creation of Violence Free Communities."
- In June 2000, a Victory Over Violence concert featuring Nestor Torres
was held in Puerto Rico, bringing attention to the widespread problem
of youth violence and to encourage youth to live nonviolently.
- In October 2000, the University of Michigan adopted Victory Over Violence
and held a week long series of VOV activities, which included seminars,
panel discussions and culminated in a concert. Guest speakers included
Dr. James T. Yamazaki, author of "Children of the Atomic Bomb."
The governor of Michigan and the mayors of Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan
each proclaimed October 1-7 as Victory Over Violence week.
- In November 2000, Colin Powell's organization, America's Promise,
endorsed Victory Over Violence.
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