Blog

Celebrating International Mother Earth Day at the 11th Hour

Society Sustainability

International Mother Earth Day is a chance to reaffirm our collective responsibility to promote harmony with nature at a time when our planet is under threat from climate change, unsustainable exploitation of natural resources and other man-made problems. When we threaten the planet, we undermine our only home – and our future survival. On this International Day, let us renew our pledges to honour and respect Mother Earth.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Message for the International Mother Earth Day 2013

Moving Toward Nuclear Abolition by 2030

Nonviolence Society

My administration's nuclear posture recognizes that the massive nuclear arsenal we inherited from the Cold War is poorly suited to today's threats, including nuclear terrorism. . . .But I believe the United States has a unique responsibility to act-- indeed, we have a moral obligation. I say this as President of the only nation ever to use nuclear weapons.

President Barack Obama's speech at Hankuk University in Seoul on March 26, 2012
 

Building a Dialogical Civilization

Dialogue Society

The UN's designation of 2001 as the Year of Dialogue among Civilizations clearly recognized respect for cultural diversity as a precondition for peace and prosperity in the world. It also symbolized a new way of thinking in person-to-person, group-to-group, nation-to-nation, region-to-region and culture-to-culture relations.

Professor Tu Weiming
Director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute at Harvard University

VOV Exhibition in Cape Cod

Community Nonviolence

I think that the part about violence and anti-violence that most effects me is about being passive and apathetic.  There are only a very few people who commit acts of violence compared to the many that stand by and watch.  I’ve started to realize just how many acts of violence I see everyday, that don’t directly affect me so I don’t take note of them.  What if I tried to do something every time I saw violence?  I don’t actually think I would do that, but it’s something to think about.  Even if everyone only reacted to one thing, it could make a difference.

Reflection from a student at Sturgis East Charter School in Hyannis, MA in response to viewing the SGI-USA Victory Over Violence exhibition

The Promises to Women Made in UN Security Council Resolution 1325 Need to Be Kept

Empowerment of Women Society

Peace is inextricably linked with equality between women and men.

Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury
Former President of the UN Security Council who in March 2000, led the initiative on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on the role of women in peace and security

Peace in the World Is Everybody’s Business

Individual Nonviolence

We have to have dreams, and we must have the capacity to make the dream a reality. When people told me in Ireland, “You can never do this,” I used to say, “Watch my smoke!” Don’t tell me I can’t do this, because I know that every single human being is capable of doing magnificent stuff, and there are no ordinary people.

Betty Williams
Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for her work to bring peace in her native Northern Ireland.

Making Peace Cultures Happen

Nonviolence Relationship

My own understanding of the term peace culture is that it is a culture that promotes peaceable diversity, dealing creatively with the conflicts and differences that appear in every society, because no two humans are alike. It includes lifeways, patterns of belief, values and behavior. It includes the accompanying institutionalized arrangements that promote mutual caring, well-being and the equitable sharing of the Earth's resources among its members and with all living beings. This is what we are working to achieve for the world we live in.

Elise Boulding
From Into Full Flower: Making Peace Cultures Happen

The Future of Waste

Society Sustainability

To eliminate the concept of waste means to design things–products, packaging, and systems–from the very beginning on the understanding that waste does not exist.

From the book "Cradle to Cradle" by William McDonough & Michael Braungart

Biomimicry: A Revolution in Design

Society Sustainability

Biomimicry is learning from and then emulating natural forms, processes and ecosystems to create more sustainable designs.

Janine Benyus
American Biologist Co-Founder of Biomimicry 3.8

For a Sustainable Global Society: Learning for Empowerment and Leadership

Society Sustainability

In support of February 20, the World Day of Social Justice, we would like to share the following timely excerpt from a proposal written by Soka Gakkai International President Daisaku Ikeda on the occasion of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 2012.