Symposium on building sustainable societies held in Delhi

NEW DELHI: With a mission to work toward spreading peace, a symposium titled — 'Value Creation for Global Change: Building Resilient and Sustainable Societies,' was organized by the Bharat Soka Gakkai (BSG) in New Delhi on Tuesday. The symposium focused on Soka Gakkai International (SGI) president Dr Daisaku Ikeda's '2014 Peace Proposal.'

The symposium drew a gathering of over 300 people comprising intellectuals, professionals, educationists and thought leaders. Mr KC Singh, former ambassador and former secretary, ministry of external affairs, in his keynote address said that he felt a deep resonance with the SGI president Dr Daisaku Ikeda's concern over the current social unrest the world over.

"With turmoil in West Asia, the rise of new radical religious forces, stand-off in Ukraine and tensions in East and South China seas, the challenge to global peace is even graver today," said Singh.

At the start of the symposium, BSG chairperson Mr Vishesh Gupta said, "I would like to quote here the words of poet laureate of Denmark, Esther Gress: If you want to change the world you must change man. If you want to change man you must make him want to change. The examples from the lives of Malala Yousafzai, Nelson Mandela, Viktor Frankl, King Ashoka and others which President Ikeda has cited in the 2014 peace proposal are testimony to the fact that when one single individual feels empowered to create hope, brings forth his inner goodness and works together in solidarity with others for a larger altruistic goal, then he or she can create value that has ripple effects in the society empowering many others in the process."

During the course of the symposium, Siddharth Varadarajan, a senior fellow at the Centre for Public Affairs and Critical Theory, Shiv Nadar University, appreciated Dr Ikeda's call for a treaty on the non-use of nuclear weapons and also on their prohibition. He stressed that such agreements would be major milestones in the struggle to rid the world of these dangerous illegal weapons.

Additionally, the guests at the symposium also stressed on the importance of education in the context of violence and conflict experienced by children.

The symposium was called a grand success and the participants agreed upon several topics discussed during the programme.

http://ift.tt/1weIRnQ Gakkai International (SGI),Dr Daisaku Ikeda,Bharat Soka Gakkai (BSG)

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