Better Business
October 2006
Banner photo: Partially Harvested Corn Field/corbis
Chile: Nurturing the Seeds of Peace
Chile is a narrow country that stretches for 4,300 km from north to south, and is an average of 180 km from its eastern to its western border. This unique geography and the diversified climate and culture encompassed between its northern and southern extremes make Chile a distinctive country.
Chileans are proud of their cultural heritage, having given the world two of its great Nobel Prize-winning poets, Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda. Furthermore, in this age of women's empowerment, Chile was, in March 2006, the first South American country to elect a female president.
The first SGI district was formed in March 1974, one year after the country's military coup. It was during the 14 years of this brutal military regime that our organization was forged. For most of this time, we could not freely hold meetings and, under martial law and regulation of the Ministry of Defense, could gather only at the house of our general director. In 1981, however, we opened a center where, although still under various restrictions, members of SGI-Chile began promoting an understanding of the SGI movement in our society.
Peace Through Culture
In 1990, the people's power movement restored democracy in Chile. Three years later, in 1993, SGI President Ikeda paid his first visit to Chile and met with then President Patricio Aylwin, a key figure in the transformation from military rule. During his visit, President Ikeda was presented with an honorary citizenship of Santiago, Chile's capital.
Members of the New Century Band encourage young patients
[©SGI-Chile]
In the new climate of freedom, SGI-Chile was able to promote its activities more openly. Even though we are a small organization, with just 900 members, people in Chile are often attracted to the SGI because they see that our members are bright, vibrant and energetic. They are also impressed that our members believe that they themselves are responsible for their own happiness and have the power to open up and develop their lives.
Cultural activities have been an important means for our organization to reach out to the broader public and communicate our ideals. In 1994 we held the "Dialogue with Nature" photographic exhibition, which attracted some 20,000 guests, and in May 1996 the "SGI-Chile Culture Festival" was held, in which youth members took the lead in staging dance, group gymnastics, music and chorus performances. The famous contemporary Chilean poet, Raúl Zurita, offered a poignant and memorable reading of one of his poems.
SGI women members in Santiago
[©Seikyo Shimbun]
The following year, the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum, founded by SGI President Ikeda, collaborated with the National Museum of Chile to present the "Eternal Treasures of Japan" exhibition in Chile. This exhibition, which was a considerable success, was a part of an event commemorating the 100th anniversary of relations between Chile and Japan. Subsequent public exhibitions include "Dialogue of Humanism: A Network of Hope" held at the University of Santiago in 1999, and the "World Boys and Girls Art Exhibition" in 2000, which was viewed by over 30,000 people.
On a smaller scale, we have also held cultural evenings in the garden of our center, at which guests have enjoyed musical and choral performances.
On their own initiative, the young members of SGI-Chile's New Century Band have been using their skills as a means of encouraging other young people, arranging performances at orphanages and hospitals.
Promoting Nonviolence
School students visit the "A Legacy of Building Peace" exhibition at the University of Talca
[©SGI-Chile]
Our most recent large-scale activity has been the hosting of the "Gandhi, King, Ikeda: A Legacy of Building Peace" exhibition commissioned by the MLK International Chapel of Morehouse College, the alma mater of Martin Luther King, Jr. The topic of nonviolence promoted by the exhibition holds particular significance in light of Chile's modern history, and after the exhibition's initial opening at the National Library in Santiago in 2005, we quickly received requests from several people to hold this exhibit in other venues. As a result, in March 2006, it was held first at Santiago's Central University, and then at the University of the Pacific, where former President Aylwin attended the opening ceremony.
The exhibition was also held at the City Hall of Rancagua city, south of Santiago, and in July, it was hosted by the University of Talca where, as a result of interest by local schools, the exhibition dates were extended considerably.
Currently, violence and drug abuse are problems of increasing concern in Chile, affecting both youth and adults who should be providing a role model for children. It is in light of such social problems and suffering, however, that the existence of the SGI becomes most significant. This is the conviction and responsibility that guide the practice and activities of the members of SGI-Chile.
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