|
Okinawa Conference
The Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research
hosted an international conference this February in Okinawa to commemorate
the birth centennial of the Soka Gakkai’s second president, Josei
Toda. Under the theme "Dialogue Among Civilizations: A New Peace
Agenda for a New Millennium," the conference brought together a body
of experts from 10 different countries on the world’s major religions
and civilizations. The keynote speech was delivered by Joseph Rotblat,
president emeritus of the Pugwash Conferences and a Nobel Peace Laureate
in 1995, on the theme "Science and Civilization–Challenges and
Opportunities."
 |
| Representatives
of major religions and civilizations from 10 countries |
In a commemorative message submitted to the conference,
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan spoke of the rising mutual interdependence
of the world’s peoples at the outset of the new millennium. "A
major component of both security and governance is tolerance of those
who are different–of their views, their cultures, their beliefs and
their ways of life. This is the hallmark of all great civilizations and
is essential for a world such as our own in which people of many different
cultures are striving to coexist peacefully."
Mr. Annan continued, "There is a growing global
understanding of the meaning and promise of dialogue and communication.
Indeed, I believe that history should teach us that, alongside a global
diversity of cultures, there exists one worldwide civilization of knowledge
within which ideas and philosophies meet and develop peacefully and productively.
"This is the civilization for which the United Nations
labors every day in every part of the world; it is the civilization which
recognizes that true progress is based on lasting peace and prosperity;
the civilization within which clashes of ideas take place peacefully and
productively. The contributors to this conference will help build this
civilization…"
|
