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NGO Millennium Forum
The SGI was one of 1,000 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) joining the NGO Millennium Forum, held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from May 22 to 26.
At the request of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, NGOs from more than 100 countries gathered to contribute opinions and ideas for the "We the Peoples Millennium Forum Declaration and Agenda for Action: Strengthening the United Nations for the 21st Century" which will be submitted to the UN Millennium Assembly in September.
SGI representatives contributed ideas to discussion sessions on peace, security and disarmament, focusing on the need for a conflict prevention committee within the United Nations so that conflicts can be resolved before violence occurs. They also stressed the need for a fundamental shift in human values as the change which must underpin all external reforms.
Two side events open to the public were sponsored by the SGI. On May 23, a symposium was held at Columbia University's Teachers College, entitled "From a Century of War and Violence to a Century of Peace and Hope." Speakers included Hiroshima atom bomb survivor Ms. Miyoko Matsubara, Hague Appeal for Peace Director Gouri Sadhwani and Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research Director Majid Tehranian. A moving presentation about the culture of peace and human rights was given by a group of local children, the Renaissance Players.
"Creating Violence-Free Communities" was the title of a May 25 event cosponsored by the SGI and the M. K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence. Held at the SGI-USA New York Culture Center, the panel featured SGI-USA's Victory Over Violence Cochair Yvette Edmond, Nickolai Parker of the Interfaith Center of New York, together with Dr. Raj Ramanathapillai of the M. K. Gandhi Institute and Paul Smith, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, a pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement.
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