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Peace Promotion in France
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The
finale of the youth culture festival |
SGI-France (SGF) hosted two major lectures during September. Hédi Bouraoui, professor emeritus at York University in Toronto, Canada, spoke at the SGF Paris Culture Center on September 26, and Prof. Michelle Jacquet, executive board member of the Grenoble "Ecole de la Paix" (School of Peace), which is dedicated to the prevention of violence and the understanding and resolution of conflict, addressed an audience in Lyon on September 27.
In Paris, Professor Bouraoui spoke on "Overcoming Polarization." He pointed out the danger in the view that differences between oneself and others are immutable, and spoke of the need for a philosophy which teaches that differences can be transcended. Professor Bouraoui expressed his agreement with the SGI ideal of "human revolution," whereby people empowered through an inner-directed positive transformation can effect change in society. He said this concept, which requires individuals first to challenge their own weaknesses, represents a way of life that firmly rejects violence.
Under the theme, "Peace and Courage to Believe," a Youth Culture Festival was held in Paris on November 2 with some 2,000 attendants. After the various performances, participants and the audience joined together in singing "The Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's Symphony no. 9 as the finale. Prior to the festival, SGI-France donated relief funds to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for refugees of the civil war in
Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa.
On November 8, an interfaith culture festival was held at the SGI European Center in Trets, France, as part of SGI-France's efforts to promote interfaith understanding. At the festival, SGI-France members and friends, and Christian and Muslim representatives presented songs, music and dances for an audience of 700.
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