Living Oceans
April 2010
Banner photo: Orange Anthias and Coral, Egypt [© David Doubilet]
At the Parliament of the World's Religions
The SGI's "Transforming the Human Spirit" exhibition draws attention to nuclear issues during the Parliament [© SGIPR]
SGI representatives from Australia, Japan and the United States participated in the Parliament of the World's Religions, the world's largest interfaith gathering, held in Melbourne, Australia, from December 3-9.
An SGI-sponsored panel discussion on December 7, titled "Nuclear Weapons Abolition: Responses and Advocacy by Religious Communities," raised the call for moral leadership by the world's religions in the effort to abolish nuclear weapons. Speakers included Dr. Sue Wareham, former president of the Medical Association for Prevention of War (Australia) and board member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), and Ibrahim Ramey, director of human and civil rights of the Muslim American Society's Freedom Foundation.
SGI Program Director for Peace Affairs Kimiaki Kawai outlined the organization's efforts to strengthen grassroots momentum toward nuclear abolition through its "People's Decade for Nuclear Abolition" initiative, stating that it is imperative that civil society organizations take the lead in generating a global groundswell of public opinion and getting this message heard by policy makers.
Other speakers included Paul Morris, professor of religious studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, who contributed a Jewish perspective, and the Rev. Dr. Wes Campbell, chaplain to the University of Melbourne for the Uniting Church in Australia.
On December 6, during another panel on nuclear disarmament, Judge Christopher Weeramantry, former judge of the International Court of Justice, spoke about the threats posed by nuclear weapons, stating that the only way to abolish nuclear weapons is to generate public consciousness of this agenda. SGI Executive Director for Peace Affairs Hirotsugu Terasaki concurred, saying that the time is right for increased efforts toward nuclear abolition in the run-up to the May 2010 NPT Review Conference.
The SGI's antinuclear exhibition "From a Culture of Violence to a Culture of Peace: Transforming the Human Spirit" was shown at the Melbourne Convention Centre during the Parliament.
SGI-Australia members displayed their "Dark to Dawn: Being Creative About Depression" exhibition and held a seminar on this theme on December 4. SGI-Australia General Director Greg Johns related his experience of depression and of supporting many people with depression as a result of being able to empathize with their suffering. In this way, he was able to transform the value of his own experience of depression through encouraging others. He emphasized the value of dialogue, and how it is a creative process that can help transform the meaning of depression in someone's life and enable them to find a sense of purpose.
On December 5, a symposium sponsored by the Earth Charter Task Force on Religion, Spirituality and Ethics was held. Hiro Sakurai, SGI representative to the UN in New York, introduced the SGI's activities based on the Earth Charter.
The Parliament of the World's Religions, which takes place in a different location every five years, brings together over 8,000 representatives of a wide array of faiths to build bridges and address global issues.
