A peace symposium organised in the city on Friday addressed some global concerns of violence, conflict and disregard for human rights, that are plaguing our society.
The symposium ‘Universal Respect for Human Dignity: The Great Path to Peace’ was based on the 2016 Peace Proposal by Soka Gakkai International (SGI) president Daisaku Ikeda who has been formulating a peace proposal every year and submitting it to United Nations.
In his 2016 peace proposal, Ikeda proposed three areas that require prompt and coordinated action from governments and the civil society. His proposals were titled: Humanitarian aid and human rights protection, ecological integrity, and disaster risk reduction. SGI, is a Buddhist association of more than 12 million members spread in 192 countries.
Among the key speakers were Smita Srinivas, Head, School of Economic Development, Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Corinne Kumar, Founder, World Courts of Women; and Ramnath Narayanswamy, Professor Economics and Social Sciences, IIMB who shared their insights on the peace proposal, at the programme organised by Soka Gakkai International’s (SGI) Indian affiliate, Bharat Soka Gakkai (BSG), in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) .
Smita Srinivas focused on issues in economic development and health as a way to respond to the wider concerns that were raised in the proposal on human dignity. She pointed out that a changing world of multilateralism, away from the nation-state, could offer increased opportunities in professional engagement with overt value propositions.
Ikeda, who was conferred with the Peace award from United Nations in 1983, has been striving to formulate peace proposals that go beyond diagnosing obstacles to peace and instead provide solutions that encompass attitudinal changes.
Published 21 October 2016, 19:40 IST