Past Events of SGI-UK

Life: Truth, Justice, Dignity

Josei Toda's Great Call for Peace 50 Years On

SGI-UK South London National Centre
Carlton Hall, 1 Bernays Grove, London SW9 8DF

On 8th September 1957, Josei Toda, the second president of the Soka Gakkai (a lay Buddhist movement), made a declaration for the abolition of nuclear weapons, taking an uncompromising stance against this most destructive of humankindʼs inventions.

In his speech he condemned nuclear weapons as an expression of the dark aspect of human life that seeks to subjugate and ultimately destroy others and called on young people to take up the challenge of making nuclear abolition a reality. He urged them to conduct dialogues for peace based on respect for the preciousness of human life.

In September, SGI-UK is holding a public exhibition to commemorate the 50th anniversary of this declaration.

Exhibition - Admission free

8th - 16th September 2007
SGI-UK South London National Centre
Carlton Hall, 1 Bernays Grove
London SW9 8DF

Nearest tube: Brixton
Open daily from 11.30hrs - 20.30hrs

*** As you may know trains on the Victoria Line are suspended between Victoria and Brixton on the weekend. A replacement bus service is avaiable to Brixton over the weekend. Please do not be put off - it only takes 5/10minutes longer and is really clearly sign-posted outside the station. Alternatively you can catch a British Rail train from Victoria directly to Brixton Station.

SGI support staff can direct you from the exhibition (in Brixton) to the replacement bus service back to Victoria.***

By holding this exhibition we want to respond to Josei Toda's great call for peace by inspiring visitors with hope and empowering them with the conviction that every single person has the choice and power to stand up and make a difference through non-violent action.

The exhibition is arranged in sections depicting:

  • The destruction and horror caused by nuclear weapons, including the real-life experiences of Hiroshima survivors
  • Heroes and Heroines of Peace; individuals and organisations across the globe who have made and are making a stand for peace in a variety of spheres
  • The beauty and dignity of life
  • Inspiration for us as individuals to create peace in our daily lives

In addition there will be talks on a range of topics connected to the exhibition (limited capacity, so first come first seated)

 

 

 

 

 



Saturday, 8th September, 15:00
Professor Robert Hinde, Chairman, British Pugwash
"Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and their Consequences"

Sunday, 9th September, 15:00
Fiona Harrow, General Youth Division Leader
"Toda's Declaration & Human Revolution"

Wednesday, 12th September, 18.30
Robert Samuels, General Director, SGI-UK
"Six Paths to Peace"

Thursday, 13th September, 18.30
Michele Lamb, Vice Women's Division Leader, SGI-UK
"Human Rights and Peace: Challenges for a New Century"

Friday, 14th September, 18.30
Dr Jason Hart, Lecturer, Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford
"Child soldiers, child peacebuilders; young lives in war zones"

Saturday, 15th September, 15:00
Kyoko Gibson, Hiroshima Baby
"Kyoko's Living Experience of Hiroshima"

Saturday, 15th September, 15:30
Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe, Director, Cardiff Centre for Astrobiology at Cardiff University
"Life, Peace & the Universe"

Sunday, 16th September, 15.00
Claire Bertschinger
British Advocate for Third World People
"Moving Mountains"

Speakers' Biographies:

Robert Samuels

Robert Samuels began to practice and study Buddhism 30 years ago, following the teachings of the 13th century Japanese Buddhist sage, Nichiren. He has been very active in the development of the lay Buddhist society Soka Gakkai International - UK, and since 1994 has worked at their centre in Taplow, (near Maidenhead). This move brought him to live in High Wycombe with his wife and two children.

He has a degree in economics and economic history from University College, London and did his teacher training at Manchester University . From then he taught for twenty one years in schools in North London, finally as head of the economics department and Senior Tutor in a Sixth Form College.

He has been General Director of SGI-UK since 2002 and is a vice-Chairman of Soka Gakkai International Europe.

Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe

Sri Lankan - born Chandra Wickramasinghe is an internationally renowned astronomer who was a former Fellow of Jesus College Cambridge. Jointly with Sir Fred Hoyle he developed the idea that life is a cosmic phenomenon, a theory that is now gaining acceptance at a rapid pace.

In 1992 he was decorated by President of Sri Lanka with the title Vidya Jyothi, and since then he has been the recipient of numerous international awards. Currently he his Professor and Director of the Cardiff Centre for Astrobiology at Cardiff University in Wales, and Honorary Professor at Glamorgan University. He is the author of many books including Life on Mars? A Journey with Fred Hoyle (2005), The Case for a Cosmic Heritage (1977) and "Space and Eternal Life" a dialogue with SGI President Daisaku Ikeda.

Kyoko Gibson

Kyoko Gibson was born on 29th August 1948 in Hiroshima, 3 years after the dropping of the atomic bomb. At the time of the bombing, her parents, 10 year old sister, 9 year old brother and sister, born in the same week of the atomic bomb, were living within 10 miles of the epicenter.

Kyoko lived and grew up in Hiroshima Japan and became a Soka Gakkai member in 1956 with her family. She later married in May 1969 to Leslie Gibson, moved to the UK in 1977, they now have 3 grown children and 4 grandchildren (with one more on the way!)

Today Kyoko is a retired purchasing manager of a Japanese electronics company and has a Regional leader responsiblity in the SGI-UK looking after Wales and the Borders with husband Les. She is also a committee member of Cwmtwrch in Powys Wales and a keen practitioner of Japanese tea ceremony, flower arrangement, and gardening.

Dr Jason Hart

Jason Hart trained as a social anthropologist in the University of London. In 1993 and 1994 he taught English to young Palestinians in the West Bank. That experience inspired him to focus his subsequent Ph.D research on the lives of children growing up in a refugee camp. Since completing his studies in 2000, he has worked as a consultant for organisations that include UNICEF, Save the Children, CARE International, Plan, and the Government of Canada. As a researcher, trainer and advisor he has traveled widely through South Asia, East Africa and the Middle East. Most of this work has focused on young people living in situations of armed conflict and mass displacement, with the aim of enhancing the support that humanitarian organisations offer to children and youth. In 2002 he joined the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford where he lectures, supervises post-graduate students and conducts research. He has published on issues of humanitarianism, child rights, gender, participatory development, and underage military recruitment. In 2008 his edited volume 'Years of Conflict: Adolescence, Political Violence and Displacement' will be published by Berghahn Books.

Jason has been a member of SGI-UK for the past 20 years.

Claire Bertschinger

Claire is a British advocate for the third world people. 'She was working as an International Red Cross nurse in Ethiopia during the famine of 1984. She was the central figure of a BBC news report, which inspired Sir Bob Geldof to put together the Band Aid charity recording.

Claire was awarded "Woman of the Year" in 2005 and in June this year was awarded with "Human Rights and Nursing Award", from the International Centre for Nursing Ethics (ICNE).

She is currently working at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Professor Robert Hinde

Robert Hinde served as an RAF pilot in World War II. Formerly the master of St. John's College he is the Emeritus Royal Society Research Professor of Zoology at the University of Cambridge. A longtime participant in the Pugwash movement, he is the current chairman of British Pugwash. He is highly regarded for his work in biology and psychology and has also written extensively on the causes of wars. He has lectured in Europe, the Americas and South Africa, has held the Hitchcock Professorship at the University of California, Berkeley, and is an honorary Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences.

He is the author and editor of numerous books, including:

  • Cooperation and prosocial behaviour (Ed. with Jo Groebel). Cambridge University Press, 1991.
  • The institution of war (Ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992.
  • Relationships: a dialectical perspective. Hove, East Sussex: Psychological Press, 1997.
  • Why gods persist: a scientific approach to religion. London: Routledge, 1999.
  • Why good is good: the sources of morality. London: Routledge, 2002.
  • War, no more: eliminating conflict in the nuclear age (Ed. with Joseph Rotblat). London: Pluto Press, 2003.
  • Joseph Rotblat: Visionary for Peace. (Ed with R Braun, D Krieger, H Kroto, S Milne). Wiley-VCH, 2007

Fiona Harrow
General Youth Division Leader - SGI-UK

Perhaps rather unconventionally for the UK in the 1970's, Fiona was brought up in a Buddhist household. Her mother, Frances Harrow started to practice Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism in 1976 and, in a very natural way, by her own actions, taught Fiona the fundamental principles of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism such as; the action of respecting every single individual; and that we can choose in every moment how to live.

Although Fiona knew how to chant from an early age she decided to start actually practicing Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism when she was 16 years old, she is now in her thirties. Fiona has declared (what she would describe as) tremendous gratitude to her mother, the SGI and Daisaku Ikeda (SGI President) for the fact that she has met and had the opportunity to practice this Buddhism and through it create a wonderful fulfilling life.

Fiona is a Government official for the Ministry of Justice working specifically in the victim and witness arena of the Criminal Justice System.

Michele Lamb
Vice Women Division Leader SGI-UK

Michele joined SGI in 1980 and is currently editor of SGI-UK's magazine The Art of Living. In 2005 she completed an MA in human rights and is currently in the final year of her PhD which examines the influence of human rights on peace building in post-conflict Northern Ireland. Since 2006 she has also lectured in human rights at the University of Essex.