On July 10, Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to Japan Marieta Arabadjieva visited the Soka Gakkai Headquarters and met with Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada. They discussed President Daisaku Ikeda’s visit to Bulgaria in 1981, when Sofia University conferred an honorary doctorate of Pedagogy and Sociology upon him. Ambassador Arabadjieva remarked on the 40th anniversary of the start, in 1984, of academic exchange between Sofia University and Soka University in Japan. President Harada stressed the importance of cultural and educational exchange in fostering friendship between the two countries.
On June 30, Soka Gakkai in Germany held an open day at its Frankfurt Ikeda Peace Culture Centre. Mörfelden-Walldorf City Mayor Thomas Winkler and some 300 local residents joined the event. Dr. Barbara Krausnick of Soka Gakkai in Germany gave a lecture on tolerance that was based on The Humanist Principle: On Compassion and Tolerance, a dialogue between Dr. Felix Unger, an honorary president of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in Vienna, and President Daisaku Ikeda. The event also featured choral and music performances.
From June 17 to 19, over 30 youth representatives of Brazil SGI (BSGI) and the Soka Amazon Institute participated in the Youth 20 (Y20) Pre-Summit in Belém City, Brazil. In preparation for the 2024 G20 Summit to be held in Rio de Janeiro in November, the youth discussed global challenges, including combating hunger, poverty and inequality as well as climate change, energy transition and sustainable development. The outcome of these discussions will contribute to policy recommendations to leaders attending the G20 Summit later this year.