SGI at Summit of Future in New York
On September 22 and 23, the Summit of the Future was held at the UN Headquarters in New York. SGI youth from Japan, who were part of the Organizing Committee of the Future Action Festival held in Tokyo in March, participated in the summit. Held in preparation for the summit, the festival was organized by SGI youth in Japan along with a coalition of youth-focused organizations.
On the first day of the summit, the committee issued a statement emphasizing the importance of reflecting the voices of young people in decision-making processes, especially in the areas of nuclear disarmament and security. During the Action Days prior to the Summit, the committee collaborated with other organizations to facilitate two side events on nuclear weapons and the climate crisis.
On September 20, the ImPACT Coalition on Faith-based Solutions, which the SGI (Soka Gakkai International) is co-leading, co-organized an off-site side event on the role of faith actors in multilateralism. Ivy Koek of the SGI Office for UN Affairs was the overall moderator. The coalition also issued a statement, titled “From Greed to Deeds—A Call to Action from the Faith Community to Global Leaders,” committing to fulfill the Pact for the Future.
On September 23, Hiro Sakurai, director of the SGI Office for UN Affairs, spoke at “Reflections on the Interreligious Imperative for the Pact for the Future and Multilateralism Based on Human Fraternity.” At the same event, Harumi Endo, program coordinator for Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the SGI, introduced the Soka Gakkai’s initiatives to record and amplify hibakusha testimonies.