Soka Gakkai International to Support Nobel Peace Prize Forum and Youth Dialogue with Hibakusha in Oslo

Soka Gakkai

On December 11, following the December 10 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to award Nihon Hidankyo, the Nobel Peace Prize Forum will take place at the Oslo University Aula. Organized by the Norwegian Nobel Institute, this year the forum is cosponsored by the University of Oslo, the City of Oslo, Soka Gakkai International (SGI) and the International Forum for Understanding.

Titled "Nukes: How to Counter the Threat," the public forum (10am to noon CET) will feature thirteen expert speakers including two hibakusha -- Masao Tomonaga, director emeritus of the Japanese Red Cross Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Hospital, and Keiko Ogura, founder of Hiroshima Interpreters for Peace -- as well as three Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada comments, "The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Nihon Hidankyo inspires us all to work harder for nuclear weapons abolition. We hope this Forum will see deep dialogue that appeals to the hearts and consciousness of citizens around the world, especially youth."

Other participants include IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, ICAN Executive Director Melissa Parke, Pugwash Conferences for Science and World Affairs Secretary-General-elect Karen Astrid Hallberg, renowned scholars and peace activists and a Butoh dancer.
See https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nukes-how-to-counter-the-threat-1/
Five hundred people will attend the Forum in person, and SGI is also cohosting the Facebook live: https://youtu.be/YpM2jO6PK7s

The afternoon will see a High Level Panel titled "Avoiding Nuclear War: The Case for No First Use," co-organized by the University of Oslo, Peacebook and SGI, in association with the Norwegian Nobel Institute. Aimed at risk reduction and confidence-building, the workshop will bring some of the same speakers together with other experts for in-depth discussion under the Chatham House Rule.

In parallel, SGI will organize a Youth Dialogue with Hibakusha at the University of Oslo, involving Dr. Tomonaga and Ms. Ogura together with local high school and university students and SGI youth members in Oslo.

The Soka Gakkai began gathering survivors' testimonies in the early 1970s and has produced numerous related resources:

- Video testimonies of women hibakusha with original Japanese audio and subtitles in Japanese, English, Chinese (trad. and simpl.), Spanish and French
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy675AMN4zE&list=PLY61xqKoCKar6KmGgiHTa4JCXbgui9Uh8

- Video testimony of Keiko Ogura in English
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNh1ceijtig&list=PLY61xqKoCKar6KmGgiHTa4JCXbgui9Uh8&index=9

- Downloadable book Hiroshima and Nagasaki: That We Never Forget containing 50 testimonies in English
https://un-sgi.files.svdcdn.com/production/assets/downloads/Hiroshima-and-Nagasaki-book.pdf?dm=1649103308

The Soka Gakkai Buddhist organization has promoted nuclear weapons abolition for over 60 years as part of its activities to promote the culture of peace. SGI President Daisaku Ikeda (1928-2023) put forward detailed proposals for nuclear abolition in his 40 annual peace proposals and issued three statements calling for No First Use in 2022 and 2023. The Soka Gakkai International (SGI) is a global association linking Soka Gakkai organizations around the world and an NGO accredited with UN ECOSOC.

Source: Soka Gakkai

Contact:
Chie Sunada (available in Oslo from Dec. 8)
+81-90-1031-6905 (WhatsApp)
sunada[at]soka.jp

Yuki Kawanaka
+81-80-5957-4919
kawanaka[at]soka.jp