Harvard University Hosts Exhibition

 

Exhibition helps viewers answer the question: ‘How does one awaken to one’s mission for peace?’

On Nov. 2, 2003, did you hear the youthful voices of elementary school children? The children were some of the engaging presenters at the opening of the exhibition “Building a Culture of Peace for the Children of the World.”

At the opening, the youth recited several poems, one by SGI-USA President Daisaku Ikeda. This poem, titled “Springing from the Earth,” began, “Traveler! / where have you come from? / where are you going?” At a December 2002 conference, titled “Building Cultures of Peace: Moving from Conflict to Dialogue,” at the SGI-USA’s Florida Nature and Culture Center, United Nations Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury spoke about the U.N.’s Culture of Peace program. The inspiration for this exhibition came from that FNCC conference. The exhibition traveled to Barcelona, Spain and Columbia University before coming to Harvard University. In the words of Gary Murie, art director of the exhibition, “This is a growing exhibit for a growing world.” Guests traveled from California and Florida, from the Caribbean and New York, from Germany, South Africa, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Another poem read by the youth members, titled “We Will Be The Ones,” ended with, “We will be the ones to set the standard of respect. / It’s peace that we must make. / We will be the ones to hold it down. / To hold it down. / To hold it down.”

The towering panels of the exhibition promote standards of peace and respect. Like the precious stones and gems of the Treasure Tower, the U.N.’s eight action areas for building a culture of peace are displayed. These action areas are: 1) Fostering a culture of peace through education; 2) Promoting sustainable economic and social development; 3) Promoting respect for all human beings; 4) Ensuring equality between women and men; 5) Fostering democratic participation; 6) Advancing understanding, tolerance and solidarity; 7) Supporting participatory communication and the free flow of information and knowledge; and 8) Promoting international peace and security.

Dr. Michael True, professor emeritus at Assumption College, Worcester, Mass., spoke at the opening. He gave a historical overview of the culture of peace, and cited UNESCO, one of many organizations across the world that are actively involved in building and securing peace. He said, “Peace is our goal, but non-violence is the means by which it will be achieved.” He went on to say that “We are all in this together,” and that our interconnectedness is best described by a Polish poet, who wrote, “We are bound to each other by unknown threads, a stitch of red corpuscles, sewing up the globe.”

Diane Landsberg, the executive director of the Non-Violence Project, USA, announced the appointment of SGI President Ikeda as an honorary chair of the project’s advisory board of directors. The Non-Violence Project promotes nonviolence education for building peace.

Dr. Michael Nobel, cofounder and board chair of the project, and board chair of the Nobel Family Society, delivered the keynote speech. He spoke about the ideas for peace building put forth in President Ikeda’s book . Dr. Nobel asked these questions: “How does each of us awaken to our individual mission for peace?”; “How do we each, as Gandhi encouraged us, ‘become the change we wish to see’?”; and “How do we ignite our own passion and resolve necessary to make a perceptible improvement in the world condition?” He went on to say that our individual answers enable us to make “global footprints for peace.”

The exhibition then opened, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Dr. Michael True; Joy Miller, manager of the Gutman Library; Diane Landsberg; Dr. Michael Nobel; Angela Olivera and Herbie Hancock of the International Committee of Artists for Peace; and Gulshan Saini of the Saini Foundation, which promotes education for disadvantaged people, participated in the ceremony.