SGI Participates in UN Civil Society Conference in Salt Lake City

The 68th UN Civil Society Conference on Building Inclusive and Sustainable Cities and Communities focused on Sustainable Development Goal 11 and gathered over 4,000 participants from around the world in Salt Lake City from August 26 to 28. During the conference SGI (Soka Gakkai International) organized and cosponsored three workshops.

One workshop held on August 26 titled “Amazon Frontline Report—Challenges and Partnerships for Sustainability in Manaus, Brazil’s Amazonas State” drew 70 people. Tais Tiyoko Tokusato of the Soka Institute for Environmental Studies and Research of the Amazon outlined its environmental education initiatives and Cintia Okamura described a sustainable community project near Manaus being developed by the Soka Institute. Denise Machado Duran Gutierrez of the National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA) also introduced examples of social technology developed together with local people. The workshop was co-organized with the National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA), the Soka Institute for Environmental Studies and Research of the Amazon and the Specialized Court of Environment and Agrarian Issues of Amazonas.

SGI also cosponsored a workshop titled “Cities Must Save Themselves from the Nuclear Weapons Threat” organized by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and another titled “Power of Faith Actors to Promote Resilient Cities & Communities,” together with the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities (JLI), the Unitarian Universalist (UU) United Nations office, and Episcopal Relief and Development. Speakers included Bruce Knotts, director of the UU UN Office, Vanessa Pizer, senior program officer of Episcopal Relief and Development, and Jason Alfonse Fileta, vice president of Tearfund USA.