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The annual exhibition “Tūmanako! Children's Art Works for a Peaceful World,” organized by SGI-New Zealand, has been held in five cities across the country since the beginning of August and will open in Pāpāmoa, Tauranga, later this month. This year’s theme is based on a Māori proverb expressing how a single seed of thought can grow into a forest of peace. The Tūmanako! (meaning “hope” in Māori) exhibition was first launched in 2015 to mark the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

On September 6, the Soka Youth General Meeting 2026 took place at the Soka University Auditorium in Tokyo, bringing together youth from across Japan and 250 Soka Gakkai youth leaders from 55 countries and territories around the world. The theme “Starting from Me” emphasized that transforming the times begins with each individual taking action, a first step toward change. Making the meeting a springboard for new beginnings, youth from Côte d’Ivoire, France, Japan, Thailand and the US shared their determinations and goals for the future. Members from the Dominican Republic and Japan gave their faith experiences, sharing how Buddhist practice had helped them overcome challenges and move their lives in a positive direction. Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada and Masami Nasu, women’s leader for Japan, also attended the meeting.

On August 31 and September 1, the Amazonian Youth Summit was held at the Soka Amazon Institute in Manaus, Brazil. The summit was jointly organized by The Club of Rome, the Earth Charter International (ECI), the Soka Amazon Institute and the SGI (Soka Gakkai International) and was part of “It’s Time for a Human Revolution,” a joint project between The Club of Rome and the Soka Gakkai.

The event included youth discussions and presentations and a panel discussion on human revolution, the inner transformation of individuals, and climate change. Panelists included Mirian Vilela, executive director of the ECI, Silvia Zimmermann del Castillo, co-president of The Club of Rome, João Carlos Jr., executive director of the Soka Amazon Institute and Nobuyuki Asai, director for Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the SGI.

On August 19, the "Seeds of Hope & Action: Making the SDGs a Reality" exhibition, a joint initiative of the Earth Charter International and the SGI (Soka Gakkai International), was held at Sarvodaya Vidyalaya No. 3, a public school in New Delhi. Organized by Bharat Soka Gakkai (BSG), it was the 300th showing of the exhibition in India. Since 2021 when the exhibition began touring India, it has been shown in 25 cities and viewed by more than 170,000 people.  

Read “In Pursuit of a Sustainable Future: Bharat Soka Gakkai’s SDG Campaign” for more about BSG’s initiatives for the Sustainable Development Goals and how Soka Gakkai members in India are contributing.