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From November 10 to 21, SGI (Soka Gakkai International) representatives participated in the 30th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP30) in Belém, Brazil. On November 11, the SGI co-organized two side events. The first, organized with the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO), Brahma Kumaris and Quaker Earthcare Witness (QEW), focused on the role of ethics and faith in strengthening climate action. The second focused on youth leadership in the integration of the ancestral knowledge of Indigenous peoples in sustainable responses to the climate crisis and was held together with Tzu Chi Foundation and Religions for Peace. Flore Ghetti, program coordinator for Environment and Sustainability, and Youth of the SGI Office for UN Affairs, moderated both sessions, and João Carlos Jr., executive director of the Soka Amazon Institute, also spoke at both events. 

On November 16, Masahiro Yokoyama, program coordinator for Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the SGI, delivered a presentation at an interfaith event calling for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. The event was co-organized by Green Faith, Laudato Si' Movement, Brahma Kumaris and the SGI.

On November 17, Be the Hope Foundation, an affiliate of Soka Gakkai Italy, cohosted an event titled “Learning, Reflection, and Empowerment for Climate Action: A dialogue on challenges and best practices,” at which Ms. Ghetti spoke.

From November 4 to 6, the Second World Summit for Social Development was held in Doha, Qatar. The summit brought together world leaders to reaffirm commitments to the Copenhagen Declaration made at First World Summit for Social Development in 1995, with the aim of building societies that are more resilient, inclusive and sustainable. On November 5, at the summit’s Civil Society Forum, Ivy Koek, program coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment of the SGI Office for UN Affairs, facilitated a session on designing cohesive societies. On November 6, Ms. Koek joined the forum’s closing panel, where she spoke about the role of faith-based organizations in bridging divides, building the culture of peace and fostering community resilience. On the same day, Kiyoshi Akasu, program coordinator for Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the SGI (Soka Gakkai International), spoke at another side event on empowering communities with a focus on poverty eradication.

Prior to the Summit, on November 3, the SGI co-organized a virtual side event on human rights education as a solution to support social integration and advance gender equality. Elisa Gazzotti, program coordinator for Human Rights Education of the SGI Office for UN Affairs, introduced the documentary “Changemakers: Stories of Young Human Rights Educators,” jointly developed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Amnesty International and the SGI.

On October 26, Soka Gakkai of Paraguay held a peace festival at its culture center in the capital city of Asunción. The youth-led event featured performances including choirs, band music, Paraguayan dance, Japanese taiko drums and visual art that aimed to encourage dialogue and reflect on the dignity of life. The event was declared of cultural interest by the National Secretariat of Culture and the Chamber of Deputies of Paraguay. Guests in attendance included Rector Sanie Romero de Velázquez of the Ibero-American University in Paraguay and Dr. Stella Maris Morena de Solis, former dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at National University of Asunción.

On October 21, SGI-Bolivia held a general meeting at its center in Santa Cruz. The meeting brought together some 400 members from across the country. SGI General Director Yoshiki Tanigawa and SGI Youth Leader Mitsuo Nishikata attended the meeting at which new leadership appointments were announced: Toshihiro Nakajima as general director, Carlos Contreras as men’s leader, Atsushi Sasaki as young men’s leader and Mariana Ugarte as young women’s leader. 

On the same day, marking the 200th anniversary of Bolivian independence, a ceremony was held at which a replica of Bolivia’s Declaration of Independence was awarded to SGI-Bolivia by the House of Liberty, a historic building where independence was declared on August 6, 1825. The replica recognizes the longstanding contributions of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) and President Daisaku Ikeda to peace and education.

On October 19, Brazil SGI also held a general meeting at its Campestre Culture Center in Itapevi in the state of São Paulo. Mr. Tanigawa and Mr. Nishikata were in attendance.