SGI Cosponsors Nobel Peace Prize Forum

On December 11, the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, cosponsored by the City of Oslo, the International Forum for Understanding, the University of Oslo and the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), was held at the University of Oslo, Norway.

Titled “Nukes: How to Counter the Threat,” the forum was organized by the Norwegian Nobel Institute and featured 13 expert speakers, including two hibakusha—Masao Tomonaga and Keiko Ogura, who shared their testimonies of the atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi delivered a keynote address. Melissa Parke, executive director of ICAN, and Karen Astrid Hallberg, secretary general-elect of the Pugwash Conferences for Science and World Affairs, each participated in one of two panel discussions held.

On the same day, the University of Oslo, Peacebook and the SGI, in association with the Norwegian Nobel Institute co-organized a High-Level Panel titled “Avoiding Nuclear War: The Case for No First Use.” At the same time, the SGI also organized a youth dialogue between hibakusha and local high school and university students and Soka Gakkai youth.

On December 10, at the invitation of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, SGI representatives attended the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony for Nihon Hidankyo at Oslo City Hall.