Soka University

Soka University Students Participates in the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates held in Mexico

October 11, 2019

From September 19 to 22 at Mérida City of Mexico, the 17th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates took place in which four students from Soka University attended; Tamy Kobashikawa (Graduate School Doctoral Program, second year), Ayushi Bhawsinghka (Graduate School Master's Program, second year), Alan Maehara (Faculty of Economics, fourth year), and Arisa Yamaguchi (Faculty of Law, fourth year).


The purpose of this annual summit is for Nobel Peace laureates to gather together and discuss the current situations surrounding the world with youth representative groups from around the world. This year, the summit was held in Mexico where there were 1,000 participants from all over the world including the Nobel Peace laureates. This was the 7th time for Soka University students to participate.


Panel discussions and workshops were conducted over the course of three days in which the discussions were held on issues that modern society faces. Lively exchanges of views took place, centering on important themes for building a peaceful society including poverty, disparity, education, human rights, conflicts, and the media.


At the closing ceremony on the final day, a Youth Declaration created based on unanimous support of the youths who participated in the summit was presented. From Soka University, Ayushi and Alan joined in the making of the declaration. The closing ceremony ended with President Ekaterina Zagladina, the sponsor of the summit, sharing her words.


Soka University students who participated in the summit shared the following comments: "Through wonderful exchanges with people around the world, I was able to deepen my understanding of peace and learn a lot about how to carry out dialogue and share our vision to build a peaceful society." "I gained the conviction that if the youth of the world can create solidarity, have compassion for each other, and share our sufferings, world peace can be achieved." "I learned that there is something that I can do to deal with social issues that are right in front of us. I learned the importance of determining that I will become the starting point of change and take action."