Sustainable
development received a new impetus when
the UN World Commission on Environment and Development called for a
new charter – the Earth Charter, to guide it, encouraging
individuals to play a greater role with its key slogan ‘it starts
with one’. Today this charter has individuals from over 70
countries committed to its cause.
Its
principles find a strong reflection in the Soka Gakkai International
(SGI) precepts in the words of its president, Daisaku Ikeda. “A
great human revolution in just a single individual will achieve a
change in the destiny of a nation and, further, will enable a change
in the destiny of mankind.”
The
‘Seeds of Hope’ exhibition has evolved from a partnership of
these two stellar groups and has already been viewed by thousands
across 27 countries in 13 languages. Now travelling through India by
courtesy of the Bharat Soka Gakkai, it makes its first stop in Goa.
“The Seeds of Hope exhibition stresses our interconnectedness with
the rest of the community and the need to broaden our sphere of
compassion and concern. It encourages individuals to overcome
feelings of powerlessness and highlights the fact that a single
individual can indeed initiate a positive change. It also introduces
a positive vision for sustainable living expressed in the Earth
Charter and gives examples of individuals and groups who have
successfully taken action for change from Africa to the Arctic and
Eastern Europe,” explains Ashwini Ragha, representative of the Goa
Chapter of the Bharat Soka Gakkai (BSG)
Twenty-four
panels highlighting these various aspects are in fact based on the
‘Learn, Reflect and Empower’ formula enumerated by Daisaku
Ikeda’s 2002 proposal for education for sustainable development and
is a tool for the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Education.
“The
panels follow an order of presentation,” explains Ashwini. “‘Learn’
highlights the problems facing society in terms of environmental
degradation. ‘Reflect’ is for individual introspection and to
query ‘what can I do to make a change?’ and ‘Empower’ is to
help individuals understand that they too can make a positive change.
‘I Will’ encourages individuals to show how they can make a
change. A blank panel with a simple tree design invites viewers to
attach their own statement/ pledge of what they will do toward
sustainability.”
“The
idea is to plant a thought that each of us can do something. It is
the basic precept of Soka Gakkai to empower people,” endorses
Mumbai representative of the BSG, Devika Punjabi. To cultivate this
understanding in younger minds, school children across the globe have
been the focus of this campaign. “In Goa, over 2,000 children from
42 schools have also been invited to the exhibitions. Special
activity packs with games to get their interest going in this
campaign have also been handed out and we are planning to have a
follow up soon. The idea is to build awareness and sensitise these
young minds to the change they can bring about for sustainable
development,” she adds, envisaging a huge response to the
exhibition in Goa which kickstarted on February 11 at Don Bosco,
Panjim and will culminate on February 13, 2016.
