harmony between humanity…

“In more concrete terms, the course of education for world citizens must encompass such currently vital problems as environment, development, peace and human rights.  Education for peace should reveal the cruelty of war, emphasize the threat of nuclear weapons, and insist on the importance of arms reduction.  Education for development must deal with the eradication of hunger and poverty and should devote attention of establishing a system of economic welfare for the approximately 500 million people who suffer from malnutrition today and to the two-thirds of the nations in the world that are impoverished.  Harmony between humanity and the world of nature should be the theme of education in relation to the environment; it is vital to stimulate the most serious consideration to the extend to which nuclear explosions harm the ecosystem.  Learning to respect the dignity of the individual must be the cornerstone of education in relation to human rights.    In all four of these essential categories, education must go beyond national boundaries and seek values applicable to all humanity.  Furthermore, to make possible the attainment of the paramount goal of peace for humankind, activities in all four areas must be conducted in a mutually interrelated fashion.  In other words, world-citizen education must be inclusive, comprehensive education for peace.”   – Daisaku Ikeda, Excerpt from 1987 Peace Proposal