Bharat Soka Gakkai Organises The Seeds Of Hope And Action Exhibition For The 41st Time In India

EE News Desk Jan 21, 2023

Bharat Soka Gakkai (BSG), the Indian affiliate of Soka Gakkai International (SGI), on Thursday, mounted the Seeds of Hope and Action (SOHA) exhibition at the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences today, to stress the need for a positive vision for sustainability in line with India's goals to mitigate climate change and alleviate human misery.

The two-day exhibition was inaugurated by Dr M Srinivas, Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Vishesh Gupta, chairperson, BSG. Others present were Dr Subrata Sinha, Dean (Academics) AIIMS, Dr Rama Chaudhry, Dean (Research) AIIMS and Jaya Rao, Head External Affairs, Media and Sustainability, BSG.

The event comes at an important juncture when South Asia has been plagued by disasters such as last year's flash floods in Pakistan and recent cracks that have developed in houses across the hilly area of India's Joshimath.

The exhibition encourages viewers to overcome feelings of powerlessness and highlights the fact that a single individual can make a world of difference to the environment.

It has 25 panels that portray six individuals from South Sudan to Lebanon and Brazil who have successfully taken action for change.

The aim is also to build awareness among the public before world leaders take stock of climate action towards the end of the year at the United Nations Conference of Parties talks in Dubai, where India will play a key role.

Over the last two years, BSG has organised the SOHA exhibition in various institutes in India. It has held 40 such exhibitions across the country in prominent institutes like the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, GD Goenka World Public School, Symbiosis Law School, Kirori Mal College, HDFC School, IIFM Bhopal, Maulana Azad Medical College among others.

The initiative has been inspired by Soka Gakkai International President Daisaku Ikeda’s annual proposals to the United Nations for humanitarian action and education for sustainable development, which has become an important global resource to achieve Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

The recently concluded COP 27 Convention held in November stressed the need to bring the global average temperature rise this century as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

President Ikeda has highlighted in his peace proposal that the goal would be hard to achieve without building public awareness. BSG’s SOHA exhibitions will play a critical part in achieving this vision.