Ralph Waldo Emerson once observed that the imagination is not the talent of a gifted few, but the health of a whole society. Yet daily we see evidence of failed imagination‹in our classrooms, in our political leaders, in the violence that endangers our planet.

The Third Annual Ikeda Forum or Intercultural Dialogue was dedicated to empowering our imaginations for social change by exploring connections between life philosophies deriving from literary and cultural traditions in the East and the West.

The Ikeda Forum was named after BRC founder Daisaku Ikeda in honor of his untiring commitment to dialogue as the sure path to peace.

• Click here for program details and suggested reading.
• Click here for the keynote lecture.
• Click here to read the closing poem by Andrew Gebert.

To order your copy of the 2006 Ikeda Forum Report, please contact pubs@brc21.org with your contact information. The report includes a poem by Andrew Gebert, an in-depth summary of the event, Sarah Wider's keynote lecture, photos, and information on the speakers. We will send your copy with an invoice for $7 (including S&H)

The Eleanor Roosevelt Lecture on Global Vision

The culminating event in the Women of Courage Lecture Series
Cosponsored by Wellesley Centers for Women

Was held on the evening of
Wednesday, February 1, 2006

In Our Hands: Human Rights is a Way of Life
A lecture by Shulamith Koenig

Founder and Former Executive Director of the People's Movement for Human
Rights Education (PDHRE)

With a special performance by Elena Dodd
Actress and Co-author of Meet Eleanor Roosevelt

Shulamith Koenig, a self-described "human rights fanatic," believes we need to develop specific cultural habits of being "in community in dignity with others.' According to Koenig, human rights education can transform entire systems in which differences are seen as liabilities into systems where diversity brings richness to our lives. Once people become human rights "claimants", she asserts, they are empowered to make fundamental changes in their daily lives and their communities.

In her talk, this lively educator shared inspirational stories of people committing themselves to human rights as a way of life. She argued that human rights education can essentially redefine gender relations. She also proposed concrete actions we can take at this critical time in history to carry forward Eleanor Roosevelt's global vision.

For an in-depth summary of the lecture, click here.