On April 21, we hosted our first-ever student-led peace dialogue. The topic was nuclear weapons abolition. In preparation for the event, the students had been encouraged by peace educators Betty Reardon and Zeena Zakharia to ask generative questions of themselves and others about nuclear abolition. In so doing, they deepened participants' thinking about the topic and increased their motivation to act. "No one is an expert," said Dr. Reardon. "We are here to learn together!" Click through to read an in-depth report!
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A steadfast commitment to dialogue is first among our core convictions.
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Our signature event is the annual Ikeda Forum for Intercultural Dialogue.
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Members of our community offer perspectives on our core values.
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You can read about all Ikeda Center events at our Themes page.
Building Cultures of Peace Through Learning and Dialogue
Founded in 1993, the Ikeda Center engages diverse scholars and social innovators in the search for the ideas and solutions that will assist in the peaceful evolution of individuals and humankind. To that end, we host events, publish books, and produce original resources for our website. For guidance, Center founder Daisaku Ikeda bequeathed us these three mottos: "Be the heart of a network of global citizens. Be a bridge for dialogue between civilizations. Be a beacon lighting the way to a century of life."
Founding Lecture
Our founding lecture is called “Mahayana Buddhism and 21st Century Civilization.”
Read the lecture »
The Ikeda Center
Learn about the history, mission, vision, values, and people that shape our work.
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Thinkers & Themes
Encounter essays, interviews, lectures, and articles on diverse facets of our work.
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What's New?
The occasion of fifty years passing since the tragic, wasteful assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., has inspired an abundance of valuable commentary on Dr. King's legacy. Chief among the points being made is that it wasn't race or civil rights per se that brought King to Memphis, but a sanitation workers strike.
On March 23 we held our fifth Dialogue Nights event of the series! Attendees watched a documentary, "The Island of All Together," in which tourists and Syrian refugees on a Greek island engage in genuine, heart-to-heart dialogue. Daisaku Ikeda's 2018 peace proposal guided small group discussions that explored questions such as, "How can we embrace and honor our differences and learn to live together?" Thank you to everyone who came out! Click through for more.
On Saturday, March 10, the Ikeda Center’s program coordinator, Lillian I, participated in Massachusetts Peace Action (MAPA) Next Gen’s first event, “Know Nukes.” Lillian joined a panel alongside Max Tegmark from the Future of Life Institute and Michelle Cunha of MAPA to discuss the current state of nuclear weapons, nuclear disarmament, the mentality behind nuclear war and deterrence, and other related topics.
The second of two seminars on nuclear weapons abolition was held at the Ikeda Center on February 10, 2018. Peace educators Betty Reardon and Zeena Zakharia once again facilitated. This time, area university students envisioned paths to the entering into force of the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition on Nuclear Weapons. Click through to read our essay on the seminar, "New Awareness, Visionary Practicality & Nuclear Weapons Abolition."
Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue
396 Harvard Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: (617) 491.1090 Fax: (617) 491.1169