Detailed Timeline of Activities: 2017 - 2020

2017

April 12, 2017
Anita Patterson is a Professor of English at Boston University. In April, she leads a seminar for twenty Boston-area university students called “The Role of Literature in Times of Division.”

June 23, 2017
Led by Center executive advisor Jason Goulah of DePaul University, this internal seminar convenes fourteen leading education professors in an exploration of the state of Soka Education research and practice. Participating scholars were:

Jim Garrison, Virginia Tech University
Namrata Sharma, State University of New York at Oswego
William Schubert, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois Chicago
Isabel Nunez, Indiana-Purdue University Fort Wayne
Kendrick Johnson, DePaul University
Gonzalo Obelleiro, DePaul University
Mind Fang He, Georgia Southern University
Fernand Gervais, Laval University, Quebec, Canada
Melissa Bradford, DePaul University
Ann Diller, Professor Emerita, University of New Hampshire
Nozomi Inukai. DePaul University
Julie Nagashima, University of Pittsburgh
Julie Hrdina, Lesley University

September 2017
Dialogue Path Press publishes Shaping A New Society: Conversations on Economics, Education, and Peace, co-authored by Daisaku Ikeda and the esteemed economist Lawrence J. Lau.

September 27, 2017
The Ikeda Center hosts its first-ever Dialogue Nights event. Dozens of Boston-area university students and young professionals gathered to explore “Soft Power and the Power of Friendship.”

October 14, 2017
Inspired by what peace studies pioneer Betty Reardon calls the alternative thinking exhibited by Mr. Ikeda’s peace proposals, she and Zeena Zakharia of UMass Boston lead the first of two seminars in which university students research and create action plans toward nuclear abolition.

October 25, 2017
The second Dialogue Nights focuses on the theme, “Life to Life Encounters In a Digital World.” As always, the Center’s Lillian I moderates.

December 1, 2017
Nearly fifty young people gather for a Dialogue Nights exploring “The Power of Raised Voices.” The guest facilitator is Ceasar McDowell of M.I.T, a seasoned leader of community conversations.

2018

January 19, 2018
The first Dialogue Nights of 2018 explores the topic, “The Invisible Arrow of Prejudice, War, and Conflict,” inspired by Daisaku Ikeda’s contention that we are hampered by a prejudicial attachment to difference.

February 10, 2018
Betty Reardon and Zeena Zakharia lead the second of two student nuclear abolition seminars. Participating students report on their activities engaging with the public on the prospect of and need for the abolition of nuclear. Planning takes place for the upcoming public seminar on the topic, which the students will lead.

March 23, 2018
The second 2018 Dialogue Nights is called “Learning to Live Together: Rediscovering Our Fundamental Connectedness.” Conversation is inspired by a viewing of “The Island of All Together,” in which tourists engage with Syrian refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos.

April 21, 2018
The Ikeda Center’s first-ever student-led public dialogue event is called “Nuclear Abolition: Claiming Your Right to Live.” During the three-hour afternoon event, they shared ideas, based on their recent research and actions that grew out of the nuclear abolition seminars series, on how all of us can contribute to a revitalized international nuclear abolition movement. The six student-leaders were:

Lizzy Buechel, Northeastern University
Catrina Whitman, Northeastern University
Gladys Chu, Hult International Business School
Yvonne Kloiber, Hult International Business School
Akshita Desore, Lesley University
Melissa Loza, Wellesley College

May 18, 2018
The May 28 Dialogue Nights tackles the Apathy Epidemic. This event is a collaboration between the Ikeda Center and Massachusetts Peace Action (MAPA) Next Gen.

July 27, 2018
Nearly sixty Boston-area young people attend a Dialogue Nights devoted to “Breaking Gender Stereotypes: Revealing Our True Nature.”

September 2018
Dialogue Path Press publishes its final book, Peace, Justice, and the Poetic Mind: Conversations on the Path of Nonviolence, which features Daisaku Ikeda in dialogue with Dr. Stuart Rees, founder of the Sydney (Australia) Peace Foundation.

October 18, 2018
The October 2018 Dialogue Nights confronts our state of social polarization. The organizing theme for discussion is “Creating Hope Together: What Is the Role of Dialogue?”

November 2, 2018
The Center hosts a seminar for established and emerging scholars on the topic: “Dignity In Displacement: A Dialogue Across Educational Communities.” Participating professors and doctoral candidates from their programs who joined them were:

Patricia Kruger-Henney, UMass Boston
Zeena Zakharia, UMass Boston
Nina Kunimoto, doctoral candidate, UMass Boston
Diallo Ferguson, doctoral candidate, UMass Boston
Chris Hall, doctoral candidate, UMass BostonJason Goulah, DePaul University
Nozomi Inukai, doctoral candidate, DePaul University
Ritsuko Rita, doctoral candidate, DePaul University

November 30, 2018
The Ikeda Forum for Intercultural Dialogue returns, with three scholars on hand to explore the topic: “How Do We Practice Human Rights? A Dialogue on Dignity and Justice in Daily Life.” The participating scholars:

Catia Confortini, Wellesley University
Elora Chowdhury, UMass Boston
Jason Goulah, DePaul University

December 14, 2018
The final 2018 Dialogue Nights enagges young people on the topic, “Love: A Force Stronger Than Hate.”

December 2018
In collaboration with George Mason University Press, the Center publishes Peacebuilding Through Dialogue: Education, Human Transformation, and Conflict Resolution. Edited by Peter Stearns of GMU, it features sixteen scholars discussing the many dimensions of dialogue theory and practice.

2019

January 25, 2019
The first Dialogue Nights of 2019 helps participants reconceptualize what it means to fall short of your goals. The evening is called “Failing Forward: Making Your 2019 Resolutions Stick.”

March 29, 2019
2019’s second Dialogue Nights takes up a matter of special concern to Millenials, “The Loneliness Epidemic.” More than 80 Boston-area young people attend.

April 19, 2019
The Ikeda Center celebrates the publication of Peacebuilding Through Dialogue by hosting a seminar exploring a core theme of the book, “The Art of Classroom Dialogue.” Seminar participants:

Steve Cohen, Tufts University
Deborah Donahue-Keegan, Tufts University
Stephen Gould, Lesley University
Jason Goulah, DePaul University

May 17, 2019
Established and emerging scholars re-convene for a dialogue following up on the November 2018 seminar on Dignity In Displacement. This discussion is called “Dignity Re-examined” and considers human rights, social justice, and value-creating contexts. Participating professors and doctoral candidates:

Patricia Kruger-Henney, UMass Boston
Zeena Zakharia, UMass Boston
Elora Chowdhury, UMass Boston
Nina Kunimoto, doctoral candidate, UMass Boston
Chris Hall, doctoral candidate, UMass BostonJason Goulah, DePaul University
Nozomi Inukai, doctoral candidate, DePaul University
Ritsuko Rita, doctoral candidate, DePaul University

May 31, 2019
The May 2019 Dialogue Nights is called “Being Authentic: What Does That Even Mean?” More than fifty Boston-area university students and young professionals engage in structured dialogue on aspects of this topic.

June 21, 2019
The first-ever Ikeda Center Movie Nights event screens The State of Pride, a documentary that reports on the activities of LGBTQ communities nationwide fifty years after the Stonewall uprising. Attendees engage in structured dialogue and listen to testimonials from Swapna Bhide and Andy Reker.

July 26, 2019
Ikeda Center Education Fellows Nozomi Inukai, Michio Okamura, and Vicki Mokuria come to Cambridge for a day-long consultation with members of the Education Fellows Advisory Board.

August 16, 2019
The August Dialogue Nights engages Boston-area young people on the topic: “Friendship: An Antidote to Despair?”

September 27, 2019
The second Movie Nights features American Textures, a documentary portraying sustained interracial dialogues among a diverse group of six young Americans in their 20s. Structured dialogue follows the viewing.

October 25, 2019
The 15th Annual Ikeda Forum for Intercultural Dialogue is called “Can Dialogue Save the World? Exploring the Power of Human Connections.” It is the first-ever youth-led Ikeda Forum. Six members of the Ikeda Center Youth Steering Committee, all Boston-area young professionals, reported on their transformative experiences engaging in sustained intergenerational dialogue with four scholars from the Ikeda Center network: Bernice Lerner, Ceasar McDowell, Catia Confortini, Anita Patterson. The young dialogician-leaders were:

Ana Pediet
Isaiah Moon
Burcu Gulec
Julie Olesky
Leandro Molina
Keegan Stricker
Nandini Choudhury
Prachi Jain

December 13, 2019
The final Dialogue Nights of 2019 is “Millennial Challenge: Appreciating the Uncertain.”

2020

January 31, 2020
The first Dialogue Nights of 2020, and last in-person one before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, is called “We Can Do It! Challenging Fear With Courage.”

April 16, 2020
The Ikeda Center hosts its first virtual dialogue on Zoom. Called “A Time To Reflect & Re-imagine: Creating A Better Future Now,” the event drew 133 participants joining from 16 countries around the world.

June 15, 2020
The Center’s second virtual dialogue is called “Asking Questions Together: What Is Our Path Forward?” The presenters were:

Ceasar McDowell, professor, M.I.T.
Giulia Pellizzato, post-doc, Brown University
Anthony Jojola, masters student, Boston College

July 21, 2020
The theme of the third virtual dialogue is “The Poetic Spirit: Our Power to Reconnect a Divided World.” The panelists were:

Sarah Wider, Colgate University
Isaiah Moon, Ikeda Center youth network
Valentina Frasisti, Ikeda Center youth network

September 25, 2020
The Center’s fourth virtual dialogue is “Climate Hope: Awareness Into Action!” The panelists were:

Breea Governar
Parul Kashyap
Victoria Torkornoo

December 10, 2020
The first-ever virtual Ikeda Forum is called “Overcoming Challenges Through Value Creation.” The scholar and youth presenters  were:

Jason Goulah, DePaul University
Anita Patterson, Boston University
Anna Lane, Ikeda Center youth network
William Moody, Ikeda Center youth network
Vivian Suhanosky, Ikeda Center youth network