Detailed Timeline of Activities: 2021 - 2024
2021
April 2021
Teachers College Press publishes Hope and Joy in Education: Engaging Daisaku Ikeda Across Curriculum and Context. The book was developed by the Ikeda Center and edited by Jason Goulah of DePaul University and Isabel Nuñez of Purdue University Fort Wayne. More than 20 diverse education scholars contributed chapters, which were divided into three sections: Curriculum and Teaching for Hope and Joy; Hope and Joy in Aesthetic and Emotional Experience; and Seeking Inner Joy and Outer Hope.
April 15, 2021
The Center hosts a Hope and Joy in Education book launch on Zoom, with nearly 300 people from 20 countries in attendance. The Center’s Anri Tanabe moderated a panel discussion with volume editors Jason Goulah and Isabel Nunez, who then responded to questions from attendees. Center Executive Director Kevin Maher offered closing remarks.
March 5, 2021
The first virtual Dialogue Nights is called “Author a New Chapter – You are the Playwright.” Ikeda Center youth committee members Jason Henriksen and Ana Pediet offered personal reflections on the topic. Amanda Gorman’s Inaugural poem, “The Hill We Climb,” was also featured.
May 3, 2021
The 2021 Education Fellows meeting featured Education Fellows Advisory Council members offering feedback and guidance to fellow Alankrita Chhikara of Purdue University on her dissertation.
May 14, 2021
The second virtual Dialogue Nights is called “Unpacking COVID-19: What We Learned, What We Lost, and What We Will Carry Forward.” Center youth ambassador Cam Morose lead a pre-discussion grounding activity.
July 22, 2021
The inaugural Indigo Talk features a lecture, called “Two Bundles of Reeds: (In)evitable Pain, (Im)possible Promise,”followed by Q & A, from Dr. Francyne Huckaby, Associate Dean of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies and Professor of Curriculum Studies in the College of Education at Texas Christian University.
August 13, 2021
The theme for the third virtual Dialogue Nights is “A Conversation on Self-Love: What We Need Now.” Youth committee members Anna Lane and Archish Mittal gave presentations on a self-love project they participated in during the time leading up to Dialogue Nights
October 14, 2021
Hope and Joy in Education is featured as part of the Gutman Library Book Talk series at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Volume editors Jason Goulah and Isabel Nunez were on hand for this virtual event, offering remarks and responding to questions from attendees.
October 28, 2021
The fourth virtual Dialogue Nights is called “Embracing Vulnerability: Our Path to Genuine Growth.” Ikeda Center youth committee members Kip Clark and Sakshi Khurana shared their findings from what the event planning team called “The Vulnerability Project.”
December 11, 2021
The second virtual Ikeda Forum is called “Becoming Wide Awake to Our Wisdom, Courage, and Compassion: Global Citizenship as Action and Identity.” The speakers were:
Jason Goulah, DePaul University, introduction
Awad Ibrahim, University of Ottawa, presentation
Meylin Gonzales, doctoral student, Harvard University, panelist
Seonmi Jin, doctoral student, Indiana University, panelist
Archish Mittal, masters candidate, Tufts University
Handrio Nurhan, doctoral student, Boston University
2022
March 2, 2022
The first Dialogue Nights of 2022 is held virtually with the theme, “Countering Burnout with the Power of Connection.” Ikeda Center youth committee member Giulia Pellizzato lead a grounding activity, premised on the idea that connecting with yourself, body and mind, is an important first step in connecting with others.
May 12, 2022
Johnny Lupinacci, Associate Professor of Cultural Studies and Social Thought in Education at Washington State University delivers the second Indigo Talks, called “Envisioning A Better World Together Through Value Creation, Interdependence, and Creative Coexistence.”
May 27, 2022
The theme for the sixth and final virtual Dialogue Nights was “The Path of Dialogue: Paving The Way to a Hopeful Future.” Before the main dialogue activities, Ikeda Center Youth Committee member Sasha Ndam shared reflections on the practice and importance of dialogue.
July 16, 2022
The first session of the 2022 Global Citizens Seminar featured seven doctoral students engaging with Daisaku Ikeda’s 2022 peace proposal, “Transforming Human History: The Light of Peace and Dignity.” The seminar participants included:
Catia Confortini, Wellesley College, moderator
Jason Goulah, DePaul University, moderator
Divya Chandramouli, Harvard University
Olivia Fitzpatrick, Harvard University
Jonathan Jacob and Masami Tabata-Kelly of Brandeis University,
Toko Itaya, DePaul University
Anna Lane, DePaul University,
Fiona Edwards, University of San Francisco
July 29, 2022
After six virtual iterations, Dialogue Nights returned to a live format with the theme, “Revitalizing Our Relationships: What Does That Look Like Now?” After the icebreakers, Ikeda Center youth committee members Mary Schletzbaum and Jason Henriksen shared their own experiences about how they have been navigating their relationships
August 2, 2022
The second session of the 2022 Global Citizens Seminar brings all the scholars back to discuss central points raised during session one. Matters of agency, dignity, and collective action were discussed.
September 23, 2022
The final Dialogue Nights of 2022 is called “The Courage to Listen: What It Means and Why It Matters.” The evening featured two speakers, Em Floyd and Ikeda Center youth committee member Sakshi Khurana, each offering brief personal reflections on the role and nature of listening in dialogue.
October 14, 2022
Called “Our Stories Matter: Dialogue As a Way of Knowing, Being, and Becoming,” the 18th Ikeda Forum returned to being held in-person. It featured the panelists:
Shirley Tang, University of Massachusetts Boston
Karen Ross, University of Massachusetts Boston
2023
February 17, 2023
The first Dialogue Nights of 2023 tackles the topic, “Bringing Forth Our Greater Self: How Do We Do It?” This theme is central to the Center’s founding lecture: “Mahayana Buddhism and 21st Century Civilization,” which would inspire the topics for all Dialogue Nights of 2023, the Center’s 30th anniversary year. The Center’s Preandra Noel moderates for the first time.
March 31, 2023
Once again drawing from the Center’s founding lecture, the theme for the second Dialogue Nights of 2023 is “Awakening to our Interdependence: How Are We Connected to the World Around Us?” Ikeda Center youth committee members Cam Morose and Giulia Pellizzato presented and dialogued on findings from a week-long “experiment in interdependence” they had recently engaged in.
April 2023
The Ikeda Center hosts “Voices of Hope in a Critical Time: What Role Can We Play to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons?” Along with opening remarks from Dr. Ira Helfand, who is the immediate past president of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, recipients of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize. He also is a board member of Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility. Following Dr. Helfand, two student=activists from Harvard University, Jack Trapanick and Emma Lu, talked about their experiences working for nuclear disarmament.
May 26, 2023
The most challenging aspect of the founding lecture supplied the subject for the third Dialogue Nights of 2023. Called “What Can Death Teach Us About Life? A Conversation,” the event featured moving remarks from Center youth committee member Sasha Ndam.
June 15, 2023
The third-ever Indigo Talks, and the first of 2023, is delivered by Zeena Zakharia, Assistant Professor of International Education Policy at the University of Maryland at College Park. Her lecture is called “Ordinary Solidarities and the Restoration of Humanity.”
June 16 and 30, 2023
The third annual Global Citizens Seminar hosted eight doctoral students for a dialogue on themes from the Center’s founding lecture, “Mahayana Civilization and 21st Century Civilization.” The participants included:
Jason Goulah, DePaul University, moderator
Karen Ross, University of Massachusetts Boston, moderator
Seda Akbiyik, Harvard University
Bailey Buchanan, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Sakshi Khurana, DePaul University
Emily Su Ni Thoman, Brandeis University
Ahmed Zikrallah, M.I.T.
Khong Meng Her, University of Massachusetts Boston
Kim Soun Ty, University of Massachusetts Boston
Linh-Phourong Vu, University of Massachusetts Boston
July 28, 2023
The Ikeda Center’s 2023 Education Fellows seminar convenes on July 28. All three fellows of the current cohort as well as five of six of the advisors are in attendance.
Advisors:
Isabel Nuñez, Purdue University Fort Wayne
William Schubert, University of Illinois at Chicago
Jim Garrison, Virginia Tech
Ming Fang He, Georgia Southern University
Jason Goulah, DePaul University
Fellows:
Da’Veeda McClarkson, Georgia Southern University
Andrea Rehani, DePaul University
Yumi Saito, University of Hawaii
August 4, 2023
This Dialogue Nights asked participants to consider the question: “What Does It Take to Restore Humanity?” Two Center youth committee members, Kip Clark and Anthony Jojola, offered their perspectives on the theme.
September 16, 2023
The 2023 Ikeda Forum for Intercultural Dialogue is called “Dialogues of the Heart: The Role of Literature in Fostering Inner Transformation and Peace.” This 30th anniversary event featured these panelists:
Anita Patterson, Boston University, moderator
J. Ashley Foster, California State University, Fresno
Jim Garrison, Virginia Tech University
Ikea Johnson, Salve Regina University
Sarah Wider, Colgate University
Kenneth Price, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
November 17, 2023
Indigo Talks with Cynthia Dillard
December 8, 2023
The Ikeda Center’s slate of 30th anniversary events concludes with a Dialogue Nights devoted to a topic that describes the heart of both the Center and the Dialogue Nights series itself: “The Courage to Dialogue: The Surest Path to Peace.”
2024
January 22, 2024
The Center hosts a nuclear disarmament seminar that enabled students from Soka University of America (SUA) to engage in dialogue with representatives from Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which won the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize. The 12 students from SUA who were in attendance were students in a collaborative research seminar on disarmament issues taught by Professor Alexander Harang, Senior Peace Researcher at the Ikeda Center.
February 16, 2024
Taking as a given the prevalence of stress in our lives, the first Dialogue Nights of 24 is called “How Can I Respond to Stress in Stressful Times?” During the evening participants were introduced to the main dimensions of stress and the key ways to foster resilience.
April 5, 2024
Called “Navigating Relationships: Can I Really Be My True Self With Others?,” the April 2024 Dialogue Nights featured activities focusing on strengthening the “true self” and testimonials from two Ikeda Center youth committee members, Saloni Dev and Anna Lane.
May 10, 2024
The focus for this event devoted to nuclear disarmament is on the educational dimensions of the endeavor. Conceived by Kentaro Shintaku, then a student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the event featured remarks from two high school student-activists and a panel of distinguished leaders in the field.
Student speakers:
Rishi Gurudevan, Students for Nuclear Disarmament
Eddie Laiche, Students for Nuclear Disarmament
Panelists:Tetsushi Ogata, Soka Institute for Global Solutions, moderator
Alexander Harang, Soka University of America and the Ikeda Center
Ira Helfand, International Steering Group of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapon (ICAN) and Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility
Meira Levinson, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Elaine Scarry, Harvard University.
May 31 and June 7, 2024
The two-part Global Citizens Seminar for 2024 featured seven Boston-area doctoral students engaging with two core texts: Daisaku Ikeda’s 2018 Peace Proposal called “Toward an Era of Human Rights: Building a People’s Movement”; and Sara Ahmed’s article, “Feminist Killjoys (and Other Willful Subjects).”
Moderators:
Elora Chowdhury, University of Massachusetts Boston
Alexander Harang, Soka University of America and the Ikeda Center
Participating scholars:
Abiodun Baiyewu, UMass Boston
Mamfatou Baldeh, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Annie Boniface, Harvard University
James Fisher, Ohio University
Cam Morose, DePaul University
Carla Ribeiro, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
Josh Steinberg, Harvard University
June 21, 2024
The third Dialogue Nights of 2024 addressed the topic: “Are We Really More Connected in the Digital Age?” The Center’s Preandra Noel was joined by summer program intern Lanre Adeyanju, a rising senior at Harvard, in leading the activities.
July 19, 2024
The Center launches a new series called Dialogue Nites Lite, a spin-off of the original Dialogue Nights program, now seven years old. The Lite version features more direct practice with the skills of dialogue as opposed to the investigation of topics, which is the focus of Dialogue Nights. This inaugural edition was co-moderated by Center youth committee members Shoumik Banerjee and Sasha Ndam.
August 24, 2024
Andrea Bartoli delivers the 2024 Indigo talk, titled “Opening Pathways to Peace: The Role of Dialogue in Times of Conflict.” A longtime friend of the Center, Dr. Bartoli is President of the Sant’Egidio Foundation for Peace and Dialogue as well as Executive Adviser of the Soka Institute for Global Solutions at Soka University of America. On the following day, he engaged in a Zoom dialogue on themes from his talk with members of the Ikeda Center youth committee.
September 5, 2024
The September Dialogue Nights is called, “Are We Living In An Era of Anxiety? Let’s Talk About It.” Lanre Lanre Adeyanju, the Center’s summer program intern, lead the main activity on the replacing of negative thoughts with productive ones.
October 2, 2024
The second edition of the Ikeda Center’s new Dialogue Nights Lite series takes place on October 4, 2024. Once again, participants engage in in multiple rounds of “speed connecting” to deepen and sharpen their dialoguing skills.
November 2, 2024
The 2024 Ikeda Forum for Intercultural Dialogue is called “Imagining A World Where Peace Is Possible: Engaging Daisaku Ikeda’s Ideas on Dialogue, Youth Empowerment, and Nuclear Disarmament,” and features presentations presentations, a panel discussion, musical and spoken word performances, and small and whole group dialogue:
Speakers/Panelists:
Lillian Koizumi, Ikeda Center, moderator
Lauren Leigh Kelly, Rutgers University
Emma Pike, Lex International
Eben Weitzman, UMass Boston
Performers:
Dijí Kay and Jeremiah Cossa, music
Lyrical Faith, spoken word