The Sustainability Summit is an annual event organized by the Xavier School of Sustainability (XUB). This year, the 2nd annual XUB Sustainability Summit – 2016 was held at XIMB campus and XUB Xavier City Jatni campus, during August 11-13, 2016. The theme of this year’s summit was Energy, Peace and Global Governance.

With 156 speakers and delegates, the 2nd Annual XSoS Sustainability Summit 2016 was inaugurated on 12th August, 2016, at Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar. His Excellency Dr. S. C. Jamir, Hon’ble Governor of Odisha, inaugurated the summit and presided over the event as the Chief Guest. The other distinguished personalities who graced the occasion were Shri. Upendra Tripathy, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India, Mr. Anup Sahay, Chief, Corporate Strategy & Planning, Tata Steel, Mr. P S Narayan, VP & Head, Sustainability, WIPRO and Ms. YumiBae, Chief, Field Office, UNICEF, Bhubaneswar.

International visitors from USA, Indonesia, Malaysia, Qatar and Dubai participated in the Summit. Representatives from leading corporates, Government and Non-Government Organisations like UNGCI, GRI, & UNICEF also participated.

One of the highlights of the summit was the ” Seeds of Hope” Exhibition. Through its use of the powerful visual medium, the ‘Seeds of Hope’ exhibition – consists of a visual documentary on the importance of “Learn, Reflect and Empower”. The initiative comprises of an exhibition of 24 panels, each professing 24 ideals that inspire and proliferate sustainable living and sustainable development practices.

In her address to the students, Ms Vandana Jain, Head of Educators Division, Bharat Soka Gakkai expressed her hope that the exhibition touched chords with the enthusiastic students’ community. She appealed to the students to take the message forward, since the youth are the ones with the power to bring about much needed change in societal trajectories.

Vice Chancellor XUB & Director XIMB Prof. Dr. Fr. Paul Fernandes stressed on the importance of addressing ecological and sustainability concerns necessary for people to live extraordinary lives” Dean XSoS, Prof S Peppin said “We are humbled by the overwhelming response to this Summit and for development to be truly sustainable, we need a different global order that promotes peace and equitable consumption of energy and natural resources”.

The Panel of guests at the opening ceremony consisted of the Vice Chancellor of Goa University, Dr Satish Shetye, Chief Guest Professor Edgar Ribeiro (Head of Task force for Regional plan of Goa), Dr M. Srikanth (Associate Dean International Programs and Collaborations, BITS Pilani) and Dr Subodh Kerkar (Renowned Installation artist).

The inauguration was also attended by 60 young students of Auxilium school called the “Eco group”. The panels of guests were very impressed with the efforts of the Bharat Soka Gakkai in Goa and happy to be a part of an exhibition that was raising awareness.

Professor Edgar Ribeiro said, “He states the Buddha, that not by birth but by conduct does one become a person worthy of respect. A Buddha is one who brings the power and compassion of enlightenment from within oneself and therefore is at peace with its environment.”

BSG representative, Devika Punjabi in her vote of thanks appreciated the panelists for their insights. She also thanked Don Bosco School and BSG members for their tireless efforts.
The next two and half days saw 2267 visitors viewing the exhibition. The “I WILL” Panel of the exhibition was overflowing with post-it notes making pledges to make personal contributions in making a change for the world. One of the most heart warming notes written by a student was, “First I want to clean myself, then slowly I want to clean my country and then the whole world. I want to protect the environment!” Some of the visitors, especially the teachers, who wrote in the visitor book also expressed themselves with heartfelt thoughts such as “Thank you SGI for making our children aware of their responsibilities.”

One of the visitor said, “ The Exhibition was an eye-opener and encourages us to do something for our environment. To become a front-runner and not wait for the other person to take initiative. A good effort!”

The film “A Quiet Revolution” was also screened at the exhibition. The exhibition also received extensive coverage in the local newspapers.

Speaking on the occasion, the administrative head of JBM Global School, Dr. (Mrs.) Seema Bhandari said, “The thought behind the panels is mystically very much in sync with our school’ endeavor of Greenofest that was conceptualized in 2008, and moves around sustainability and preservation of the Mother Nature.” She also emphasized on the fact that even if 10 percent of the children could change their heart and develop a clear understanding towards the theme of this exhibition then, “I will be very happy because that way, they will be taking home something for life.”

A senior citizen Mr. Jay Prakash admitted that “we have got tired of trying to reiterate the importance of interconnectedness. But this exhibition is simply and effectively driving home the point again. I am very happy to see this.” A student of the school felt very strongly about a need for preservation and said that he now feels more assured that “the action of one person can actually make a difference.” Mirroring his thought another student remarked that he will definitely try and do “my bit”. He agreed to one of the volunteer’s suggestion of looking after birds in his environment by creating small watering holes for them in his vicinity.

The students took active part in explaining each of the panels and went all out to explain the deep message of human interconnectedness and need for preservation.

The final day was marked by the presence of District Magistrate of Greater Noida, Mr. Nagendra Prasad Singh who appreciated this effort being made by Bharat Soka Gakkai and wished that the youth would be able to move towards “such positive thoughts.”

The principal of the school, Ms. Sarita Madhok said she’s very glad that her school organised this exhibition. The exhibition was scheduled to open so that it can coincide with the Earth Day, as it’s the tradition with Environment club of the school to conduct environment related activities to celebrate it.

She added that it’s difficult to catch the attention of the young adolescents to think and act on such topics of grave importance, and hopes that the students will definitely learn from this exhibition.

The students themselves were explaining various panels of the exhibition and many shared that it was a turning point in changing their thinking about what an individual can do to contribute to the environment and related issues.

The head of the BSG’s education division, Dr. Ashok Arora, said on the occasion, that youth are the soil from where the ideas of change germinate. In his address to the school children, he emphasised that how youth should strive to be the harbinger of positive change and it needs only one person to achieve it.

Mr. Rajender Singh (Winner of Stockholm Water prize 2015 and Ramon Magsaysay 2001 awardee) inaugurated the exhibition and took the audience (including school children) through a visual presentation recording his team’s work in various villages of Rajasthan on water harvesting and conservation over 30 years. He said, “It takes only one individual to stand up and make a difference,” and advised the children that “once you have made a vow to bring about a change, work on it to the end.”

During the exhibition, the award winning film on individuals working in their local communities for the cause of environment – A Quiet Revolution, was shown several times.

Many inter-school activities were organised for children such as poetry writing, slogan cum poster making, painting competitions, based on the theme ‘Seeds of Hope- initiating positive change to protect environment’.

Ms. Sonia Luthra, principal, ASN said, “We hosted Seeds of Change exhibition in 2009 with the BSG and it was a good learning experience. This time we approached them for another such activity and we were shown a couple of panels of SOH. I was so inspired by it and Dr. Ikeda’s thoughts that I immediately wanted our school to host it. ASN is already a part of many environment and community welfare programmes and SOH is a very educative and awareness-creating experience that would help our children.”

Over 3300 people viewed the exhibition over the three days.

Prof. Sharma lauded President Ikeda’s work and actions towards peace, especially his work in the area of education. He also applauded the efforts of BSG and SGI for taking such initiatives for betterment of society.

The six-day exhibition, which had panels in both English and Hindi, had a footfall of 8,653, including nearly 4,300 students from 56 schools and colleges, and eminent persons, including Mr. Vijay Bakaya, former Chief Secretary; Prof. Meenakshi Kilam of Jammu University; Mr. Mehbood Beg, former Member of Parliament; and Ms. Sarla Kohli, social activist. They praised this BSG initiative which has come in the wake of the suffering of the people after the torrential rains and disastrous floods in September last year and the long period of unrest and violence.

The film ‘A Quiet Revolution’ was also screened during the exhibition and was appreciated by all.

The mayor of Meerut, Mr. Harikant Ahluwalia, was accompanied by his wife Mrs. Anupama Ahluwalia. Future division members welcomed them with saplings and a copy of A Forum for Peace, a collection of SGI President Ikeda’s annual peace proposals. Also present at the event were the deans and faculty members of the Vidya Knowledge Park, including the dean of Student Affairs, Mr. Rohit Khokhar, and the dean of the Institute of Fashion Technology, Dr. Reema Varshney.

The welcome address was delivered by Dr. Purnima Gupta, BSG representative in Meerut. The BSG’s FD and YD members performed a vibrant dance to the song ‘Dawn of India’. The SGI film A Quiet Revolution was screened after the inaugural ceremony.

Impressed by the exhibition, the mayor said that youth are capable of accomplishing anything, but utilise barely a quarter of their unlimited abilities—all they need is firm resolve. While 90 percent of the citizens think only of the needs of their families, they should be awakened to issues in the world beyond their homes. That is why exhibitions such as Seeds of Hope should be shown to the masses. He hoped that the BSG would work towards educating children living in slums children and offered all necessary support in that endeavour. This is how the “seeds of hope” are sown.

The vote of thanks was delivered by Ms. Shama Bhargava.

Nearly 200 guests, including pupils from two schools, visited the exhibition on the first day. The children and their teachers enjoyed and appreciated the exhibition and the activity corner created for them.

Samarth Rajvanshi of 7th grade declared, “People throw plastic water bottles out of their car windows on highways. We can start with one step. There should be dustbins even on the roads.”

Eighth grade class teacher Anjali Bhat said she “loved” the exhibition, particularly the words of Mahatma Gandhi on the ‘You Can’ panel: You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.” She said, “I’ll try to implement the suggestions from the exhibition in my life, and the children will then automatically implement them their lives. That will have an impact on the children.”

The exhibition was on display till 20 January.

The head of the BSG’s education division, Dr. Ashok Arora, said, “The most important section of this exhibition is on ‘What can I do?’ and ‘What will I do?’ that shows individuals who have made a difference. There are concrete ideas of what one person can do.”

The associate professor of JMC’s economics and commerce department, Dr. Mani A. Nandhi, convener of the Green Society, said: “What each one of us does reflects on our society. When I interacted with some of those in the BSG and got to know about this exhibition, I was very keen because what our students need is information with substantive support. All the panels present information with background support and case studies which students can understand. This is the kind of awareness building we want, what kind of damage we are doing to the environment without being aware of it. The next Green Society initiative is to make students clean up the campus and another one on the radiation effects of cell phones.”

Viewers at the exhibition were moved by the 30-minue documentary film A Quiet Revolution screened after the inauguration ceremony. The central theme of the film is that one individual has the power and the responsibility to change the world.

After viewing the exhibition, the student in-charge of the Green Society, Ms. Stella George, a third-year Economics (Hon.) student, “I actually opened my notebook and started writing down the quotes from the panels, they are beautiful. I hope all of us spread this idea, that this planet is ours and so we must take care of it, to our families and in our neighbourhood. I am motivated by the exhibition. If we do even a little, one person can make a difference.”

Responding to the ‘You Can’ section panel which suggests, “Look at your own life: Think before you buy—do I really need this?”, second-year BA Economics (Hon.) student Akanksha Bansal decided on the spot: “I will think twice before I buy anything. I will try not to waste things.”

The exhibition was exhibition was inaugurated by Dr. L.N Bhagat, the Vice Chancellor of Ranchi University. Dr. Bhagat said that the holding of exhibition is a commendable step towards promoting protection and conservation of nature in the area and this can play a pivotal role in uniting the people and the community at large. Guest of Honor Mr Bulu Imam, a renowned environmentalist and nature-activist added that change can only be caused by an honest effort at the individual level. The inauguration was attended by about 600 people.

Also present was Dr NP Singh, the Chairman of SN Sinha Institute of Business Management. Dr. Singh stressed on the great efforts of SGI President Daisaku Ikeda to promote peace, culture and education in the world. He expressed his deep appreciation for President Ikeda’s efforts and remarkable contribution in creating a new wave of selfless, capable people working for world peace.

BSG members offered seeds of Amaltas, Gulmohar, Neem etc to each visitor and also, saplings to various schools of the city, which were provided by the Birsa Agricultural University and Environment department of C.C.L. The Vice chancellors of Utkal University, Odisha, VC of Birsa Agricultural University, Bureaucrats, Police Officers and high officials of CCL and several environmentalists visited the exhibition and appreciated the efforts of BSG.

Also worth special mention are the visits by Deepshikha, an organization supporting autistic children, and Cheshire Home, a home for physically challenged children. The exhibition touched their hearts and they felt great pleasure to watch the film “A Quiet Revolution”.

The exhibition was attended by over 9000 people from all walks of life.

BSG was invited by Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to participate in the conference organized by them at The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, on 12 June 2014 and put up the exhibition Seeds of Hope: Visions of sustainability, steps toward change as part of the event. GRI felt Seeds of Hope would be a source of encouragement to the 180 delegates from India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan who would attend the conference.

The Seeds of Hope exhibition, a joint initiative of Soka Gakkai International (SGI) and Earth Charter International, introduces a vision for sustainable living expressed in the Earth Charter, and gives eight examples of individuals and groups, from different countries, who have taken action for change.

The delegates-thought leaders from business, civil society, government and social services-discussed the relevance and implementation of sustainability reporting, particularly in light of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed by the UN.

The award-winning SGI documentary A Quiet Revolution, featuring individuals who have worked to solve local environmental problems, was screened for GRI delegates on 11 June, the first day of their two-day Regional South Asia Conference in Mumbai. Seeds of Hope, sponsored by GRI, was shown on the second day as part of the programme that offered a platform for sharing and discussing strategies for systematic sustainability reporting in order to fulfil SDGs.

Makiguchi on the three levels of citizenship

During the first session of the second day, a short film made by BSG was screened, introducing BSG and SGI to the GRI delegates, showing them what the Soka organisations are doing in the field of sustainable development.

Following the film, BSG director Vinay Jain spoke about Soka philosophy and the Buddhist concept of dependent origination. He said:

At the centre of all of SGI and BSG’s endeavours is the core Buddhist belief of dependent origination: that all life is interrelated, interconnected and mutually supporting. Foremost amongst the values we seek is a profound reverence for life itself. It is only through such a sense of respect and reverence, according to Buddhism, that people can awaken to a sense of connection not only with all the forms of life with whom we presently share this planet Earth, but also with future generations.

Soka Gakkai’s founding president, the prominent educator Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, based his radical teaching methods on a close study of the relationships between people and their immediate environment. He stressed that we, as individuals should be aware of three levels of citizenship: first, our local roots and commitments based in our immediate community; second, our sense of belonging to a national community; and finally, an appreciation of the fact that the world is ultimately the stage on which we live our lives and that we are all essentially, citizens of the world. . . .

I would like to share Dr. Daisaku Ikeda’s viewpoint on this. He says: “People must be empowered with courage and hope if they are to take those first concrete steps. Even if we establish agreed-upon ethics and paradigms of behavior, unless an increasing number of people embody and practice these in their lives, the severe realities we face will not change.”

Live drama of Nature and people

Seeds of Hope—the name perfectly fits the venue of the exhibition. The Taj Mahal hotel, taken over for four days in November 2008 by militants who killed 31 guests and staff, does not show its wounds; it is completely refurbished. However, facing the entrance, in the lobby is a silent waterfall: behind a glass sheet, water cascades down a wall inscribed with the names of the people killed by militants in the attack of November 2008.

The Seeds of Hope exhibition echoes this resilience, inspiring each viewer to overcome the feeling of powerlessness and showing how a single individual can initiate positive change in the world.

The exhibition was held in a first-floor room whose windows look out on the Gateway of India and the Arabian Sea. On the street below, it seemed there was a mela: hundreds of children, old and young men and women; vendors selling pink candyfloss; tourists riding horse-drawn buggies; and cars honking to clear a passage for themselves. Everyone cheered as waves came crashing over the low stone embankment, flooding the pavement and street right up to the hotel gates. This live drama between the sea and the people seemed like a live presentation, part of the Seeds of Hope exhibition which stresses the interconnectedness of living beings and Nature.

The exhibition consists of 24 panels, flowing from our interconnectedness with nature, to the feeling of powerlessness, then moving on to what each of us can do to change the world around us. The last of the panels has been left blank for viewers to write what action they will take for sustainability.

Theatre actress and BSG member Devika Punjabi was confident that the BSG members of Mumbai would be inspired to lift their eyes beyond their immediate communities, while Director of GRI Focal Point India Aditi Haldar hoped the exhibition would open BSG members’ and GRI delegates’ eyes to the effect the Soka movement could potentially have on global grassroots work.

The panels speak to the viewers

Many visitors readily identified a panel that meant most to them, from which they took a concrete idea of what they would change in their lives. For instance, standing before the panel on ‘Powerlessness’, housewife Manju Kariwala—one of the 42 BSG volunteers—said she was inspired to become the one who would bring about harmony in her family and those around her.

Contemplating the panel ‘The Power of Persistence’, featuring futurist and evolutionary economist Hazel Henderson, BSG member Vishal Vij said that, inspired by “this housewife who started a movement that echoes in other people’s lives,” he had taken up the work of fighting the pollution created by waste plastic products around his farm in a tribal area outside Mumbai.

Youthful members reach out to those around them

The strong youth presence supported President Ikeda’s conviction that the power and passion of youth would shape the 21st century.

Youthful visitors responded most strongly to the panel ‘Reaching out’. Abhishek Lamba, who teaches photography and film-making, is fostering the Student Division members in his chapter; he was moved by ‘Today, do something to help a friend.’ Prominent singer Shamit Tyagi had come with two neighbours, his shakubuku Saurabh Joshi and Adwait Gawde, both in the 12th grade, so ‘Get to know your neighbours’ spoke to him. Actor and model Namit Khanna, who takes care of Future Division members in his chapter, points to the panel ‘Make the connections, make a change’ and says he has begun to move about on a bicycle instead of a car.

Among the 520 visitors to the exhibition were author and Gandhi Peace Fellow at Gateway House Rajni Bakshi; political scientist Kishore Mandhyan; former director of postal services of Maharashtra and Goa Abha Singh; former member of the Planning Commission Arun Maira; GRI representative in Brazil Glaucia Terreo; and GRI deputy chief executive Teresa Fogelberg. Other visitors included representatives of NGOs and companies, guests at the hotel and all the delegates at the GRI conference, who took a guided tour of Seeds of Hope.

In his speech during the conference, senior vice president of Environmental Management Centre LLP Shantanu Roy encouraged everyone to take a look at the carbon footprint calculator for Mumbai, which factors in the carbon footprint generated by travelling on local trains and autorickshaws, as well as electricity bills. Adults and children alike can calculate their personal carbon footprint at the recently launched MMR-EIS website. His words were a direct link to the panel ‘Make the connections, make a change’, which says: “Use a ‘Footprint calculator’ to find out how many planets’ worth of resources your lifestyle consumes.”

Impact on children

Environmental professional Deeksha Vats said that she and her colleagues refer to A Quiet Revolution when they have internal discussions. She said that seeing an exhibition like Seeds of Hope might help her 16-year-old daughter to consider an environment-related career, while her 10-year-old would probably love to see the endangered or unusual animals, such as the Siau Island Tarsier, the Kalinga Ornata and the Poison Dart Frog, featured in the bottom half of each panel.

Immediate effect

Several visitors suggested that the exhibition be taken to schools and colleges, and low-income and middle-class residential localities. Former business journalist P. Devarajan, whose beat for several years was the forests of Central India, wrote: “Please could you think of moving this exhibition to places like Dadar, Thane in Mumbai to get the ordinary people interested.”

The immediate impact of the exhibition was visible on the panel left blank for visitors’ comments. By evening it was thick with colourful sticky-notes and sparkling with pledges, many of them taken from the panel ‘You Can’: “I will use public transport as much as possible.” “I will buy locally produced vegs fruits.” “I will recycle a lot of my stuff.” “Shop less!!”

Mr. Kishore Mandhyan commented, “In a short span of time, in a short walk, this exhibition has brought together the wisdom of many different societies. Change will come in a slow, incremental way.”

From such individual efforts will emerge people who can take empathetic action on behalf of others and build on values that will support a truly healthy society. These are the seeds of future hope that are being planted today.