The Symposium on the Declaration for All Life on Earth, held at the Tokyo International Forum on October 21, 2001 was a great success. Organized by the Goi Peace Foundation with the support of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, the event was attended by nearly 1500 guests from various fields including diplomatic and academic circles.

Under the theme “The Mission of Humanity for the 21st Century,” the symposium explored new values and a new way of life for creating a truly harmonious and sustainable world in the 21st century.

In light of the crisis following the September 11 terrorist attack, a special World Peace Prayer Ceremony and a moment of silence was held at the opening of the symposium, with the participation of ambassadors from 24 countries.

The ceremony was followed by the presentation of the Goi Peace Award 2001 to Prof. Dr. Ervin Laszlo, and then by Dr. Laszlo’s commemorative address entitled “That Peace May Prevail in This World: The Crucial Human Factor.”

The winners of the International Essay Contest for Young People 2001: Ms. Jiang Weiqiong of China (Children’s category) and Ms. Kathevan Kandelaki of Georgia (Youth category) were presented with the Ministry of Education Encouragement Award. They then both inspired the audience when they read their winning essays on “Respect for Life.”

The second part of the program was a panel discussion entitled “Where Does Humanity Go From Here?” Dr. Tsutomu Kimura, President of the National Institution for Academic Degrees, and Dr. Kazuo Murakami, an Emeritus Professor of the University of Tsukuba and a recognized authority on genetic engineering, joined Dr. Ervin Laszlo and Masami Saionji, Chairperson of the Goi Peace Foundation, as panelists. Goi Peace Foundation President Hiroo Saionji acted as the moderator. With the Declaration for All Life on Earth as a guide, the panelists discussed about emerging new values and ethics to be shared by all of humanity, and how they can be implemented in our individual lives and in specific fields such as science and technology, education, culture and development.

The entire symposium was broadcast live on the Internet.

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