Hope as a Catalyst: Celebrating the Enduring Message of Ikeda and Krieger
Hope serves as the foundation for the essential elements of global citizenship — wisdom, courage, and compassion — explained Dr. Ivana Nikolić Hughes, president of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. “None of it comes without hope, without light, without a desire to move forward,” she said, highlighting the role of hope in driving meaningful action and global progress.
Hughes’ words captured the spirit of the Nov. 20 event commemorating Choose Hope, the dialogue between Daisaku Ikeda and David Krieger. Co-organized by the Institute for Global Solutions and the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, the event honored the enduring legacies of Ikeda and Krieger, offering a space to reflect on the transformative power of dialogue and the necessity of hope in facing today’s global challenges.
In his opening remarks, SUA President Edward Feasel said he’d recently reread Choose Hope, noting how the dialogue examines all aspects of working against violence, promoting nuclear abolition, and the important role youth and education play in these efforts.
Regarding this final point, Feasel said that Ikeda and Krieger both had great hopes for education to turn the tide in society. He pointed to a passage in the dialogue, quoting Krieger’s insight: “We now require education in compassion and altruism, education that places a supreme priority for life. This kind of education can become the basis for an inner revolution.”
A longtime advocate for nuclear disarmament, Hughes reflected on the lives and contributions of both men. “David Krieger and Daisaku Ikeda have inspired countless people around the world,” she said, “in their relentless pursuit of goodness, peace, and nuclear disarmament.”
Hughes also underlined the dialogue’s relevance to today’s nuclear threats, emphasizing, “Our role, quite simply, has to be to say ‘never again’ over and over again, until our cries for sanity, our cries for nuclear abolition, and our cries for humanity are heard by people everywhere and acted upon by those who have the power to make the world whole again.”
Highlighting Youth Perspectives on Choose Hope
The event also featured a panel discussion that centered the perspectives of students and their reflections on Choose Hope. Marina Inoue ’25, a student assistant for SIGS, shared that, “Up until working with the Institute for Global Solutions, I was never really concerned about the issue of nuclear weapons.” Her work with SIGS, coupled with what she learned from Choose Hope, inspired her passion to work toward nuclear disarmament. Inoue stressed that one of the key messages of Choose Hope is “how important it is for each individual to be involved in this process no matter how you identify, no matter where you come from, no matter what your interests.”
Daiki Katsukawa ’26 said reading Choose Hope changed his perspective on nuclear disarmament and the power of small actions. “It taught me that peace doesn’t start with dramatic actions — it begins with small, deliberate steps in our immediate surroundings.” This lesson became even clearer to Katsukawa during his daily life at SUA. “Living in the dorms,” he said, “I’ve learned that dialogue, empathy, and mutual respect are essential for building harmony in our diverse community.”
Alexander Harang, distinguished adjunct professor at SUA, highlighted the power of Choose Hope to inspire people to take action. “This dialogue isn’t a debate on who has the best answers to these immense challenges,” he said. “It’s much more like a joint effort to identify the most effective pathways to sustainable peace in a world without nuclear weapons.” Harang said he expects that those who read the dialogue will be empowered in their own peace activism. “Every societal change ever made has always started with an individual,” he said. “And that individual is you.”