The Power of Hope: Thoughts on Peace and Human Rights in the Third Millennium

Daisaku Ikeda is President of Soka Gakkai International, a Buddhist organization with some twelve million adherents in 192 countries and regions throughout the world. A prolific writer, poet, peace activist and educator, he is the author of numerous books on Buddhism, humanism and ethics, and received the United Nations Peace Award in 1983. His work to restore Chinese-Japanese relations as well as his contributions to the promotion of world peace, cultural exchange and education have been widely recognised. The world’s academic community has awarded him more than 350 academic degrees.

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel is an Argentinian activist, writer, painter and sculptor. He was the recipient of the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize for his opposition to Argentina’s civil-military dictatorship (1976-1983) during which he was detained, tortured, and held without trial for 14 months. Esquivel is the co-founder of Servicio Paz y Justicia (Service, Peace and Justice), a non-violence organisation engaged in defending political prisoners under dictatorship regimes across Latin America and with upholding human rights.