Soka University of America President Edward M. Feasel and Tetsushi Ogata, managing director of the Soka Institute for Global Solutions, spent two days in September at the Hazel Henderson Center in St. Augustine, Florida, exploring ways to work together.
Henderson, a futurist and author who died in 2022, and SUA founder Daisaku Ikeda both championed the Earth Charter. Their conversations on global citizenship, sustainability and shared responsibility became the 2004 book Planetary Citizenship.
Henderson challenged conventional measures of economic progress, arguing that they should also account for human well-being and environmental health. She co-founded Citizens for Clean Air in New York City in the 1960s, founded Ethical Markets Media and wrote nine books.
Planetary Citizenship ranges across economics, technology, environmental ethics, peace and civic action, but returns to one question: How can individuals and societies take greater responsibility for creating a peaceful and sustainable future?
The center carries Henderson’s work forward through research and education aimed at a more ethical economy. The Soka Institute for Global Solutions brings people and institutions together to take on global challenges.
“This visit was an opportunity to build on the connection between Hazel Henderson and our university founder, Daisaku Ikeda,” Feasel said. “Both believed deeply that peace, environmental sustainability and social and economic justice are interconnected, and both saw the Earth Charter as an important framework for putting those values into action. I believe this partnership will create new opportunities to address these shared challenges together.”
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