Queen's Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Gregson conferrred an honorary Doctorate of Laws on Daisaku Ikeda - the international peacemaker and educationalist - in Japan on 18 May

 

Queen’s has strong ties with Japan, and is cementing research and study abroad links with the prestigious Soka University in the areas of law, politics, management and sociology. In addition to signing an agreement which will see the exchange of students between Queen’s and Japan, Professor Gregson conferred an honorary Doctorate of Laws on Daisaku Ikeda.  A prolific writer, poet and peace activist, Dr Ikeda is recognised as the world’s leading interpreter of Buddhist philosophy.

He played an active role in opening dialogue between Japan and China and also between Russia and the USA during the Cold War. He has ceaselessly pursued the universal values of peace, culture and education. 

Dr Ikeda has received numerous awards for his work, including the United Nations Peace Award; the International Tolerance Award of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre; the Rosa Parks Humanitarian Award; Medal of the Grand Officer of Arts and Letters from the French Ministry of Culture; and the AS Pushkin Gold Medal.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Dr Ikeda said: "Many world-class individuals, including my respected friend Nelson Mandela, have been honoured by Queen’s. I feel humbled to receive an honorary doctorate from your esteemed University, with its outstanding reputation for excellence in education and research."

The Vice-Chancellor said: "Throughout his long career Daisaku Ikeda has tirelessly harnessed his skills as a writer, a philosopher, an educator and a leader to inspire humanity in the search for peace. His life and work is a lesson and an inspiration to humanity as we strive towards a better future."

In 2005 Queen’s hosted an international exhibition celebrating Dr Ikeda’s contribution to society alongside that of two other extraordinary individuals - The Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. In 1971 Dr Ikeda founded the Soka education system which is based on the principle of nurturing each student's unique creative potential and cultivating an ethic of peace, social contribution and global consciousness. Among world leaders he has worked with on his quest for peace were Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Thabo Mbeki, Henry Kissinger, Rajiv Gandhi, Lech Walesa, Kurt Waldheim, Kofi Annan, Margaret Thatcher and Jacques Chirac.

(Source: Queen's University press release)