Special Messages of Peace
Next, Maki Saionji introduced three guest speakers who recorded special messages on the theme of this year’s SOPP. The first speaker, Mr. Joaquín Leguía, is Founder of the organization ANIA, and his work involves teaching children how to live in harmony with nature. The second speaker, Eliane Ubalijoro, is a molecular geneticist widely recognized for her outstanding contributions to promoting science as a global public good. The last speaker, Barbara Arredondo, is a former SOPP participant and Founder of the ‘I Am Here’ series who continues her work promoting diversity and equality.
Joaquín Leguía, Founder and Director of ANIA (Peru)
Hello, my name is Joaquín. I’m from Peru. I run a nonprofit organization called ANIA—Association for Children and Their Environment.
I’m in my childhood garden. This is the place that saved me. When I was a little boy, my parents got divorced, and we moved to my grandma’s house, and I found this incredible space. It was a kind of healing, like a secret garden. And here, I met Mother Earth and she met me, and she gave me unconditional love. She gave me freedom of heart, and she gave me security.
Here, I learned how to play hide and seek, when my mom wanted me to do homework and she could never find me. But Mother Earth gave me many lessons. Here, I learned that whatever we do to others, we do to ourselves, and that what exists is not only what you see, but also what you feel.
One lesson that she gave me that I love profoundly is the power of the leaf. This is a place I used to hide, and when I was hiding here or just being calm, I wanted to be away from everything, yet I found out that I could become part of everything. I was among the leaves, quiet, looking at the ants and animals, and suddenly, my body kind of disappeared and I blended into everything, and suddenly I felt like a leaf! I was one more leaf. And when I felt like a leaf, I could commune with other leaves. It was a strange communication—a beautiful sense of belonging to everything.
And then, once I could feel that humbleness of being just a leaf, I realized the importance and the beauty of a leaf, because the leaves do photosynthesis. They have the power to channel and transform the energy of the sun with our elements, and produce energy that nurtures the world.
And I thought: Wow! That should be my purpose. That probably is the purpose of human beings. And then I thought, that little leaf gave me a big lesson, and I wanted to be like her. And since then, I’ve been working so that I can be a means to transform the energy around me to nurture life on Mother Earth.
I believe that the purpose of humanity is to make a better world, and we can accomplish that when our decisions and actions are good for us, for others, and for nature. And of course, we and others are part of nature, because we’re all one. And if we do good to others, we do it to ourselves.
So, that’s the little story. Let’s be like a leaf. Let’s be one with everything.
Elaine Ubalijoro, CEO of Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (Kenya)
Hello everyone. It’s a pleasure for me to join you today in celebration of the Symphony of Peace Prayers, a global celebration of harmony and oneness. I had the pleasure of being at the SOPP in 2015, and being at the base of Mount Fuji with over 8,000 people, and it was a magical time in my life.
My name is Eliane Ubalijoro. I’m the CEO of CIFOR-ICRAF, an organization that is intended to work at the interface of agroforestry, reforestation, and restoring soils and health in our ecosystems. So it’s a real pleasure for me today to be talking about circularity, and to really think about what it takes in terms of being in circularity in a relationship with Mother Earth.
In my work, what we see is that around the world, our soils are degraded. A third of global soils are degraded. And that relationship with the Earth is a critical one in terms of our circularity. If we think about the seeds that we put in the ground that turn into flowers, that turn into trees, that turn into food, all of these need the richness and the health of the soil. And our soils need to be restored, not only to feed a growing population, but also to fight climate change.
And so, the work we do is really about restoring the harmony in our soils, restoring the harmony in our relationship among soils, trees, and agriculture, and bringing back biodiversity, so we have that regenerative process of renewing nature and ensuring that we have a harmonious relationship among humanity and with our planet, and that we live within planetary boundaries. So, we really respect the circularity of what the earth represents, what planetary boundaries represent, and what it means to live our planetary intelligence and harmony with the intelligence of nature, with the intelligence of the planet, with the intelligence of our digital age and the intelligence of our hearts, our minds, and our souls.
And so, to all of you everywhere in the world, I wish you a beautiful day, and I wish this day to really be a beautiful day of a Symphony of Peace Prayers. Thank you.
Barbara Arredondo, Founder of ‘I Am Here’ Series (Mexico)
Embracing diversity is essential for the future of our global society, as we are about to enter the [second] quarter of the 21st century, and at a time in history when we are aware that more than eight million species—both plants and animals—inhabit this planet, many of which we are yet to know, discover, and learn about.
Diversity surrounds us. It’s what makes this planet alive, vibrant, and possible. Diversity means power, means harmony, means flow. It means respect. As a member of the LGBTQ community, I can say I have learned one thing about diversity, and for me the most important thing has been recognizing and embracing the diversity within—within the individual, within our own truths, within our own limitations, but also within our own courage and possibilities.
Today, I invite you to think about the diversity that lies within your own hearts, your own souls, your own minds. Not everything is black and white. We are complex human beings, and reaching out and connecting with each other despite our differences might possibly be the most courageous and loving act we can do for one another.