Soka founder honored, school holds two symposiums with Queen’s University Belfast
2009.05.18
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On May 18, Soka University founder Daisaku Ikeda was conferred a Doctorate of Laws, honoris causa, from Queen’s University Belfast of Northern Ireland, in recognition of his contributions to peace and the advancement of education. The following day, the two institutions held symposiums to commemorate the conferral, with the first conducted on the theme of language, communication and education, and the second, on peace and reconciliation. Soka University President Hideo Yamamoto gave the opening address, while Prof. Kenneth Brown, Queen’s University Belfast Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Planning, delivered the keynote address. Symposium One featured four speakers from Queen’s University led by Prof. David Johnston, Head of the School of Languages, Literatures and Performing Arts, while the three Soka speakers were led by Prof. Richmond Stroupe, Program Chair for the Master’s Program in International Language Education: TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages). Prof. Johnston’s paper, “Translation as Intercultural Exchange,” addressed “the ways in which translation, both as a writing practice and as a mode of cultural analysis, can fruitfully assert itself as a broker on the stages of geography and history.” In his paper, “Language and international communicative competence: Implications for institutional and national education policy,’ Prof. Stroupe called for the nature of language education to become more adaptive to changes in national policy, demographics and needs of language learners, “moving beyond a strict EFL model to a more integrated skills and content-based approach.” Symposium Two, on peace and reconciliation, featured four speakers from each university, including Prof. Shane O’Neill, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Queen’s; Prof. Richard Wilford, School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy; Dr. Olivier Urban, Director of the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research, an affiliated think tank; and Soka University Department of Humanities Prof. Donna McInnis. Among the issues discussed was the peace process in Northern Ireland, the Transcend Method developed by peace studies pioneer Johan Galtung, human security, peace building in post-conflict societies, and the role of educators in promoting tolerance, caring, cooperation and justice. Dedicated in 1849, Queen’s University Belfast is one of the largest and most prestigious academic institutions in the United Kingdom, with more than 25,000 postgraduate and undergraduate students. According to the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE)—which assesses the quality of research at institutions of higher learning in the UK—Queen’s University ranks among the 20 top universities in the nation. |
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