Ten Thousand Things
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"Ten Thousand Things" is a Buddhist expression representing the dynamic interconnection and simultaneous unity and diversity of everything in the universe.

PEACE BOAT: Blogging Live from the G8 SUMMIT in Hokkaido

From Meri Joyce of Peace Boat:

The eyes of the world are now turned towards Japan, as the G8 Summit is underway at Lake Toya in Hokkaido.

PEACE BOAT is in Hokkaido, staging several events: reporting the outcomes of the recent Global Article 9 Conference to Abolish War; monitoring the Summit online through blogging; and live streaming throughout the Summit from the International Media Centre.

Peace Boat has joined together with over 100 Japan-based NGOs striving towards a sustainable society and working to address environmental, peace, human rights, global poverty and developmental issues. Under the banner of the 2008 Japan G8 Summit NGO Forum, Peace Boat is participating as the Leader of the Peace and Human Rights Unit, calling for a world order based on the principles of non-violence and human rights.

The unit works on nuclear weapons abolition, disarmament and arms control, global economics, conflict prevention, peace building, "counter-terrorism" measures, gender,indigenous peoples' rights,
immigration, regional security issues and promotion of civic activities. The causes and effects of such issues are global and require global solutions. The G8 Summit must produce responsible solutions that correspond to their influence in global politics and economy.

Through cross-national collaboration towards social equity and civic participation, NGOs have nurtured
perspectives independent from those of the government. It is with these perspectives and knowledge that we make policy recommendations.

In this NGO Forum capacity, we will be holding several workshops and discussions at the People's Summit (Alternative Summit), which will be held in Sapporo from July 6-8, 2008. Further details about these events
can be seen here.

This will be a prime chance to share the outcomes of the Global Article 9 Conference to Abolish War held in Japan in May (http://whynot9.jp) – particularly the Statement to the G8, endorsed by the Japan Organising
Committee and key international supporters. This Statement calls for the G8 countries, who together make up 70% of the world's military expenditure, to reduce expenditures on arms and redirect resources to peace, development and the environment. We also call for a change in the methods of dealing with issues such as
conflicts and "terrorism". This statement was initially drafted by the Japanese Organising Committee, and announced after obtaining the support of key international participants and supporters. (The full statement
can be read online here)

Although the decisions of the G8 will impact everyone on the planet, only a tiny elite are party to these discussions. As one of few NGOs granted access to the G8 International Media Centre, Peace Boat
will be blogging and broadcasting live from the centre at Rusutsu, to share all that happens, as it happens. We will be setting up a live online video broadcast, and monitoring the G8 Summit debate and civil
society responses from the perspectives of peace, disarmament and human rights. We hope to also utilise this to in turn communicate the various efforts and positions of all of our partners around the world who cannot
be in Hokkaido in person. We thus invite you to become actively involved via this blog, and share with us any information or reactions from your own organisations or regions relating to the G8. We look forward to an
active discussion with all of you, and the chance to work together to have our collective voices heard at this year's G8 Summit.

So please keep your eyes on the Peace Boat G8blog, and we look forward to your contributions!

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