The 60th Annual DPI/NGO Conference, entitled “Climate Change”: How It Impacts Us All” organized by the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI) in collaboration with the NGO/DPI Executive Committee was held from 5 to 7 September 2007 at the United Nations Headquarters. This Annual conference is occurred for the purpose of promoting information to the people from all over the world, thereby contributing to efforts for tackling important issues facing the world.

     Mr.Kiyotaka Akasaka, UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, chaired the opening ceremony of the conference, and emphasized that 2007 marked the 60th Annual Conference since the next year of the founding of the UN, thus the UN and NGO relationship committed to strengthening every year.

     International Shinto Foundation (ISF) was accredited as an NGO associated with DPI in 1997. Since then ISF has been sending its representatives to the DPI/NGO Conferences, making financial contributions, and involved in the fields of international cooperation, development, disarmament, human rights, peace-making and civil activities.

     DPI is banding together with NGO strongly to have NGO access to the issues undertaken by UN thereby it could send the information on aim that UN shoot for.

     Rev. Nobuyo Otagaki, ISF representative, tried to attend as many midday workshops as possible that dealt with more specific aspects of environmental degradation, especially, how the world religions can commit and share this important issue

     Especially, a workshop represented by the religious leaders as a panelists, of Christianity and Islam, Hinduism was impressive one. First of all, they all agreed in the same opinion that every religion is respecting to connect with nature and human being, and putting an importance on the decreasing of poverty and having the link and networks with all of the people through the world. Based on this opinion, each of the religious leaders discussed about how they contribute to the environmental issue, for instance, having a chance to discuss about this or making a voluntary contribution to the organization of the conservation of nature to protect the marine animals, and everyday worship for the world peace.

     During the question-and-answer session, many participants asked actively. One question by the Islamic person was impressive as he said “you religious leaders ideas seemed like too optimistic, because I am working for an oil company. If I respect too much for the nature I would lose my job. How do you describe this situation on this civilized time?” This would be a urgent question for most of the people concerning with religion like me in a middle of development and preservation of the tradition.

     The workshop concluded: ”It might be impossible to halt the development of convenient world in the modern time, but there is a truth in our mind to find the right way and the role of religion is sending the way of having the right evolution of human spirituality.“

     Once, it used to be considered that a religion respect only the faith of their own and others were thought to be heretical. But, nowadays each religion became to focus on the validity to enter into partnership with the other religion to create world peace. By participating the three-day event I found that NGOs are approaching the environmental issue in various aspects, and the religion could tackle with the issue in two aspects which are preserving the nature and protecting the people from the fear of the nature.

     When these works on the environmental issue, the religion would be more meaningful. I hope ISF would approach activity for world peace as well.

(Report by Rev. Nobuyo Otagaki, Officer of ISF New York Center)