Vinya Ariyaratne, M.D., is general secretary of the Sri Lankan Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya, an NGO founded on the inspiration of the social teachings of the Buddha by his father in 1958. As lead facilitator for the One Text Initiative and member of the Council of the Arigatou Foundation’s Glob...

Principal Sukomal Barua is President of the Asian Conference of Religions for Peace (Religions for Peace Asia) Bangladesh Chapter and a member of Governing Board and Executive Committee ACRP.  He is also the President of Bangladesh Inter-religious Writers and Journalists Association as well as the...

Date of Birth: 19 Jan. 1968 Granddaughter of Founder Nikkyo Niwano and first daughter of President Nichiko Niwano. Reverend Niwano currently devotes herself to sharing the teachings of the Lotus Sutra with leaders both in Japan and overseas as well as with the members who visit the Great Sacred Hall...

Dr Mark Owen holds a BA in Theology and Religious Studies, MA in World Religions, and PhD in Tibetan Buddhism. Mark has extensive experience of working with interfaith and multi-faith organisations, and an academic and practical background in religious peacebuilding. Dr Owen has been Secretary Gener...

Maria Reis Habito is the International Program Director of the Museum of World Religions, the Director of the Elijah Interfaith Institute USA, and a Zen Teacher authorized in the Sanbo Zen lineage. She has lived in Taiwan and studied the Chinese language (1979-1981), and in Kyoto, Japan, where she s...

Born in upper Burma in 1948 to ethnic Chinese parents, Master Hsin Tao was left orphaned and impoverished at an early age. Having been taken in by the remnants of ROC military units operating along the border of Yunnan, China, he was brought to Taiwan in 1961. At the age of 15, he was deeply moved b...

Dishani Jayaweera is the directress, programme designer and strategist of the Centre for Peacebuilding and Reconciliation(CPBR). Recognizing her work in peace-building, she received the Peacemaker in Action award by Tanenbaum Network- USA in 2012, and became the 2nd runner-up of the Annual ‘Coexi...

Ven. Gijun Sugitani graduated from the faculty of law, and in 1972 he completed all the required units of PhD program in advanced literary studies. In 1968, he was ordained as the Chief Priest of Enju-in Temple of the Tendai Buddhist Denomination. A year after he was elected as the General Secretary...

After establishing himself as a successful entrepreneur in software and technology, Steve Killelea became prominent in philanthropic work centered around sustainable development and peace. His first company, Integrated Research Ltd (IR), focused on payments software and performance management for b...

Loh Pai Ling or fondly known as Sister Pai Ling is a lawyer by training, graduated with a LLB degree from the University of London (External), with a Master Degree in Business Administration (Finance) from the University of Hull, UK. Sis. Pai Ling has been serving with Buddhist Missionary Society M...