Please note this event is in Italian.

A day dedicated to rethinking our relationship with the planet and with humanity.

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Italian publication of ‘Before It Is Too Late‘ by Aurelio Peccei and Daisaku Ikeda, The Club of Rome, the Aurelio Peccei Foundation, the Italian Buddhist Institute Soka Gakkai, Sapienza University, the Be the Hope Foundation and The Fifth Element are organising in Rome the conference Reflect, unite, act: dialogues for a shared future.

The event draws inspiration from the reflections and proposals of Aurelio Peccei, founder of The Club of Rome, and Daisaku Ikeda, peacebuilder, Buddhist teacher and president of Soka Gakkai International. Forty years ago, the two explored planetary crises in the dialogue published as the Italian translation of ‘Before It Is Too Late‘, ‘Campanello d’allarme per il XXI secolo’ (Bompiani, 1985), a work that remains strikingly relevant today.

The conference will be structured around three dialogue sessions inspired by the book’s chapters: “Human beings and nature”, “Human beings and their fellows”, and “The human revolution”, each connected to contemporary texts and frameworks: Laudato si’, Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement, the UN Pact for the Future and the Declaration on Future Generations.

The event aims to engage young people, students, academics, NGOs and religious representatives in a dialogue capable of generating reflection, friendship and concrete action.

Agenda:

Welcome – introductory remarks
Antonella Polimeni (Rector, Sapienza University of Rome)
Carlos Álvarez Pereira (Secretary General of The Club of Rome)
Anna Conti (Vice President, Italian Buddhist Institute Soka Gakkai)

First session: Dialogue “Human beings and nature”, ten years of Pope Francis’ Laudato si’
Giuseppe Buffon (Professor of Modern and Contemporary Church History, Pontifical Antonianum University)
Fausto Manes (Professor emeritus of Ecology, Sapienza University)
Moderator: Stella Bianchi (Be the Hope Foundation)

Second session: Dialogue “Human beings and their fellows”, ten years of the UN’s Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement on climate change
Enrico Giovannini (Scientific Director of ASviS and Professor of Statistical Economics, Tor Vergata University)
Mariella Nocenzi (Professor of Sociology, LUMSA University; Sapienza Sustainability Committee)
Livio De Santoli (Pro-rector for Sustainability, Sapienza University)
Moderator: Diva Tommei (President, Aurelio Peccei Foundation)

The spirit of the dialogue between Aurelio Peccei and Daisaku Ikeda, “The humanity of the future”
Gianfranco Bologna (The Club of Rome, Aurelio Peccei Foundation)
Robert Harrap (Soka Gakkai Europe)

Third session: Dialogue “The human revolution” to give concrete form to the UN Pact for the Future and the Declaration on Future Generations
Maria Vittoria Dalla Rosa Prati (Coordinator, ASviS Youth Group)
Iris Nicomedi (Cambio io cambia il mondo, Be the Hope Foundation)
Roxani Roushas (UNDP Rome Centre)
Mariaclaudia Cusumano (WEEC Network, No Limits to Hope)
Moderator: Giulia Pellizzato (Cambio io cambia il mondo, Be the Hope Foundation)

Register to join the event in person here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/sgi/1924289

Join the event online here: https://sgi-italia.org/riflettere-unirsi-agire/

The event is part of the National Sustainability Education Week, taking place from 24 to 30 November 2025, under the patronage of the Italian National Commission for UNESCO and promoted by the National Committee for Sustainability Education – Agenda 2030 (CNESA2030).