List of Ideas - SGI-UK E-Bulletin and Podcast

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I think the current method of new people contacting districts is good as it offers protection for 

members holding meetings in their own homes. 

email118 

Skype 

Its good to make effort to go to meetings. But sometimes its not sensible….or you may be 

caring for someone who is ill or you have responsibility for young children…its very difficult to 

travel. So obviously you don’t want have a skype call to the discussion meeting to be the norm. 

But there are occasions when it is better to do it that way than not do it at all. Its better than 

feeling excluded. 

SLNC Open Mtg 

Train pick ups TC 

For Taplow Court a train pick ups booking system A advance booking system would require the 

booker to give the exact time of arrival of the train at the station potentially days in advance. 

Potential mistakes in train times from a complicated timetable or last minute change of 

schedule could cause many problems. The system of telephoning on the day of arrival when 

you have confirmed train arrival time is the simplest way of booking the minibus 

VET2 

Future Division Youth should lead SGI-UK Technology Approaches VET1 

Publication of the reading age of the AoL is too high. email23 

Communication anything which will improve communications here would be a tremendous benefit. email25 

don’t do internet In the Chorus we post CDs to people who don’t do internet Taplow Court Open Mtg 

app 

Usability tablets smartphones 

our approach with apps is to use mobile targetted html5..interacts like an app but not on app 

store; modern web tech pretty amazing; gps, cameras, multiswipe; really good stuff without an 

app but that gives that interaction; 

email112 

app Study A Sokka Gakkai app could be a great resource for study for the existing members. email38 

app 

Publication 

An app version of the 'Art of Living magazine' would reach a brand new audience of young 

people 

email38 

app 

3 practices 

the use of IT would be fantastic for the SGI community. I think that an app would be a great 

extension - especially with regards to kosen-rufu. The 3 pillars of our Buddhism are practice, 

faith and study. A website, app or electronic media should be a portal to experience those 

pillars, in the context of the individual user and our community. Looking at those individual 

factors we can spin out ideas:Practice - chanting / varying speeds / duration / morning and 

evening. I for one use Youtube to help me sometimes and I have the DVD from the Acton 

centre. But there should also be information about beads for example - why do some people 

use them, in what way What about fruit offerings... these may seem unimportant but they 

provide a whole context. Faith - actual proof is very important. At the start of the year we were 

given a chart to log our chanting units, and individual determinations. I am not sure if it is too 

ambitious but there may be scope to have this online or on an app so people can keep a daily 

log - actually this may well crossreference with practice. It would be great to have a message email49 

app 

NMRK app 

An Application ('Ap') designed for Smartphones that allow beginners the correct pronunciation 

of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo and a tool to chant along with, which already exists on CD. A brief 

background of Nichiren Daishonin 

VET3 

connectivity Centres open WiFi connection around Taplow please email13 

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there are people who just cant do internet even if they want to..so could we have a laptop in 

each centre. People who don’t have access at home are welcome to come to the centre and 

use it ..to search….A machine that has controls..you cant install software on it, like a Google 

Chrome book Its just got a browser and nothing else. You turn it on and its immediately 

available. You can access browser based email, the SGI website, the SGI-UK system etc You 

connectivity 

don’t do internet-inclusion 

centres 

could even set controls to only be able to visit certain sites. Privacy, inappropriate content would 

all be legitimate concerns which a machine like that could be set to address. 

SLNC Open Mtg 

connectivity Chanting 

whoever feels like chanting can just dial in and not be chanting alone. I think this would be 

great for people in remote areas. 

VET3 

connectivity Centres All centres with wifi Wifi all over would be great VET7 

connectivity 

connectivity 

connectivity 

connectivity 

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Centres 

Centres 

Centres 

Accessibility 

member homepage 


wouldn't it be great if our London centres had screens that could broadcast meetings in A1 at 

Taplow Court Then London members could join in the Kosen-rufu Summit or HQLA or 

whatever develops from these meetings or in fact any meetings, in their own centres. 

VET7 

I think a screen on either side at the beginning of A2 would be beneficial, as if you are sitting at 

the back, you can’t really see what is happening at the front. And the back of A1 (A2) would 

benefit from screens, like you have at gigs, as the speakers are quite far away over many 

heads 

VET7 

t Taplow Court, please can we have a screen in the children’s room, or a portable big screen, 

so that people not in the INCH can see what is going on inside the room as well as hear it The 

children's room is a space that parents do use at the moment. Conference Services have set 

up a speaker in there so you can hear what is going on in A1, but it would be even better to be 

able to see 

VET7 

Loops should be available for courses and other activities where there are people using hearing 

aids. Loops enable the person with the hearing aid to simply hear what the speaker is saying 

without the background noise….the idea about a kit for the use of small groups at Taplow could 

work well. Are you thinking of the Portable ones They are not usually powerful enough for 

me, but would work for a lot of people. They do need regularly checking and recharging so 

someone would need to be responsible for them. Maybe Keibi could put them on charge 

daily. I know on our WD Summer Course last year, I wanted a separate room for the World 

Cafe exercise thinking there would be me and maybe a couple of others. It turned out there 

were 8 of us with hearing loss of varying degrees, who needed to be in a quiet space so as to 

communicate well. 

VET7 

My personal profile page…there I can change my email address…email address phone number 

etc..communication options…don’t email me but use my mob … In their personal profile in the 

database, through their home page a member might say they like to use skype, FB and twitter. 

Not everybody is logged on all the time. 

Birmingham Open Mtg 

for the members that don’t do technology..something out by paper at the start which comes 

back in 



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I haven’t seen the principle of inclusivity mentioned here….people who cant or wont engage 

digitally….this isn’t about moving to a technology only some people can use…..whats the best 

way How can they continue to remain informed Chapter study or district discussion meeting 

organisers can make sure that information is made available. somebody in each district who 

takes 100% responsibility for inclusivity …..we are going to embrace new forms of technology 

but we have to make 100% sure everyone is included…Inclusivity is bigger than accessibility…it 

is ALWAYS possible that you are included…. if we have a database and there are people who 

don’t do technology, they are on the database…that the initial sign up for the database gives 

different options for communication… its an overhead to come from the centre of the 

organisation to have that reliability..with perhaps volunteers stuffing envelopes..or could it just 

be there at the discussion or the study meeting People need to choose…how do you want to 

receive this information Direct from SGI-UK or via your district 


dbase member homepage 

I think our members would find it incomprehensible if we developed a system which didn’t give 

them their own user account ..so there is the option of updating their own personal data. Not 

necessarily which district, chapter , HQ etc they are in ..or were part of Soka or Lilac..but email, 

telephone number, maybe skype address, maybe their facebook address. 

Bristol Open Mtg 

dbase 

authorisation members from 

overseas 

What about people coming and not being here for more than a few months..will they go on the 

new system To have your own home page You can tell us when you are going and when you 

are coming back If the id number can be generated locally. 


dbase Discussion meeting figures It would be great if each district could put its own discussion meeting stats on. Bristol Open Mtg 

dbase 

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Reports 

Reports Discussion meeting 

figures 

Reports 

Publication 



What would you be happy with in terms of the reports going back to leaders If Im a mens 

district leader I definitely want to see the contact details for the men in the district ..ditto for the 

other divisions. I don’t want to be seeing the WD and YWD contact details . Even though Im the 

mens district leader I want to have a sense of who is in the district …maybe the names and the 

divisions for all the members without the contact details..Those two reports seem to make a lot 

of sense. You don’t get to see equivalent lists for other districts ..showing you what directly 

relates to your responsibility makes perfect sense. This is a `need to know` basis. 


But as well as the two reports we have so far…we also have comprehensive reports showing 

the results of discussion meetings across the country..Promote humanitarian competition….Yes 

you can see how people are doing across the country . You can narrow it down to your area, 

HQ, chapter. 


The new database will need to say whether a member is active or inactive. For district, chapter, 

HQ lists we cant have non practising and practising listed together. So for the first two reports 

above there needs to be the option of a practising version of the list and a non practising 

version of the list. 


There are many members who spend protracted periods overseas who would benefit from a 

digital AOL 


We should be able to maintain our details…if I move out of the area I put in my new contact 

info….you are responsible for your changes. You could input your communication preferences 

You shouldn’t get a home page until you become a practising member. 

Some of our members who don’t do the internet will want the paper version of their `home 

page`..somebody has to prepare it for them and get it to them. 

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Edinburgh Open Mtg 

Edinburgh Open Mtg

dbase don’t do internet-inclusion 

"You have said I don’t do the internet please post me the details held on me once a year, and 

send me the ebulletin regularly 


dbase Discussion meeting figures 

We should not tick who came to the discussion meeting. None of the members at this open 

meeting felt we should be doing this: its `big brother`. Leaders should know who came to the 

discussion meeting and who didn’t. It doesn’t need to be on a system. 


dbase Discussion meeting categories 

People coming regularly not receiving Gohonzon but chanting regularly..not members 

….coming for a while…they are not naitoku….naitoku for 10 years…..Naitoku not in the UK 

stats… …but as observers and on the stats 


dbase Discussion meeting categories 

Also a member visiting other discussion meetings..they are not a guest..what is s/he… Is he a 

visiting member I travel around a lot..surely I'm on that districts discussion meeting stats. Its 

another column `visiting member` from another district… 


dbase Email Everyone seemed to favour being able to arrive at a point when there are no bulk emails Edinburgh Open Mtg 

dbase Data Transfer 

How to implement the new database in such a way it reduces the transient: all newly created 

accounts (except future division), cross matched with transient…if find a match delete that entry 

in transient; And since we are asking districts to created a single post code for mapping, can we 

ask the district to click and select post code areas that the district covers AND corss refrence 

these post codes with the transient district and where there are matches put these transients 

into that district for those district leaders to confirm or otherwise. 

email102 

dbase Reports 

2 co-ordinators per chapter…if leaders being asked to take it on What about locally the 

leaders having one of their number who has extra privileges to do limited ad hoc queries like 

searching on skills to find members who can support a local activity 

email104 

dbase Usability In a future database: Ability to maximise the window. email109 

dbase Usability folders 

IN a future database Folders- My HQ could be a folder containing a transient folder, chapter 

folders which in turn contain district folders containing the members. My HQ folder could be 

connected via cloud storage, as in a program like “Dropbox”, to Taplow so that any changes I 

make would also be changed in the Taplow folder 

email109 

dbase Usability transfers 

In a future database Using this more modern approach I could move members from one district 

to another or to Transient just by cut and paste or drag and drop. 

email109 

dbase Usability change details 

In a future database I would also like to be able to change member details by double clicking 

their name and changing the detail, as required, in the window that opens. Plus by right clicking 

a person’s name I could choose an option to make a change. 

email109 

dbase Special Groups 

The Chorus needs to be a `special group` and people like Denise and Howard need to be able 

to access the details of the membership of the Chrous. They will also need to indicate people 

with responsibilities within the functioning of the Chorus. D/H will need to be able to 

input/amend detaills-they often have more accurate contact info than HQAs 

email11 

dbase Reports 

Accurate up to date lists to be accessible to district, chapter and HQ leaders for their HQ. 

District leaders should be able to amend details but not remove members. 

email113 

dbase Reports A place on the list to record Naitoku details. email114 

dbase Reports 

The lists should be easily sorted by division/district/chapter etc. It should be possible to print 

them easily with or without personal information such as email addresses and phone numbers. 

( data protection) email115 

dbase Reports Courses It would be useful if there was a record of courses attended. email116 


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Special Groups 

Database admin 

Sovereign groups 

I would like members to be able to join interest groups such as the Education Division through 

the members' website. Then leaders of those groups should be able to email them or post info 

via the new system. 

A mix of Brazil and India…we ask all leaders to take it on like in brazil AND have 1 HQ leadel 

person to support them all, who is well trained in DP, can fill gaps where leaders arent yet 

appointed, can encourage districts to create their page on the website and fill in the mapping 

info, can use a tick box flexible search tool for extra reports, and get lists of people with specific 

skills to support local events 

email117 

email119 

The Lilac application process is completely unweildy and taking far too much time to administer. 

They upload paperforms to google doc to share in the team of 6 admin; create book in sheets 

for a series of meetings, phon each YW to get dates. They are desperate to make the process 

easier: they suggest- a web form for YW to input their details coupled with a link to a doodle poll 

to enable the YW to express preferences for meetings. They need the incoming information 

sorting into a spreadsheet by area, with phone no and email, been called, did they attend their 

meeting, are they now in the new intake group They would really like to prototype something 

along these lines ready for use in December when the next batch of applications come in email12 

dbase 

Publication 

WE should publish the AOL on the new info system as pdf where we flag whether the person 

who logged onto the info system has a subscription or not on the database (and can therefore 

access it) and we need to crack puttinginto a pdf blocks on it being copied to another person. 

With a condensed version for everyone, plus a FB page in which people can access the 

condensed version plus a campaign to promote AOL we should increase sales 

email120 

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Search 

Future division Search 

Sovereign groups 

Is there a legal alternative to QAS which costs because PO updates postcodes…whereas our 

database will allow districts to upload poscodes and find the nearest to from our own data email132 

possible to have the contents of “The Way of Youth” up on our SGI site so that when a young 

person ‘ should type in a question, for instance “ I broke up with someone…”. The answer 

would pop up from the “The Way of Youth’ HANDLING HEARTBREAK. Then they have instant 

access to Daisaku Ikeda’s response 

email157 

Hope you get this additional suggestion. May I ask if it would be possible to develop some sort 

of KB and Guardian or other group reporting system so sovereign group coordinators can get a 

clear understanding of how to approach their responsibility - for instance KB and Guardian are 

often under provisioned. Allowing KB to report that perhaps they are on their own or for instance 

there is no Guardian will generate stats that can help focus a group leader's determination. email19 


dbase Publication 

to enabling the AOL mag to be published digitally. Which means that it is easily accessible on 

peoples iPads/ iPhones/laptops or whatever. This was under the heading ‘AOL – everything 

everywhere’ The basic process is that you use InDesign to great the AOL mag and the PDF 

goes off to the Printer, why not to the browser but at a lower DPI. Of course a PDF is clickable 

and zoomable (and I would be able to read it), but its searchable, tagable and translatable. You 

could have a mobile app that can be a wrapper abound a browser that can display a PDF and 

control access. The main goal, is on your iPad you can view magazines/ newspapers from 

around the world so why not AOL. You can get the pdf along with your paper copy. You can buy 

a pdf subscription for others where posting to them would be too expensive (eg Africa). The 

back catalog of AOLs could be linked and searchable 

email2 

dbase Transfers It is London members who are moving in and out of districts a lot-transfer functionality email7 

dbase Discussion meeting figures 

Plenty of evidence that expanding from strict definition of discussion meeting to include others 

in figures is divisive..some do and some don’t…the donts want to protect the accuracy of this 

one indicator 

email98 

dbase member homepage 

Would the strongest form of engagement be for individual members to have their own home 

page in the new database With a communication option for those who just don’t do 

technology…….on their individual home page we could ensure the name/phone or email of 

their immediate leader is there….so you know who to contact.......It would be a more permanent 

system if the members get engaged with it. If members can update their own data rather than 

depending on an HQ admin…or a co-ordinator in a district..it’s a much better thing to own your 

own data. It is really really important. 

Ipswich Open Mtg 

dbase Database admin 

So should the leaders take it on rather than appointing lots of co-ordinators Yes its got to be 

the leaders: a new SGI-UK info system maintained by the entire leadership of the movement. 

There are going to be people in districts who aren’t going to update their details. So leaders 

take responsibility where the member cant…..It might be combination of both…i.e. some coordinators 

supplementing the leaders Airlines you have to do it all on line now ….So in some 

cases you go round to your district leader sit beside them at their computer and fill in the SGI- 

UK `airline stuff`! Perhaps the one to one discussions with district leaders what can help 

illuminate this. 


dbase District leaders 

I think it is quite difficult at the district level to maintain lists..to maintain all your email lists and 

to consistently communicate ….effectively including new people who are coming along . It’s a 

challenge and part of our human revolution…to make that happen in the best way but if there is 

any way we can support district leaders in doing that. 


dbase 


I really like the idea of the home page . The idea that you can go through a website connected 

to your home page and find study material, save it to your home page, so when you log on to 

your home page, you can click on to something and carry on with that point of study. That’s the 

kind of thing that can happen when you have a home page. You could save it as a link. 

SLNC Open Mtg 

dbase 


A lot of members don’t know who their leaders are….could we make it so your home page 

shows you who the nearest divisional leader to you is. That might just be their email address. 

SLNC Open Mtg 


dbase 


With a home page for each member there is potential for a skype connection via each home 

page as well. Facebook page. Can you share your social media Twitter…the full range…If you 

want to share your social media addresses they are there for you to share..if not you don’t have 

to. 

SLNC Open Mtg 

dbase 

Structure 

the Brazilian system shows the structure. So you click on their equivalent of say London and all 

the areas are shown, you click on an area, its HQs are shown, you click on an HQ its chapters 

are shown, you click on a chapter its districts are shown. If we made ALL structure information 

available to all members in the new SGI-UK information system, that as well as having maps, 

you can find districts, chapters, HQs etc right across the country 

SLNC Open Mtg 

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District leaders 

Sovereign groups reporting 


members from overseas 

discussion meeting categories 

Publication 

Structure 

I have a few friends who are district leaders and they really struggle with juggling all this 

information, email addresses, contact details, where people live. If I can log in and there are all 

the people I am looking after straightaway. So I don’t have to sift through emails etc 

How about different divisions, lilacs, sokas maybe That members could use a tabular form of 

filtering the database as well as mapping….and that tabular form could give access to lilacs in a 

part of the structure for the lilac chief for that part of the structure etc. So perhaps whose 

contact details are seen relates to which sovereign groups in SGI-UK the member is part of 

and that the leaders of those groups are able to make sure everybody in those groups is shown 

as being in those groups on the database. 

Half the time over my yearsof practice I didn’t know who my leaders were. It was a never 

changing landscape I could never get my head around. Whats your district called I don’t know. 

I`ve been in this house for 16 years that’s all I know. 

When people want to find the local Budddhist meeting or they`ve moved district..there are a lot 

of people who move to the UK…that there is a very simple system where you can leave your 

postcode, and an HQ leader can contact you and have a talk. 

My Muslim friend cam to two different discussion meetings. No way is she going to practice 

Buddhism but she could go down as an observer. 

I would love an e version of the AOL. There already is an audio version. (which I would also like 

to download so I can listen to it in the bath) The SGI Canada newsletter comes out in very nice 

format electronically. I don’t need to scroll through it. Lots of devices read to you and in quite a 

reasonable voice. That would help my mum 

a clear picture how the organisation is structured. what the various grops are, what are the 

various district are and what they are up to. A sort of Family Tree 

SLNC Open Mtg 

SLNC Open Mtg 

Taplow Court Open Mtg 




VET1 


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Email 

Data Protection 

Local relevance 

Some members/leaders are very very adverse to technology-don’t want learn about it. Sending 

attachment by email is major challenge. ---Any future developments should take into account 

the less technical members of the SGI after this consultation we are not all suddenly going to 

become communication wizards, this needs to be taken into account wherever the consultation 

leads Options for how want to be communicated with…and you have said I don’t do the internet 

please post me the details held on me once a year, and send me the ebulletin regularly…It’s a 

resource judgment does the district leader do it or Taplow Court. It should be Taplow 

Court..district leaders may forget, be away, send wrong info etc Choosing to print attachments 

and hand delivering them to members and leaders who don't have access to digital 

technologies is a one way to overcome this challenge. Also conveying information verbally is 

brilliant too. We can choose to use a variety ways to communicate with everyone - I think it's 

great if we (sgi-uk) can enable individuals to have a choice over how they receive information VET1 

Over use of email erodes family life, meal times, stresses people out, people dont get a decent 

break....it is a problem in SGI-UK. Email is the easiest way to communicate non-critical 

information to a large membership. Either that or a membership portal that everyone has 

access to, but even then you still need to be notified when there is something new to view, in 

which case email has a huge role to play.I personally find that if I don't get sent things by email I 

never hear about them. 

VET1 

People are very unsure of themselves about the sharing of data. They tend to be conservative. 

To give people confidence we need to be very clear where the boundaries are in terms of how 

we share data 

VET1 

For Kosen rufu to be expanding our membership system has to offer lots locally and be 

maintained and used locally….we dipped our toe in the water with Charisma now we need to go 

the whole hog 

VET4 

dbase 

Discussion meeting categories 

People coming regularly not receiving Gohonzon but chanting regularly..not members 

….coming for a while…is this naitoku….naitoku for 10 years…..Naitoku not in the UK stats… 

…but as observers Also a member visiting other discussion meetings..they are not a 

guest..what is s/he… Is he a visiting member I travel around a lot..surely I'm on that districts 

discussion meeting stats. Its another column `visiting member` from another district… 

VET4 

dbase 

Transparency 

What ever database system is in place, there needs to be complete transparency as to where 

changes are reported. ie. Should a member be able to change his/her address online, then it 

should be made clear (to them) that this information is being passed to leader x or y etc 

VET4 

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Reports 

What I'd like is pretty simple. Yes district leaders to access (read only) their lists, also chapter 

and hq. they should be able to see their own lists, and update via hq admin person. They must 

not be able to delete people, as Sgi has a policynaboutntaiten and sleeping members. 

VET4 

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Discussion meeting figures 

Courses 

Each district can get a login to report attendance of discussion and other meetings. After each 

meeting you get the list to click and clarify the attendance with names. This will help dynamic 

update of the entire numbers and also all leaders can use this data to make targets. 

The new system should help us with courses. For example, to print off lists for courses and 

badges and have an online form. Courses put too much info on member machines 

VET4 

VET4 


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Reports 


Member home page 


Reports 

Reports 

Reports 

Reports 


soka, lilac, transport, keibi, guardian, sunflower leaders need access to the most up to date 

information about the members in their group including previous history in their and other 

sovereign groups……..It will NEVER be up,to date as always last minute changes - a waste of 

time! 

VET4 

Enabling leaders to track attendances at meetings so they can pick up trends when people stop 

attending or are having problems………………….They should know anyway. A 

misunderstanding of what itc is for in my view…..There could be an anon code so you would 

know how many of the practising members went. The current stats don’t tell you if it’s the same 

people or half the district isn’t practising…..Anonymising isn’t big brother but you get an idea of 

how many are regularly attending etc....this is `big brother`. The support between leaders and to 

members……that support and care …we don’t want big brother in the UK…its like the truant 

officer coming round! 

VET4 

Individual members should have their own account in the new membership system and have 

access to and be able to update their own personal information………….This should include 

access to personalised pages to manages subscriptions to publications, kosen-rufu fund 

statements and online contribution etc. It should be possible to see all info held by Sgi on me 

and to edit / correct etc.............….maintain our details…if move out of the area put in own 

details….you are responsible for your changes ..some people are not into the internet so we will 

still need some peoples details to be input locally You could input your level of communication 

requirements Whether you want to receive emails or not . Then you get the information sent to 

the people who are asking for it..............yes with public and private parts really understandable VET4 

Having to send in a form every time someone is appointed to a leadership position is timeconsuming 

VET4 

The reporting side needs to be visual because people grasp things quicker if it’s a visual image 

rather than numbers you have to analyse..Not everyone!……….Graphs and numbers would 

help everyone 

VET4 

The new system should help me see how our discussion meetings and Gohonzon receiving are 

doing compared with others….Why not if easily done……...We are interested to see the 

discussion meeting stats about the rest of of the country there`s a friendly competition thing 

about it ….but it also lets people see across the HQ whats happening..matters to district 

leaders. If a district is down can offer support.................. 

VET4 

I think district chapter and hq leaders should be able to see their own relevant info.and I would 

like it to be sortable by division, district, chapter etc 

VET4 

Nearly every year we bestow Tokuso or omomori Gohonzons, so local report on length practice 

/responsibility and whether they already have one would be helpful 

VET4 

Faith leaders need to see the information about their members, the results of discussion 

and study and meetings in their part of the organisation and be able to query the system VET4 

dbase 

Skype 

The new membership system should record people's skype address………...yes - but only if 

they tick a box agreeing to it - and what they are agreeing to needs to be carefully explained 

VET4 


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Member moves district 

Security 

Publication 

Sovereign Groups 

s a district leader, when a member leaves the district to go to another part of the country, I 

would like the membership system to help me ensure they arrive safely in their new 

district…….hether we keep people not seen for a while, then find out they have moved. They 

vanish. There`s a hole in it. Major limitation is not having functionality to transfer member to 

another district….It is London members who are moving in and out of districts a lot-transfer 

functionality 

VET4 

Only keep and change member data within a secure official SGI-UK data store…….and allow 

me (as a member) to be in charge of entering and updating my own details on this system - not 

an HQ representative. I prefer to make my own typos ;o)……..As an HQ administrator, I'm all in 

favour of members being able to update their own contact details but tight security would be 

needed to ensure only their own details are visible. 

VET5 

AOL magazine to be published digitally as another subscription option………...Yes to digital 

copies, not sure about cost savings but definitely would use less resources. Then there is the 

savings in postage. ….Would be good too if they were "searchable"…….. am for the use of this, 

but we would need to include DRM, this would mean that people would need to respect the 

AOL and its team. By sharing around digital copies, you would be disrespecting them.........Big 

yes to a digital aol (and maintaining printed AOL too).........es! This is long overdue...........Great 

idea especially with the advent of smartphone and reading electronic devices. This could also 

save paper printing etc... possibly cost.......gree - with more people using tablets such as the 

Galaxy, Surface or iPad, having access to not only the current AOL, but historical ones without 

needing to carry a suitcase everywhere would be a great bonus. It may also be easier to get 

more overseas subscribers too with a digital version.............ould be really useful for people who 

dont spent a lot of time at their residential address (having to wait to read) or for boat dwellers - like VET7 me with no postal address! also, for t 

For national and regional lilac cover we currently have a system of manually distributing cover 

dates via email. When there are gaps in the schedule, emails need to be circulated to inform 

lilacs of available opportunities. It would be great to centralise the lilac cover scheduling as a 

more efficient way to share information about lilacing opportunities. The same could apply for 

Soka too. Perhaps the schedule system can be used to send alerts via email or text when there 

are opportunities to lilac The visual representation of all the opportunities to lilac or soka - 

along with details of who to contact in their district or HQ - may act as an encouragement for 

young women and men. This doesn't replace dialogue, but acts as a way to encourage 

questions. 

VET7 

dbase helpfile 

Data protection 

In theUk I receive Gohonzon and my details are put on Charisma without me being asked. I 

move to the UK as a member with Gohonzon. Am asked if is OK to be put on dbase!! 

email88 

dbase helpfile 

Data protection 

Request comes to a member of staff for contact information for member X. Staf give it out OR 

give the person they want to contact the details of the person who wants to contact them. 

Needs consistency and is a data protection part of being clear about the use of your data 

Very simple language DP on not requiring permission, what actually is sensitive information, 

exceptions (e.g. religious organisations-give the source for this), childrens information (not DP 

requirement but good educational practice) 

email89 

dbase helpfile Data protection 

email90 

dbase member 

webpages Search google is expensive if you put it behind a password email112 


dbase mmedia 

member 

webpages Special Groups 

If the Chorus were functionality in a new membership website, how would I have the flexibility to 

use the data as circumstances arise. 

email27 

feedback 

What about a feedback corner Using something like VocalEyes to get feedback from 

members using Taplow Court…the other centres could do the same. Feedback for the AOL. 

Ongoing feedback on infotech issues. 


feedback Governance SGI-Uks Trustees would like feedback from members email127 

feedback 

Reporting Misused SGI 

content 

In new It system should be link so members can report misused sgi content on the internet that 

they have found; give examples, Lisa can report to SGI monitoring team 

email162 

feedback Centres 

Gradually make centres acceissible and used, esp for cultural events get the intention or heart 

right at the start and not just a practical focus..support movement towards this with web pages 

like LIPC for all 4 centres, and also interactive feedback owned and responded too using a tool 

like Vocal Eyes 

email162 

feedback 

feedback 

feedback Centres 

If we have a feedback corner on the new sgi-UK system For centres, re AOL, info tech issues, 

and a built in ongoing feedback process. not just a button which says leave your feedback but 

something visible in a dynamic blog..what is the buzz…not just your personal views and not 

engaging with others feedback…one person might put up one thought and then another 

comments well if you do that …..this is why we have been using vocal eyes…. 

So people are going to want to feel responded to…if you provide some feedback. If we are 

going to make a comment we need people to come back to us. This is about human 

involvement . If we have a feedback tool for a specific centre or for Taplow court or for the 

AOL….Then that involves a key person with responsibility. Vocal Eyes has built into it, ideas, 

proposals, actions and outcomes. 

Taplow Court is a facility for members to use for training courses and activities. To be able to 

efficiently collect their suggestions, comments and feedback from their experience of using 

Taplow Court would greatly aid the process of improving how the centre is administrated and 

run. 


SLNC Open Mtg 

VET7 

help desk 

helpfiles 

helpfiles 

helpfiles 

helpfiles 

Usability 

Usability 

Usability 

Usability 

Something like the Brazilian system needs people you can ring up and ask questions. One of 

the banes of modern technology is the inability to get a person to speak to. This must NOT 

happen. But we shouldn’t centralise it. We should be training people around the country to be 

able to answer questions. Maybe in the HQ there is one leader who is the superuser, has a 

broader view, can get more reports out if need be. Perhaps can support some of the other 

leaders. They can direct people to a `how to` video. Documentation is tedious. The new SGI-UK 

information system will need a take the tour initial video. If you were an advanced user you 

could watch the advanced videos if you were a simple user watch the simple videos. 

SLNC Open Mtg 

To make the new SGI-UK system easy to use-have a help tool comes up and takes you round 

the system with a voice over..last 2 minutes and fires up every time first log on..can decide to 

cancel and take the tour at any time later! Plus guidelines and an audio version of our creating 

value on the internet approach 

email101 

Helping to make the system easy to use ..hover cursor over fields so get explanation of what 

they are 

email106 

The Charisma help file headings would be good as the start of wizards when we wish to do 

something. So I would like to see any future system employ this method. 

email111 


helpfiles FB twitter email 

SGI uk member should be encouraged and trained on how to deal with online slander and at 

the same time try through ICT to spread our message related to the importance of the one to 

one face to face dialogue 

VET1 

helpfiles Security Help members to understand in terms of IT security why we do what we do VET5 

helpfiles Usability 

Help files could be created and made available for new members and aimed at complete 

beginners to the practice. These would cover subjects that more experienced users take for 

granted. 

VET6 

helpfiles 

Usability 

We will need an enormous help section...loads of very simple help files……..his is good but the 

files need to be thought through in detail so that they are clearly understood and possibily 

supported by a contact email or telephone just in case users get stuck or confused. 

VET6 

helpfiles Security 

Clear information re: password security to members, changing it, what is a weak password etc 

OR prompt to do so every few months. It only takes a few minutes to hack a weak password 

which can then be used across sites (if the same is used)…...whats https is, virus scans etc VET7 

internet tools Study Skype 

To alleviate the struggle to travel long distances when our agenda's are already extremely 

challenging we are endeavouring to use techno stuff ie skype to get more people involved in 

study prep. At the same time on Sunday 19th we will be trying to get one step ahead by doing 

prep for June and July at set times, still to confirm. The thing with skype is we can share two 

screens for free and I think we can join with voices outside of those screens. We will chant in 

our seperate gatherings and then link the screens and voices. We had a trial run and although 

of course there are limitations I believe with practise we can get real value out of it. I will let you 

know the times and venues. One screen will be at my place. By the way we can link more 

screens but at a price. I will be trying out things later in the week so please watch this space 

!!!!!!!!!!!!! email 103 

internet tools Facebook I would like a Facebook district... With topic of the month for people to comment on. email149 

internet tools Facebook 

Our local fb "Buddhist Friends" closed group is, I think, working very well, for daily guidance 

from Sensei, encouraging and communicating with each other - over 750 members now. Also 

great to be directly linked to members around the world. There have been a couple of issues 

which have been quickly sorted. 

email28 


We are also experimenting with an open fb page for our chapter which is slowly growing and 

attracting interest from non-members all over the world, if in small numbers. We are "creating 

events" for upcoming meetings. 

email29 


A number of us are finding that fb is the most effective way to reach some people. Having daily 

/ very frequent contact with each other is transforming my experience of our local organisation 

from isolated and dry to warm and bouncy. 

email30 


I am interested that sgi info is now posting on fb regularly - people, including non-members, 

respond very well to the photos. It is amazing how many people don't seem to know that sgi.org 

exists, let alone is full of resource material in all sorts of areas. 

email31 


internet tools 







Facebook 

Facebook 

Twitter search 

Photos/Video 

Skype 

Skype 

Skype 

I think that SGI-UK is really behind in the use of modern technology. Social media is where it's 

at in 2013. This will help this organisation to expand ( kosenrufu) and it could also reinforce the 

bonds within the tissue of the organisation. hrough Facebook SGI will in the near future reach 

many new people. I am aware that it sounds like a strange idea. But many people are time poor 

these days, they only socialise online or plan events well in advance. Yet they all spend an 

extraordinary amount of time on their smart phones and Ipads. 

email35 

Facebook groups should be created for each district. The groups are 'closed', so there is still 

this notion of confidentiality. The subject of the meeting could be announced well in advance for 

each quarter. It gives the opportunity for members to bounce back ideas and experiences 

online before the meeting. The members who feel a bit shy about speaking in public would feel 

more confident to express themselves. As a matter of fact, the members would naturally feel 

inclined to invite friends from within their own contacts lists to upcoming meetings. Some 

people cannot make it to meetings because of poor health,babysitting issues or work 

commitments. 

email35 

Twitter will be brilliant too. Ashtags ( # ) could effortlessly make people more aware of this 

organisation : when people google a specific topic. A SGI ashtag would appear .It gives another 

perspective on modern topics. It is also an effortless way to make people more aware of this 

Buddhist organisation. 1.Let me explain a bit more about # hastags . The humble #hashtag 

emerged as a grassroots invention by Twitter users, for categorizing and sharing tweets. Now, 

viral hashtags are a major way to follow top news stories, celebrities, products and trends. Lets 

say that SGI as an organisation focuses for example to devote one year to the topic of change 

or youth or even hope. Or an article entitled 'Hope makes people invincible' appears in AOL. 

The tweets would appear for example with # change or # faith # hope. There could be videos 

about experiences or more prosaic Lotus Sutra extracts. Anybody interested in such a topic 

could come across this article while researching such a theme on twitter. Many people just 

check Twitter before even reading a newspaper online (or in the real world) .This would introduce email36 people to this Buddhist practice by sho 

Video calls on Ipad (or even Skype) could be used as a tool for leaders to reach more members 

for a few minutes or even for long distance guidance. 

email37 

I had just started to support a new district when I had to stay at home due to having men 

working on my central heating. I was able to Skype so could participate in the meeting and we 

all thought it was great. I am not advocating Skyping instead of going to meetings but there are 

times when it is impossible for us to get to a particular meeting for a variety of reasons. email53 

In one district there is a member who has to travel for work reasons and had asked if he could 

participate in his district meetings whilst elsewhere. He was reasonably new to the practice at 

the stage he asked but one leader in the district adamantly refused to allow this to happen. 

Luckily the member was strong enough to manage on his own bur he misses out on many 

meetings due to this refusal. 

email53 

Mother with young children and husbands who work late can often not get to meetings and I 

have had many such mothers feeling isolated because of this. They have usually been very 

active Young Women and, suddenly, cannot participate as they used to and they feel this 

badly. Skype is such a brilliant way of keeping in touch and being able to be part of meetings if 

not physically able toget to them. 

email53 



Facebook Linked in 

A member saying to me that for serious use by SGI-UK Facebook has a big problem that you 

cant control who becomes a friend...that individuals can sign up their entire following to a 

persons page.....Does linked in offer more control who actually gets access to a persons page 

Linked in does offer additional control and allows the group moderator to decide which requests 

are accepted. On FB you can control who becomes a friend of your personal page, but not who 

‘likes’ an organisation, but you can create groups and restrict access. 

email54 

internet tools Everyme 

A member said they thought it would be great for SGI to have its own version of facebook!!! a 

bold thought....could linked in provide something close to this for SGI-UK There are a couple 

of systems that allow you to create your own private social network with many characteristics 

similar to FB:-Yammer;Ning (we used this for our Masters degree students and alumni, but it 

has pretty much fallen out of use in the last couple of years); I heard of one on the BBC news 

‘click’ programme called everyme.com which looks very interesting 

email55 

internet tools Linked in Can `linked in` be something we recommend rather than facebook email6 

Elluminate Live! communication tools include integrated Voice over IP and teleconferencing, 

public and private chat, quizzing and polling, emoticons, and a webcam tool. The software 

includes several visual tools, including whiteboard, application sharing, file transfer, and web 

tour. The software also includes a record feature that allows the moderator to record the class 

for others to watch later as well as a graphing tool, breakout rooms for group work, and timer. 

The whiteboard supports the uploading of presentations for viewing on the whiteboard for class 




Elluminate Live 

Facebook Creating Value 

Online 

Facebook 

or meeting 

I am a member of the Advisory Council on youth of the Council of Europe which at the moment 

is running and promoting the ''NO HATE SPEECH MOVEMENT'' related to all the form of 

human right violation on line and the effect that it is having into society.here the link: 

http://www.nohatespeechmovement.org/I do believe we have a role to play here in term of 

advancing for kosen rufu.I am chanting for SGI to get involved in this movement, because I 

believe we can do a lot as we already do in other contexts and international 

organization.Furthermore, I think that SGI uk member should be encouraged and trained on 

how to deal with online slander and at the same time try through ICT to spread our message 

related to the importance of the one to one face to face dialogue which no application can 

honestly substitute,but maybe help or complement the will of our purpose 

Please could we have a social media presence Being able to follow SGI-UK on twitter and 

facebook is not only wonderful from a support/guidance perspective, liking and re-tweeting 

posts would be a great cause for Kosen-rufu. 

email9 

email91 

email92 






Facebook 

FB twitter 

FB websites twitter accounts 

Google tools 

what about the comments about SGI creating its own version of Facebook Opportunities for 

bullying, victimising and general nastiness are incredible. Who is administrator for a FB page is 

crucial. Crucial to when people are having a go at each other. There are example of very soft 

positive use within SGI-UK in encouraging people, keeping in touch and even enabling non 

members to get to their first discussion meeting. It can remind some members they are not 

alone. If an SGI organisation put themselves in the hands of FB big time, they would be putting 

a lot at risk, because FB may in future impose all kinds of controls ..basically that organisation 

would not be able to control what FB enabled them to do...I have met people through courses 

and introduced people …..and I might find them again through FB etc And they ask about my 

practice. Its keeping those links going. 


t is quite hard to protect the information on there and make sure people don’t use it the wrong 

way. With Facebook there is no dialogue or human interaction. That can be dangerous- being 

led by a technological way of thinking-------Social media tools such as FB and Twitter are now a 

major part of life on the internet. To fear such invaluable tools due to a perception of no human 

interaction is I feel a reluctance to find out more about the power of social media to an 

organisation of the people such as SGI-UK. Human interaction happens in real time.-------We 

need to embrace technology not fear it. We should be creating support groups at local chapter 

or area level so we can support each member in the way they wish. And this can only help 

communication at those levels, whcih can somtimes be a little slapdash.We've moved beyond 

email now, FB and twitter must be used too, embracing the technology while being aware of the 

downsides. We could create local groups on twitter, FB, maybe even google + at area or 

chapter level so we can support each other much more easily. Our local closed "friends" group VET1 

Unofficial sites which could be taken as offocial SGI(UK) sites he danger of information being 

put out there that is perceived as an SGI position when it may be one person’s opinion. Most 

people, my self included who have SGI content online, often make a point of saying we are not 

official SGI pages. THere are however quite a few people online who say they are SGI and try 

to take money from people etc, so we have to all be aware of this stuff. IT is up to us as 

members to protect our organisation. his is already happening - quite a lot. I believe it is wellintentioned 

(eg someone feels safe hiding behind a twitter name of @SokaSpirit and feel proud 

to link to an SGI website not realising that it makes them look official. I think this needs to be 

tidied up but dealt with very delicately. 

VET1 

Google has many tools facilitating joined up communication. All these tools are Free to Use and 

could resolve many issues on this site: Google Talk: A telephone system that allows people 

with a Google profile to call each other for free. It also has audio conferencing features. Using a 

Google+ Hangout enables this to be done as a video chat, so that all participants can actually 

see each other. This then caters for face-to-face meetings. Google Drive: The ability to centrally 

store documents and automatically share them with the membership without having to send 

emails. Create a "Newsletter" folder which is shared with someone, every time a new newsletter 

is put into the folder everyone has instant access to it. Google Calendar: All districts/chapters 

could enter basic details of meetings into a calendar, so that people with smart phones can 

subscribe and have the meeting details automatically appear in their phone calendars. It also 

means that District/Chapter/HQ leaders view whether meetings clash I personally would be very 

reluctant to allow Google access to any personal data These are free apps so what is the actual "cost" VET3 Does that mean that Google will 


internet tools Linked in 

it may be useful to have a presence on linked-in, particularly something that members of the 

academic community can connect with and follow. Significant events such as Sensei's peace 

proposals, environmental proposals or when he receives an academic or other recognition 

could be reported through this resource 

VET3 

internet tools Survey monkey Survey monkey might find a use for getting views online That is what this site is for VET3 

internet tools Conference calls 

Conference calls by telephone are more reliable than Skype but will cost a small amount 

(compared with the cost of petrol, loss of time while driving etc): powwownow, conference genie 

and hellomail are examples 

VET3 

internet tools Skype 

internet tools Drop box 

internet tools Doodle 

internet tools Chant Buddy 

internet tools Eventbrite 

internet tools Basecamp software 

internet tools 

internet tools Schedule creator 

or making free phone calls or having more than two people talking together in a conference call. 

Can be problems with the quality of the call…. had just started to support a new district when I 

had to stay at home due to having men working on my central heating. I was able to Skype so 

could participate in the meeting and we all thought it was great.In one district there is a member 

who has to travel for work reasons and had asked if he could participate in his district meetings 

whilst elsewhere. He was reasonably new to the practice at the stage he asked but one leader 

in the district adamantly refused to allow this to happen. I can see that some of our older 

members, myself included, will get to the stage where getting out in the evenings may become 

difficult and even impossible. Mother with young children and husbands who work late can 

often not get to meetings and I have had many such mothers feeling isolated because of this. 

They have usually been very active Young Women and, suddenly, cannot participate as they 

used to and they feel this badly. Skype is such a brilliant way of keeping in touch and being able VET3 to be part of meetings if not physically a 

Drop box is a way of sharing files. We used it to put together this years grade 1 and 2 study 

material. We used it to make sure everyone was working from the same versions..good 

system. 

VET3 

Doodle s a way of setting up meetings especially leaders meetings. It enables you to suggest a 

number of dates/times/places. These get emailed to everyone invited to the meeting and they 

click on dates and times they can do. 

VET3 

Chant buddy is an app you can download and put in your own goals, log your daimoku and it 

works out how much you have done towards that 

VET3 

s free software for organising ticketed events. It has been used for kayo kai event ticketing..at a 

university they use it for events…I've used it…very useful…very simple 

VET3 

Email's not going away any time soon, but it's very messy. Online project management systems 

like Basecamp, which I use a lot, help teams keep emails in organised threads, post documents 

for restricted access, maintain diaries and keep named people updated. A similar facility for us 

would help enormously. 

VET4 

A page on the new member website which recommends free software tools on the internet for 

use within SGI-Uks activities……..that is something to be very careful about - we are 

responsible for all of our "published" recommendations 

VET6 

I have developed 2 tools which make schedule creation easier ( for me anyway! ). 1) A cloudbased 

shared monthly diary which Chapter/District leaders fill in and edit at their leisure. 2) A 

spreadsheet-based program which captures the shared diary and generates a formatted 

monthly schedule in Word format. It also understands recurring items such as "3rd Wednesday 

in the month" which potentially avoids much duplication. I would be happy to discuss these tools 

with anyone interested. 

VET7 



Teamspeak 

Use a TeamSpeak client to communicate with a TeamSpeak server to hold 

local/regional/national/international discussion meetings. Obeying the principle of the voice 

does the Buddha's work 

VET7 


Study 

s there a way - for Chapter study given at one venue to be available in maybe 2 or 3 other 

venues. I don't think you should be able to access it athome for personal use but if you could go 

to District meeting to watch the lecture that is given more people could access this. Sometimes 

we have to travel 2hrs to get to a venue and then of course lectures are not well attended. The 

District is the perfect place to listen together and then discuss ready for the discussion meeting. 

Not sure of technolgoy involved as a bit of a techno dimbo myself - it's taken me ages to get in 

here and make this comment!........I feel this is a good concept, especially for districts that are 

spread out so far distance. It can also aid those who are too ill to attend. They can therefore, 

access the guidance in these lectures 

VET7 


Searching 

Searching Buddhism in Google When you do this SGI should come up...can we make this 

happen…..I nice idea, but not really feasible. The topic is wy too broad and we cant really 

stake claim over a keyword that encompasses many many other forms of Buddhism :) 

Twitter will be brilliant too. Hashtags ( # ) could effortlessly make people more aware of this 

organisation : when people google a specific topic. An SGI hashtag would appear .It gives 

another perspective on modern topics. It is also an effortless way to make people more aware 

of this Buddhist organisation. Lets say that SGI as an organisation focuses for example to 

devote one year to the topic of change or youth or even hope. Or an article entitled 'Hope 

makes people invincible' appears in AOL. The tweets would appear for example with # change 

or # faith # hope. There could be videos about experiences or more prosaic Lotus Sutra 

extracts. Anybody interested in such a topic could come across this article while researching 

such a theme on twitter. Many people just check Twitter before even reading a newspaper 

online (or in the real world) .This would introduce people to this Buddhist practice by showing 

them what SGI is all about.....I think we need to very wary of using social media to promote SGIinternet 

tools Twitter 

UK or our activities. There is already plenty of stuff about SGI online (good and bad). The VET7 


member 

webpages Event brite Lou Marinoff-is ticketed event did we use event brite email96 


mmedia 

Districts skype video 

VET7 

I went to the discussion meeting here (Carolina) last Saturday ….a lady on Skype from 

Singapore, There are few members here and have to travel long distances to get to larger 

meetings. As it was May contribution month the had streaming from the general director a 

followed by the ywd explaining how contribution had been used over the last year. Then there 

were two amazing experience around contribution and a comedy sketch from the youth division. 

It was interesting how they are using technology to reach everyone every state even if there are 

only a few members there. 

email95 



policies 

mapping 

mapping 

Facebook 

Mapping 

Mapping 

SGI-UK to have an official presence on Facebook which is properly supported and able to 

respond/participate...There might be some value in an official SGI-UK facebook page as part of 

our efforts to engage with wider society. I dont think it would move KR forward its own though. 

In my experience the organisation grows when we challenge ourselves through human 

revolution and become more capable of supporting new members. For local facebook pages 

where they are a reflection of those members' autonomous determination to promote KR, 

based on the wisdom gained from taking responsibility in that area they can create the most 

value............Hello, There is already a SGI Facebook page - 

https://www.facebook.com/sgiusa.info as well as many of these other groups - 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SGIUKLONDONMEMBERS/ where people from all over the 

country connect. However, I think a UK SGI page would be a good idea, it could integrate in to 

the UK Members site, and events, updates can be pushed to it. CLOSED Facebook groups are 

necessary for local areas, as they protect members. But a National Page would be a great idea, just VET7 remember all these things take man 

At the front of the system there should be a map from which you can find activities nearest to 

you. Im beginning to see in the database a few fields for districts……here is the postcode we 

would like used on the map…..here is the email so when people click on that point on the map 

and want to make contact. 


A picture paints a 1000 words. So the power of seeing the membership on a map of the UK, but 

you cant see WHO they are from any of the points on the map (the points don’t carry any 

information)…but you can see where the membership is on a map system ….when I have 

discovered there are 15 member 5 miles from me..then I need to get the district contact 

details….to be able to wind back five years and ten years and then to look today….to be able to 

see the growth of the movement..THAT is encouraging 


Some people have been suggesting one of the things you get when you enter the new info 

system is a map of the UK ..that you can use to find activities anywhere all over the 

country….that you can find what the district have decided to put up as an email address and the 

postcode it has decided to use. So in the new member database, at the district level, someone 

has got to decide what to put into that table that the map draws from. For some people emails 

easily get buried but if somebody rang me it would be in my life far easier. Human 

contact….just different….Its time too. If you haven’t done it instantly gets put on the back 

burner. The choice for the district could therefore be an email or a phone number (to put on the 

map). Why not decentralise this straight to districts. That’s where Kosen rufu is. Keeping it 

mapping Mapping 

central means the caseload is going to go up and up. 


When you get to the SGI-UK site there is no place where you can just click and get info about 

`this is in my area` and to show where districts are. Ah that’s my district click and get more 

information. There are people in Cumbria, there are people in Edinburgh I`ll click on these. 

Then you bring up some more localised information..almost a calendar page saying we have a 

meeting here and here. If you want to get in touch click this link. . Better to make the informed 

choice yourself say on a map of the UK. It would be great to have a map of the UK like google 

maps…it’s a real support thing…just to know there are people practising here here and here. 

mapping Mapping 

We cover the whole of the UK. 


mapping Websnaps web snaps is to present data; built on mapping platform see co-operative web website email112 


mapping 

mapping 

mapping 

Mapping 

mapping/memb 

er webpages 

mapping/memb 

er webpages 

mapping/memb 

er webpages 

Mapping daimoku 

Mapping 

Mapping 

Mapping 

Mapping 

Mapping 

Mapping 

All the YWD doing daimoku in the UK and its been travelling from the north to the south….we 

are showing the YW using email how its passing from one area to the next ….it would have 

been great to be able to just go and see on a map on the YWD page in the member website. Ipswich Open Mtg 

Can we have an Interactive map showing the organisation so you can actually see where the 

different areas are. It is actually really useful to be able to see visually for example what the 

South of England covers. 

VET2 

Map where the membership is it’s a real support thing…just to know there are people practising 

here here and here. We cover the whole of the UK 

Digital map of discussion meeting locations-a district discussion meeting is held in a private 

home -the address of the members' house should not be published 

VET2 

Map where districts are to show where districts are. Ah that’s my district click and get more 

information. Then you bring up some more localised information..almost a calendar page 

saying we have a meeting here and here. If you want to get in touch click this link. 

VET2 

a list/map of the HQ's within SGI-UK and who the leaders are. It helps to get a sense of how the 

organisation is growing and it demystifies the whole organisational structure 

VET2 

It is great when you take on a responsibility within SGI, but would be great if you could see a 

geographical representation of the area/hq/chapter/district that you are responsible 

VET2 

member 

webpages 

ebulletin don’t do internetinclusion 

For people who are not connected with the internet the thought is that the ebulletin would be 

transformed into something that is viewable in a browser but that we figure out a way to also 

compile it on a monthly basis so it will go on enough double sided A4 to go in a 60p stamp 

envelop, say. And on a monthly basis we have some choices. Either it goes out by post 

centrally or it goes out electronically and the district undertakes to pass it on. 


member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

Senseis newsletter 

SGI-UK schedule 

Centres 

It would be wonderful if you could search the Sensei newsletter repository online. ...One of the 

really big areas on the internet is web databases..it’s a search tool with an enormous amount of 

data sitting behind which you don’t have access to directly. You have some search boxes for 

you to use to find things IN that data….Enabling people to access and use that huge repository Bristol Open Mtg 

We discussed getting ahead of the coming annual sgi-uk schedule-speakers didn’t think about 

the member website! 

email101 

put the "Centre Manager / Faith Leader's Handbook for LIPC" online and accessible to the 

relevant members (but not all members) via the website. The booklet is put together by the 

committee responsible for LIPC - Pete Morris, Cath Cinnamon, etc - and then distributed via 

Area leaders to HQ leaders down to the District leaders that do the actual activity. This means 

that the information is invariably out of date by the time a centre manager actually receives it 

and often new information about the centre doesn't actually filter down through this system of 

communication at all. 

email123 


member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

Centres 

Search 

Photos text 

Courses 

Publication 

As a regular Centre Manager, it would be great if I could log on to the system and: - see in a 

shared online diary when I was next booked in to do my responsibility- see what activities were 

booked in - see who else was booked in for the same shift (ie keibi, faith leader, lilac, soka 

guardian)- be instantly alerted to any new info on both my next shift and LIPC in general (eg 

how to light the new electronic candles etc)- be able to access all relevant information to my 

responsibility (ie everything in the current handbook + maybe extra stuff)- be able to send a 

message instantly to the LIPC committee if I have a question or if I have feedback about 

something that happened when I was responsible for the centre 

N Ireland WD area ;leader-they want a `link` to stop people going south and assuming there 

isnt anybody in the north. So when search on Norther Ireland something comes up!! Yes maps 

could help 

Idea of a web page on member website for member to upload text and photios for 

authorisation, and that it allows them to tag it to the correct destination around the site (by 

default it will go to the national pages equivalent of ebulletin) 

my suggestion is to include the provision of some online tool that can be used to create forms 

online (for instance based on survey monkey or vovici) for use at courses. this would save 

much paper work and possibly the cutting down of trees. ideally this online tool should also 

allow payment for, say, course fees. a link to an online course form could be easily shared with 

members that would prefer to use that, not to fully replace paper of course if some do not have 

access to the internet or a computer. but i think it would make managing member course 

information easier. this is based on my own experince of supporting a few course, currently our 

family course. 

Why does the e-bulletin have to be so Loooo Res Is just one case in point - I dont just 

highlight it because I was on the course - can you see the chains in the image the report 

mentions No probably not unless you have 20:20 vision!!! I've mentioned it before I admit. But 

please can the image resolution be increased and if not why not 

I notice that many of the members are suffering through lack of “up-to-date” guidance. They 

are stuck! I know some effort is required on their part – but hunting down the right person has 

email124 

email128 

email131 

email152 

email20 

member 

webpages Guidance 

proved to be a long task for me. 

email22 

member 

Websites have to be compliant for people w disabilities. RNIB example. Use Direct.info website 

webpages Accessibility 

which is about travel as a model 

email26 

member 

webpages Guidance receiving "To My Friends" by email every other day from Japan is also a massive boost. email33 

member 

Can we get a package to use to book spaces in our centres to save building it into the website 

webpages Centres 

Can use the Brazil system as a guide 

email41 

I often chant domei daimoku and wondered if we should use dial in numbers or Skype to hear 

the other people who are chanting with us at the same time so that we are really supporting 

each other. I often use these for work and they often have a free 0800 number and should be 

Daimoku 

inexpensive to run. 

email43 

Facebook 

Districts 

Regarding Facebook, on reflection, I think an official English language online message board 

would probably be better than Facebook 

it would be great to see a website which allows people to see what is going on in neighbouring 

districts, 


email47 

email47

member 

webpages Experiences it would be great to see a website which allows people to to share experiences email47 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

Daimoku 

Reporting Misused Content 

I recently had a challenging period with my partner being seriously ill in hospital and my district 

leader texted me whenever he was chanting. His doing that encouraged me to chant when he 

was chanting and I otherwise would not have chanted at that time. So it made me think that a 

website where people could just post to say they are going to do an hour or whatever may 

encourage people to go to the gohonzon when they are feeling low. 

My other comment is that browsing the web can be dangerous. The false and misleading 

information freely published about the SGI, including SGI UK should I feel be a major concern. 

Unsuspecting browsers with a genuine interest in Buddhism could,getting a false impression of 

the SGI, more than simply fall by the wayside end up suffering as a result. Perhaps we could 

look for a way to monitor these sites and take appropriate action to counter what they to say.I 

understand that it is possible in consultation with the service providers to have inaccurate and 

offensive sites closed 

email47 

email5 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

Study 

districts 

District schedules 

districts structure 

Ebooks 

Podcasts: Members are always asking me where they can download the Study Podcasts (hint, I 

can't do this myself). I understand that at present, they only go to leaders who are doing 

Chapter Study. It would be great to make the material available to all members. 

email94 

What I do think would be fantastic is a web page for each district…so the district has an 

identity…..that is accessible from the internet. So people who want to find SGI-UK can find a 

district page..and can leave a message…so district can get back in touch and welcome 

them….it could be about putting the schedule up, upcoming meeting, reports from previous 

meeting, welcoming new people A district web presence..it should be a facility/choice not a 

requirement for a district leader to maintain..a choice…. 


You can go onto your district web page ..and there`s a tool to make a district schedule which 

can seen online and it makes a nice print ready pdf. Rather than members ferreting around we 

actually provide templates which immediately can be put online. "Can you take responsibility for 

the schedule" and all you have got is Excel. 


We are quite migratory people. Even around the UK "Oh Im in Norwich next week there`s a the 

schedule and its telling me when the meetings are!"….So we have the mapping which shows 

where district are and gives a contact …then we have the structure tool which shows all the 

different parts of the structure across the Uk . But then in the geographical web pages we have 

districts putting up their schedules. 


Where are we with ebooks Why is it so slow. There is one book in the shop I feel OK reading 

because of the font etc..as someone with dyslexia. I`ve even tried scanning books to get them 

into a format that I want. So all our study material should be in ebook formats as well. That 

could be an easy start point There is software design to create ebooks just like we create pdfs. 

There are so many people I know desperate for that. We could also get it going through our 

divisional pages That means chucking out much less old SGI-UK paper in future. 



member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

Overseas travel by sgi-uk 

members 

We do live in a global world. So is this about the level of information the SGI put up on their 

international site Would be good to have a service that you can contact which tells you 

whether the country you are going to has an official SGI-UK organisation and the contact details 

and if not whether there is a contact person and their contact details. For every single country in 

the world there could be a simple instruction. Sometimes it might simply be to phone Taplow 

Court and speak to X. The SGI web pages at present only covers countries with organisations: 

80 or so. Loads missing. Taplow Court Open Mtg 

we could have online resources to help in the planning and staging of exhibitions. 

Downloadable press packs, with valuable essential information regarding each SGI exhibition 

could be available for members organising events on line, also children's packs, info packs 

etc... which would greatly assist in helping publicise local events and maintain a consistent and 

'official' flow of information. 

VET2 

member 

webpages Exhibitions 

member 

webpages Ebulletin Make it a blog VET2 

putting stuff online is a form of "publishing". I am pretty sure we would need permission (to be 

strict it should be in the form of a model release form) for anyone appearing in the published 

Data Protection 

videos - or else SGI-UK could potentially get in to trouble. 

VET2 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

Divisions 

Senseis newsletter 

Courses 

Study 

Meeting places 

It would be great to have divisional blogs or info-sites with information about national 

activities/campaigns and how to get in touch with a particular division new members etc. 

The site should help give members better access to Sensei`s newsletters Years of material 

accessible in one click. reduce the amount of emails that get sent around One repository would 

eliminate the need for everyone to have a local copy ould also stop issues of people "being 

forgotten" on mailing lists and hours spent checking valid email addresses et An indexed 

collection of the newletters would be a great study tool 

When organising courses there are some generic guidelines which it would be good to be able 

to download 

It would be good to use the website to support the study lectures, helping Hqs and areas keep 

track of who is lecturing when and where and also with study preparation (who is doing it when 

and where) 

In our area I want a part of the new site to have the meeting places that we normally use and 

how to book them 

The UK website could include slow gongyo and other resources for new members new 

members do need support preferably from there district leader or the person who introduced 

them to the practice 

member 

webpages New member resources 

VET2 

member 

webpages Youth Future Division website within SGI-UK main members website VET2 

member 

webpages District leaders SGI-USA where they have a fantastic district leaders resource pages VET2 

member 

webpages Study 

SGI-USA in depth briefing of study lectures for assistant lecturers and lecturers done by a 

senior leader 

VET2 

member 

webpages Communication A page at the front listing all the updated info in the last month VET2 

member 

webpages Statistics 

There should be a statistics page summarising membership, discussion meeting attendance, 

AOL subscription etc……...I do not see the need for this at all 

VET2 


VET2 

VET2 

VET2 

VET2 

VET2

member 

webpages Forms There should be a page where members/leaders can find important forms VET2 

member 

webpages Email Archive SGI-UK email so it canbe searched on line VET2 

People should be able to book guidance more easily ….and know what it is…….Looking for 

guidance online would be fantastic..to find a list of who is available hunting down the right 

person has proved to be a long task for me. good to have a website that explains exactly what 

guidance is, ie. it is not counselling. Also what the participant needs to bring to the session in 

terms of preparation and daimoku. Also what is really important is to understand that the 

member 

webpages Guidance 

guidance is based on both participants chanting together before hand to discuss and issue and 

is not based on the specific personality or qualities of the person giving the guidance. 

VET2 

member 

webpages Courses 

Should be possible electronically; to pay for these events on-line and get a receipt without 

needing to pass on any sensitive information to third parties. 

VET2 

member 

webpages HQs HQs have own area on the website VET2 

member 

webpages Centres 

here should be a webpage showing all the centres room availability and allowing you to book 

rooms not already booked 

VET2 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

Study 

SGI-UK Schedule 

Priesthood 

There needs to be a study page on the member site, offering, for example, Grade 1,2,3 

materials, dates and stats from past exams More study material in addition to the Gosho - vol. 

2; Records of the OTT; Buddhist Dictionary; etc. as well as more general stuff. VET2 

Having the annual SGI-UK schedule on the site is a very good idea: it can be modified during 

the year so everyone sees the most up to date version; It would be great to have an electronic 

calendar to download to save manually entering anniversary's and dates for meetings----This 

could be a shared calendar. Really like this idea 

omewhere on the new member site we should have something about the priesthood issue: 

summary materials and then the current situation---- question why does this keep coming up 

as an organisation we should be moving forward for kozen rufu not back.; really the more 

attention we give this the more importance it gets. There is a lot of info available of the history 

of the split. I do not really care what they are doing now it happened get over it & move on. feel 

it is time for the SGI to move on from this issue. 

VET2 

VET2 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

District schedules 

Study 

Centres 

(using google calendar)Each district could have its own calender, documents, etc. and local 

members could have access to it. Schedules that are sent out using word, and various other 

tools, take far too much time and are rather cumbersome for people creating the schedules. VET3 

Putting the level 1 & 2 exams online so they can be taken @ anytime…..I also think it is a really 

bad idea - the exam doesn't matter - the study does…...I don't think this is a good idea - what 

would be the point of doing that It is not the exams that are important it is the studying that we 

do together on the course. But exams need to be invigilated so you would still need to be in a 

room that was supervised in order to sit an exam. 

VET7 

http://www.sgi-uk-lipc.com/ is pretty comprehensive for LIPC. Cant we extend this to cover 

Acton, South London and Taplow Court…...this would be very useful. Also to have a membersonly 

area for the centres with the most up-to-date information on things like Centre Manager 

duties so that we are not always referring to out-of-date information passed down through our 

HQ leaders. 

VET7 


member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

member 

webpages 

Ebooks 

Accessibility 

Study 

Study 

Online contribution 

Centres Accessibility 

Centres 

Accessibility 

Can we make SGI books and documents available for download in the .mobi format in the near 

future an Ebook website (with english books) was recently launched by SGI in Japan but I 

cannot remember the address. We actually do not publish many books in this country but for 

those that we do it would be a good idea 

VET7 

New website should be fully compliant with DDA/RNIB and other accessibility standards. May 

be an issue with software compatibility with readers for the partially sighted (can be expensive) 

Suitable example I have worked on is www.transportdirect.info 

VET7 

It would be really useful to have a searchable database of all SGI newsletters, a bit like exists 

already for the Gosho. This would be a really useful resource for preparing lectures or basic 

study meetings or for members who want to share a quote of Sensei's guidance in the 

discussion meeting.......Having a searchable database of SGI Newsletters is a great idea. For 

the version produced in English possibly this could be worked on by the SGI communications 

team in Tokyo (english speaking team) and then circulated worldwide.............I think having a 

searchable database of all SGI Newsletters is a great idea. If it's going to be produced in 

english then possibly this could be done by the SGI communications team in Tokyo and then 

made available worldwide..................Definitely as I feel it is really wise to be able to back up 

information with data source to help subdue the tendency for whispers to become the 

norm....Definitely. I don't receive them consistently and so quite often miss out on great bits of 

guidance. Making all newsletters available online (including the historical newsletters) would be a VET7 great benefit to members... agree with 

I suggest naming the Gosho in the subject line of the email itself as this would enable easier 

filing of the material and, most importantly, easier searching later. 

VET7 

It would be great to make a system that allows members to make a one off kosen-rufu fund 

contribution online and also set up direct debits for regular contribution online…. dont think 

direct debits are the right approach because it becomes too automated. We should always 

chant about contributing and do it with sincerity. Direct debits would not necessarily equal less 

sincerity of course, but it would be much easier for the spirit of contribution to slip off our radar 

as automated bank payments require no effort on our part. Great point already made about the 

value of getting together to contribute. A one off payment facility to be used occasionally (I 

didn't have the time to make that particular contribution meeting) may have some value but 

could suffer from the same drawbacks too. Its about challenging the causes that make 

attending those meetings difficult...........I think that the Kosen Rufu issue is part of a wider 

discussion. I feel that there is not enough information for UK members about the fund, what its 

for, where it goes and how the money is spent. I feel very strongly that if UK members understood VET7 it a bit better they would be more inclin 

Use technology to help make SGI-UK centres as accessible as possible for people who are 

Deaf, hard of hearing, visually impaired, or who use wheelchairs or scooters to get around. VET7 

Use technology to help regional members know what is going on at the centres! Use technology 

to let members know what activities they could be attending at centres and when, for example, 

exhibitions 

VET7 

For Deaf people who use BSL, English is not a good medium and many will not read text on our 

website. We need BSL in video clips on our website...I think this is a fantastic idea. It's so 

important for SGI-UK to be accessible as possible to as many people as possible. Video clips 

linking to explanations of key concepts such as Gohonzon etc would be great. 


VET7

member 

webpages 

dbase 

member 

webpages 

dbase 


membership total no received 

Gohonzon 

Skills exchange 

Could we put the no of sgi-uk members, the number receiving Gohonzon so far in the year and 

the number at the previous months discussion meetings as single figures at the top of the sgi 

uk page like Brazil does for hvs 

With youth festivals etc and the summer courses, organisers will want to know of members who 

can run various workshops….is skill exchange info on members home page 

email99 

email100 

mmedia 

mmedia 

Video podcasts 

Courses 

Could there be a part of the system where you listen rather than read If you want a podcast..if 

you want to listen to it..or you want a video or you want pictures …So that could be another part 

of this interesting system...Why I was pushing the spoken word is because being dyslexic I find 

it quite a trial on the computer to read…Did you know that at the moment every study lecture 

prep is being podcaste No….But in a new more interesting SGI-UK info system with a multi 

media corner..you can find the podcasts (Which is a newsletter!!!). Partially sighted like to 

listen..so too many people who can read….they take in more by listening. There is something 

about listening to something read aloud. The Daishonin asked that his letter be read out on 

many occasions. Why not some video as well 

Members of the area are going to Florence centre for a course. Members staying in UK 

wondering about streaming the content of the course to see it in the UK. Discussion leads to a 

different concept because will streaming mean people actually watch it live If you are not there 

the experience wont be as if you are. Can members spend such a long time doing this-it would 

be different if there were a specific time UK members could assemble! How about 

capturing still images and video with a camera and the leaders of the course logging time into 

the lectures for MUST SHARE. MOMENTS AND GIIVING THESE TIMINGS TO THE PERSON 

TAKING THE VIDEO AND EDITING IT. THEN A SMALL AMOUNT OF PULLING TOGETHER 

VIDEO CLIPS AND STILLS COULD BE USED TO STRUCTURE A FEEDBACK SESSION 

WITH MEMBERS WHO DIDN’T GO….MAKING THE FEEDBACK MUCXH MORE LIKE 

BEING AT A COURSE AND SHARING THE REALLY IMPORTANT PARTS OF IT 


email10 

mmedia 

Future division Video 

a DVD to showcase our children’s natural gifts, un-rehearsed. In the UK State School systems 

RE, (religious education) they embark on the study of ‘Buddhism’. This is a part of the 

curriculum in Year 4 when the children are age 8-9 years old. My question is why they haven’t 

‘heard of; “This Buddhism”, Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism The key being Future Groups, 

Lilacs, Mimosa’s and Young Eagles share their knowledge – styled like the New Voices section 

from the Art of Living, offering their perspective and the chance to see through their eyes. 

Thus, it removes the ‘adult’ approach. I suggest opening this up across the districts in the UK, 

Scotland, Ireland to send in photographs of themselves (perhaps in line with our October 

children’s cultural festivals), and then lay the voice-over the snap-shots where the children can 

explain “This Buddhism” in there own terminology and dialect. 

email156 

mmedia 

Video 

our students attending the SGI Universities could start there own ‘video-diaries’, in which they 

talk directly to the camera about what their lives are like now as they are attending University. 

They could also talk about events they experienced in their own teenage years. This 

information will reach out to the teenagers that are struggling with those same issues. 

email158 


mmedia 

Photos 

Send us your images, right now via the ebulletin and the sgi-uk.info site, we can be putting out a 

call to members for their images `send us your images`. Using instagram and #tag so the 

system can be searched…some disclaimer points: will use in articles, not everything you submit 

will be used, clear re faces and brand names 

email161 

mmedia Study 

I am 68 next month and don’t have much stamina for a long haul as a passenger to Taplow to 

see Mrs Takahashi lecture. Would it not be possible to televise it on a UK website as they do in 

America on the SGI-USA website please This would be for the benefit of all members. email21 

mmedia Study 

Lecture preparation. In the old days we were sent a disc or tape which I think is preferable to 

receiving written guidance on the Chapter Topic. My personal experience has been that I was 

unable to attend the two meetings to discuss my topic last year. The problem being 

communications which are somewhat difficult here. 

email24 

mmedia Photos/Video The great advantage of the net is the ability to use lots of visual images, not just words. email32 

mmedia Experiences 

I would love to see UK experiences and videos online. I love watching videos on sgi.org and 

would love to see UK activities online. 

email34 

mmedia Video 

what about joining meetings using technology…just being able to see..so if there is a camera in 

Ikeda new century hall, being able to ask questions…these are the sorts of things that do 

happen elsewhere normally….But not as an excuse not to go for a meeting and sit at home and 

watch it…not getting into that mindset… 


mmedia Video podcasts 

Quite a number of people don’t do reading. I`m dyslexic. I like video and sound ..a multi media 

corner in our new sgi-UK info system….not you tube…a secure place where multi media files 

can be accessed/viewed/ listened to but not downloaded. 


mmedia Video 

Previous meetings….there are some fantastic experiences from the HQLA which I think 

everyone could benefit from hearing …but not necessarily video the whole meeting. You can 

edit out what you want to show 


mmedia 

mmedia 

mmedia 

Video 

Video 

special groups video 

Gosho lectures are fantastic things to take around with you ….that SGI-UK generates that kind 

of material …..to hear somebody give a gosho lecture…actually brings something to it…it 

brings heart, personal experiences, maybe its there for a certain time and has an expiry 

date….a broader range of material in video and podcast form. It could be the sgi-uk senior 

lecturers…that the lecture they have done..the one they have prepared goes out …. 


Shrinking time and the generation under me don’t want to read they want to listen….more and 

more kids are listening. They're not reading. Theres a lot of dyslexia. There have always been 

stories. The voice does the Buddhas work. 

SLNC Open Mtg 

The way we run the Chorus or the education group…people that are pushing it forward..really 

want to engage with it….With Chorus we are shooting our rehearsals (video) ..its video, audio, 

discussion meeting, experiences…the whole multi media thing..study that our songs are based 

on. Multi media coverage of a Chorus performance….The Education Division organises a one 

day conference and undoubtedly will want that videod. There are permission issues with this but 

they can be handled 



mmedia 

mmedia 

mmedia 

sensei`s video 

Video 

Study/Video 

I don’t think enough members can access with only 2 laptops in one area, really restricted in 

terms of districts showing video, this is the biggest thing Having more licences wasn’t the issue 

it was how to get enough bandwidth in a lot of places so it can be downloaded in the current 

system. Why cant the system in Japan use something like the BBCs iplayer which has a code 

embedded in the file which stops it working after a period of time, and that file could then be 

used on a DVD (up till the expiry date) the loss of monthly videos has had a negative impact 

on members being able to see HQL videos / stay up to date with SGI. I would like to see a full 

digital film archive of videos of past lectures over the years on different subjects. As a visual 

learner, I take in information much better this way.Perhaps we can find a secure way of 

accessing the video through the website i.e members portal, 

I would love to see UK experiences and videos online. I love watching videos on sgi.org and 

would love to see UK activities online 

Mrs Takahashi`s study seminar could be available in this form and members logging on can 

also ask questions I am 68 next month and don’t have much stamina for a long haul as a 

passenger to Taplow to see Mrs Takahashi lecture. Would it not be possible to televise it on a 

UK website as they do in America on the SGI-USA website please This would be for the 

benefit of all members 

VET1 

VET2 

VET3 

policies Future Division 

Have clear policy regarding child protection and also make it available at all levels of the 

organisation……...Youth division has a child protection policy. Shout about this more. I didn’t 

know about this. Its reassuring to a lot of people especially parents. When their child has just 

got into college or uni. The first thing they think about: "It’s a cult". Its having that transparency. 

The information is available. There are these stringent measures in place. Very helpful for the 

MD and WD to see these guidelines. Does the policy cover members entering peoples homes 

for discussion meetings where children live in that home..we have had issues 

VET5 

policies social networking Publicise and use the SGI guidelines on social networking VET5 

policies Email 

Policies which clarify our approach to the use of email and include reaffirming the importance 

BCC……...I think this is very important - we are an organisation of lovely well meaning 

members who generally think the best of people. I don't think we realise how much we put our 

members at risk by our current use of email - eg certainly in our HQ many of the leaders are 

quite old and afraid of technology so always use the cc button instead of bcc every time the 

send an email to all the HQ or Chapter or District members. Quite often they have absolutely no 

idea who they are sending the email to orif everyone on the list is still interested in the 

information. 

VET5 

policies Data Use Data Management 

A clear written policy of data use and data management agreed by directorate. i.e how we use 

email, how discussion meeting stats are collected, who is included on the database, when to 

remove someone, clarity what leaders can and they cant do 

VET5 

policies Data protection Security 

Having a genuinely shared approach as an organisation on data protection and security issues 

is most important. 

VET5 


policies 

policies 

Information Division 

Future Division Data protection 

The running of the information system should be in the hands of a faith organisation, analogous 

to keibi…………a proper statistics organisation of information division. So starting from the 

point of view of faith there should be national statistics leaders.........I agree with this. Japan has 

this, and it is really good to accurately assess what is happening, but of course relies on 

individuals to do the data entry and analysis etc... I also think this group could extend to 

managing the database and ensure it's regular update 

Partly related to other comment about people under 18 in terms of data and child protection. 

We have DPA in UK so need written consent from adult to keep data, hence issue with people 

under 18 being members in the database. Recurring issue in this HQ with members keeping 

and sharing inappropriate and , in my view illegal, data on children. Specific example where 

names and ages of children of members and non-members emailed across the leaders relating 

to an activity. Issues for members copied in to this re their professional and legal positions if 

one of the parents takes issue with this ( I certainly would as a non-member!). Guidelines and 

censure need to be very strong on this issue in order to properly protect members , nonmembers 

and the SGI. 

VET5 

VET7 

policies/dbase 

Future Division 

children on the system….Spain counts people from age 6 as members!!!!Lots of children and 

young people are involved in activities in Spain. They need to be on the information system. 

VET5 

policies/mmedia Photos/Video Clear policy on the use of photos/video and not just putting them up on facebook. VET5 

public facing 

Maybe the map to find local activities serves a dual purpose and we put it on the front of the 

site 

Mapping 

public facing website as well 


rota 

SGI-Uk info 

system 


system 

Centres 

Creating Value online 

Usability 

it would be great if an activity like the shop rota could be loaded onto the site and everybody 

could add their names when they see a space it would save so much time. one thought though 

how do we stop someone removing what has previously been added 

VET7 

In the material world we are encouraged not to go around with `Buddhist` tattooed on our 

forehead………that should be the same for virtual space….colonise this territory with the kinds 

of human relationships we are trying to build. It could be a very simple statement to act as a 

moral compass "Trust Through Friendship Peace Through Trust"…just apply this litmus test to 

whatever you are doing …..go to FB or twitter but apply this litmus test.. Are you creating KR 

We cant just throw this open…there has to be a moral compass in there..it’s the ethical 

things…. There might be an icon which is a graphic equivalent of trust through friendship peace 

through trust that we might want to develop….and this helps differentiate the member portal 

from the public facing website….the icon and the slogan reminds people this is about 

relationships and connection for KR. SGI-UK may need to be bold and actually ask members to 

engage with this digital landscape. Not we are providing this in case it is useful but rather we 

actively WANT you to engage..Just as much as we say we want you to engage in everyday life Birmingham Open Mtg 

The appearance and the graphics and the useability is an extremely important area to get 

right…especially if we want engagement 




system 

Transparency 

we are in battle with the negative force of life and we have a movement with a lot of leaders so 

the influence of the negative force does not get out of hand ….so there needs to be some kind 

of structure and process which makes decisions, moderation decisions…founded on openness 

and transparency…if something gets pulled off a website it gets put in a bin…somewhere 

where people can still access it..this is in the bin because of A B C D. So youre not trying to 

brush it under the carpet or hide something ..we've put it in the bin for this reason… 



system 


system 

Align to leadership structure 

Creating Value online 

lets have a look at how support through the leadership structure works now and align tools to 

support that to start with…It gives all the leaders an easy route in… we should find parts of the 

country where we go through what we have in mind and see how feel about it. Whats your 

reaction to this…do this aligning business before the new system gets built… 

An ethos in SGI-UK that this virtual space, however you use it, you can use for trust through 

friendship peace through trust, to create value ..a bit like we do in our daily life. Funnily enough 

the virtual space has all 10 worlds. But we haven’t said to our members-this is no different from 

everyday life..the value you create there will need daimoku, wise judgement, wisdom…I would 

find it quite strange to have an SGI-UK policy on FB and Twitter. Our guidelines are our faith 

are they not Respect for people and to try to develop that wisdom. Its how we develop as 

individuals through our faith. 




system 


system 


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system 

Future proof 

Usability 

Usability 

discussion meetings 

We also need to look at this system from the standpoint of where SGI-UK is going to be in the 

future…Our vision. Where are we going to be in 5 or 10 years time ….so far as districts and 

areas etc…. We try and future proof the technology ….AND we should try and future proof the 

design…the concepts…More regional centres, more areas, lot more older people, lot more 

younger people, different languages (but wont be like USA with Spanish as a second 

language)-but we do have Welsh, accessibility-disability-deafness.. Deepak Chopra..part of 

the brain…. growing faster than ever before involved in using tablets etc at younger and 

younger ages…..Bandwidth increases so using video a lot more. Three dimensional Video in 

the new centres!! There will be more video in future. 

Pay a lot of attention to useability. Get the user interface right so its easy to use and looks 

friendly. 

One of the experiences of having Charisma is that when we replace it that new system has got 

to be much much easier to use…really really simple….Don’t hand over to technology people 

who don’t have an appreciation for design …really understand what you want on your interface 

and appreciate the useability of the interface …and how you want it accessed before the 

system starts to be developed…The aesthetic needs to be attractive if you want it to be 

engaging 

It’s a personal philosophy that you have to get involved with. For some members 

communicating via facebook is totally superficial and means nothing at all. Are we running the 

risk of people logging in rather than going to meetings I`ll just skype the meeting. I don’t need 

to go. Its too far away..but there are all sorts of things involved in making the cause to go to that 

meeting. In the end its not too far away and you can go there. When someone really struggles 

to go they feel so much better once they've got there. We must make it absolutely clear that the 

discussion meeting happens in the districts and we must never take away from that with a 

system… 





SLNC Open Mtg


system 


system 


system 


system 

communication 

How easy is it to set up instant messaging Could it be part of the members home page When 

you log in you have a messaging in box and can message each other…It would be a secure 

space on the site. It is adding another level of communication to your email, your text , your 

phone. Do you really want another box to check I get enough email text and calls…maybe I 

could get a reminder by text 

SLNC Open Mtg 

Accessibility is about BSL signed video clips on web pages for Deaf people; also RNID 

standards for the browser as a reader for blind and partially sighted. Then physical 

measurements and details access info and picture for wheelchair users to access our 

Accessibility 

centres…these are the sorts of things a real accessibility policy would translate into 

SLNC Open Mtg 

Reporting content needs 

looking at perhaps we need a report button on all our content to say `this needs to be looked at`. SLNC Open Mtg 

That there is a responsible body of people overlooking this whole system trying to keep it in 

good shape for all of us to use. There is a human filter where its needed. If something is 

removed there is discussion. Some people will always be spontaneous and just put their 

Transparency 

thoughts up. 

SLNC Open Mtg 


system Transparency governance 

We should make absolutely transparent the governance of this information system. If members 

feel uncomfortable about this system they must speak out and they will be heard. 

SLNC Open Mtg 


system Usability Wherever you are on the site there`s a big button `get help`. SLNC Open Mtg 


system Database admin 

..its creating a system that isn’t going to swallow up hours of time….basing it around leaders 

rather than an army of inputters or co-ordinators we stand a better chance. Our leadership has 

had to engage with email. 


system 


system 


system 


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system 

Creating Value Online 

Usability 

Communication 

Communication 

Communication 

Trust and friendship are key for me I kept chanting because of trust and the friendship of the 

members around me. When you take on responsibility that’s what you have to do…win the trust 

of your members and make friends. Technology is one more thing to use to build trust and 

friendship 

For help we have lots of options like entry level video or advanced user video. So we have a 

battery of materials that diminishes the need for using the help desk. On start up that you get a 

tour of the site: an interesting voice following a cursor around a screen and you can see what 

the system is. There`s a lot we can do to make it user friendly but the design has got to be dead 

right. 

It seems each area/ chapter communicates differently. Communication across areas and down 

to chapter level would be easier if there were established set ways of doing things and 

collecting people's contact details; Each chapter and district has its own experience of 

communicating with its members based on the understanding of the individuals who practice 

and the lives they lead on the day to day basis. To create a centralised method of 

communication may be of the detriment to the members. 

We have so much info to convey to members...what we are struggling to do is filter that 

information and to know which info needs to go to who. This worries me. Who is filtering and 

who is deciding what info I need 

There is a huge amount of information to access but that doesn't mean that everyone needs it 

all of the time. I think selected weekly guidance from the district leaders by email, verbally, 

by phone or post is goodfor the general run of things. Those who want to access more can go 

on the website 





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system Tablets smartphones Make (everything we develop) tablet and smartphone friendly VET2 


system Usability 

With everything we develop pay a lot of attention to useability. Get the user interface right as its 

easy to use , looks friendly 

VET2 


system One system Unity means having one system to do everything! VET2 


system Security 

security could be an issue with both systems being intergrated I.e. the public facing website and 

the pwd protected member site/future SGI-UK info system 

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system dbase 

shared space 

shared space 

software 

Evaluation 

districts 

Future Division 

Software licences 

Communication 

Online contribution 

interview district leaders….in depth interviews with district leaders in completely diverse areas 

because they are front line, they distribute information to members. Just knowing what thy 

struggle with on a daily basis and in a meeting like this you don’t get the nuances. 

Can we create a space for districts Any district which wishes to be part of that subscribes and 

then its got access to put up information that other districts might be interested in …pictures, 

stories. Probably moderated. Essentially something in the system that districts have got 

ownership of AND if individual districts want to share things within their own district they can 

create a space on the system too. 

safe place for future group or 12+ could be created to contact each other safely they already 

exchange telephone numbers and are able to contact each other direct without use of 

computers. 

Software in general: I have already mentioned to Munish the following 

organisation:http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/join-ncvo. If we qualify as members, we can get very 

substantial discounts on a widerange of software and other services etc. 

Communication within the SGI is very poor, and ANYTHING that can be done to improve it 

should be done. 

With the new membership system there should be a way for members who wish to to be able to 

make a make a one-off contribution without going to a centre 



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