Honoring Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Celebrating Governor Michael Dukakis’s 92nd Birthday
Cambridge, Massachusetts – November 3, 2025
At the historic Harvard University Faculty Club, the Boston Global Forum (BGF) hosted the World Leader Spirit Symposium, a landmark event honoring Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar with the 2025 World Leader for Peace and Security Award.
A highlight of the Symposium was the presentation of the Shinzo Abe Film Project by the AIWS Film Park team — a cinematic initiative celebrating the life, vision, and legacy of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, recipient of the 2015 World Leader for Peace and Security Award. The film is part of the broader Shinzo Abe Initiative to promote peace, democracy, and innovation in the Age of AI.
The event also joyfully celebrated the 92nd birthday of Governor Michael Dukakis (born November 3, 1933), Co-founder and Co-chair of the Boston Global Forum, honoring his lifelong contributions to public service, education, and ethical leadership.
Distinguished global thinkers, innovators, and leaders attended this memorable gathering — a fusion of reflection, creativity, and vision — reaffirming BGF’s commitment to building an AI World Society grounded in peace, compassion, and enlightenment.
Announcement at the World Leader Spirit Symposium Harvard University, November 3–4, 2025
Boston Global Forum
From Boston to the World: U.S. Leadership for the AI Age
As we look toward 2026 and beyond, the Boston Global Forum (BGF) and the AI World Society (AIWS) family will launch a series of visionary initiatives to celebrate this historic milestone and reaffirm America’s role as the guiding light of freedom, innovation, and ethical leadership in the AI Age.
BGF contributes strategies and solutions to keep the United States a pioneering, innovative, and creative force in the Age of AI, ensuring that America continues to lead the world with integrity, compassion, and enlightenment.
Key Initiatives
The World Leader Spirit Symposiums
Bringing together world leaders, innovators, and artists to define the moral compass of the AI Age, guiding humanity toward a more ethical and enlightened civilization.
The AIWS Government 24/7 Initiative
Pioneering a model of ethical, transparent, and responsive governance through AI, where artificial intelligence serves people 24/7 with fairness, trust, and accountability.
The AIWS Digital Asset Standards Initiative (AIWS-DASI)
Creating trust, fairness, and value in the digital economy through transparent standards and ethical certification — ensuring that AI-generated content and digital assets reflect truth, creativity, and integrity.
The AIWS Music for Humanity and AIWS Film and Culture Park Programs
Celebrating the harmony of technology and art.
These programs remind us that even in an age of machines, the human heart remains the greatest source of wisdom, compassion, and creativity.
Connecting Sacred Places and Spiritual Values in the AI World Society (AIWS)
A Journey from Nha Trang to Boston, the Grand Canyon, Zion, Yellowstone, and Acadia — Where Spirit, Nature, and Wisdom Converge in the Age of AI.
This global initiative, part of the AIWS Film and Culture Park, connects sacred and inspiring locations through film, music, and digital art — illuminating how AI can enrich humanity’s relationship with nature, spirituality, and culture.
A Message for America’s 250th Year
In 2026, as the world celebrates 250 years of American independence, the Boston Global Forum and the AI World Society will proudly stand as part of that celebration — a reflection of the ideals that made America great: its faith in education, its openness to innovation, and its belief in the moral power of human creativity.
We call upon all nations to join hands in building a New Society in the Age of AI — a world of peace, enlightenment, and shared humanity.
America: A Beacon of Light in the Age of AI
As we approach this historic year, the BGF–AIWS Family will contribute transformative initiatives to make America a true beacon — guiding the world in building a beautiful, creative, and compassionate AI civilization through the AIWS Model.
In this glorious year of America’s 250th anniversary, we reaffirm that the nation that once pioneered democracy will once again illuminate the path forward — guiding humanity toward a world where AI serves love, peace, and enlightenment.
The Boston Global Forum (BGF) hosted its annual conference on November 4, 2025, at Harvard University’s Loeb House, where Nguyen Anh Tuan, Co-Founder, Co-Chair, and CEO of BGF, announced the launch of the AIWS Digital Asset Standards Initiative (DASI).
This groundbreaking framework aims to set global standards for ethical, transparent, and sustainable digital asset issuance, aligning with the Boston Finance Accord’s 24/7 AI Governance Vision (launched April 22, 2025). DASI establishes benchmarks for blockchain-certified assets, including NFTs honoring World Leaders for Peace and Security and World Leaders in AIWS, ensuring integrity, humanitarian allocation, and integration with AIWS initiatives like AIWS Government 24/7 and the Abe Finance AI Protocol.
Speakers included:
Professor Tarun Khanna, Harvard Business School
Professor Thomas Patterson, Harvard Professor
Professor Nazli Choucri, MIT Professor
Elisabeth Moreno, Former French Minister
Alvaro Rodriguez, Harvard Business School Executive Fellows, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of IGNIA
Jeff Saviano, MIT Senior Lecture, Harvard AI Ethics Contributor
Cansu Canca, AI Ethics Scholar
Kanetsugu Mike, President, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) Bank
Jodeph Jye-Cherng Lyu, Chairman, International Economic Cooperation Association, Taiwan
“DASI is a beacon for responsible innovation, transforming digital assets into tools for global enlightenment,” said Governor Michael Dukakis, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of BGF, emphasizing BGF’s commitment to balancing technology with humanistic values.
The conference featured discussions on the initiative’s early December 2025 rollout, including the issuance of AIWS World Leader Tokens and foundational leader assets, projected to generate $12–15 billion by 2030 to support not-for-profit AIWS models. Key highlights included panels on ethical AI finance and sustainable governance, with contributions from BGF Board Members Nguyen Anh Tuan, Alex Pentland, David Silbersweig, Jeff Saviano, Yasuhide Nakayama, and Elisabeth Moreno.
DASI builds on BGF’s 2025 milestones, including AIWS Bank’s launch (May 26) and the 10th anniversary of the World Leader for Peace and Security Award.
Your Holiness, distinguished leaders, scholars, and friends,
It is a profound honor and privilege to stand before you today to recognize one of the world’s great spiritual and humanitarian leaders — Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar — as the 2025 World Leader for Peace and Security Award recipient.
From the very beginning, the Boston Global Forum (BGF) has sought to celebrate those whose leadership transcends borders, politics, and ideology — individuals whose vision uplifts humanity and reminds us of the moral foundation of peace. Gurudev, you embody precisely that spirit.
Through The Art of Living Foundation, you have touched millions of lives across continents — teaching peace not as an abstract ideal, but as a daily practice rooted in compassion, forgiveness, and understanding. You have shown that inner peace is not separate from world peace — that governance, technology, and progress must always be guided by the light of conscience.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has dedicated his life to building bridges among faiths and cultures, to universalizing wisdom, and to nurturing compassion, love, and mutual understanding — toward a stress-free, violence-free world. Guided by the Gandhian principles of nonviolence, you have advanced reconciliation and healing in conflict-stricken regions such as Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, India, Iraq, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela.
At moments when our world feels fractured — by war, polarization, and fear — your voice has reminded us that reconciliation begins in the human heart. You have built bridges between nations and faiths, between reason and spirituality, and between humanity and nature.
The Boston Global Forum and the AI World Society (AIWS) are deeply inspired by your message that technology must serve humanity, not dominate it — that the intelligence of machines must always be guided by the wisdom of the spirit. Through the AIWS model, we seek to bring spiritual and interfaith values into the digital age — to build a world where innovation and compassion advance hand in hand. In honoring you, we affirm that the future of peace depends on both ethical innovation and moral imagination.
As we celebrate the tenth anniversary of this Award — whose past recipients include world leaders such as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chancellor Angela Merkel, and President Emmanuel Macron — we see in you, Gurudev, a beacon of continuity: the union of spiritual leadership and ethical responsibility in an age defined by artificial intelligence and digital power.
On behalf of the Boston Global Forum – AIWS Family, we express our deepest respect and gratitude.
Now, the 2025 World Leader for Peace and Security, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, becomes a distinguished and esteemed member of the BGF–AIWS Family.
Your Holiness, your life’s work reminds us that peace is not merely the absence of conflict, but the active creation of harmony — within individuals, among societies, and across our shared planet.
May your example continue to guide global leaders and citizens alike toward a more compassionate, secure, and enlightened world.
Congratulations, Gurudev, and thank you for your unwavering service to humanity.
Governor Michael S. Dukakis
Chair and Co-Founder, Boston Global Forum
Director, The Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation
Nguyen Anh Tuan
Co-Founder, Co-Chair, and CEO, Boston Global Forum
Director, The Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation
Join the Boston Global Forum as we celebrate 10 monumental years of the World Leader for Peace and Security Award (2015–2025).
This video pays tribute to all past recipients who have dedicated their lives to building a more peaceful and ethical world.
We proudly honor this spirit of service by recognizing our 2025 laureate, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, for his profound work in transforming human consciousness and fostering global harmony.
Discover the vision and impact of a decade of the Award, and why the “World Leader Spirit” is more vital than ever in the AI Age.
Watch now to celebrate the leaders shaping tomorrow’s peace:
To Our Distinguished World Leaders for Peace and Security Award Recipients,
It is with profound respect and gratitude that we write to you as we celebrate ten years of the World Leader for Peace and Security Award (2015–2025) — ten years of honoring extraordinary leaders whose vision, integrity, and humanity have strengthened the moral and strategic foundations of global peace and security.
From its inception, the Boston Global Forum (BGF) has sought to highlight and support those who lead with both conscience and courage — leaders who understand that true peace is built not only through policy but through principle.
From Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chancellor Angela Merkel, to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President Sauli Niinistö, President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, President Ursula von der Leyen, Speaker Andreas Norlén, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the People of Ukraine, Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (Amma), President Emmanuel Macron, and now Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar — each of you has inspired the world to see leadership as service, innovation as responsibility, and power as stewardship.
A Decade of Moral Leadership: 2015–2025
Since the first World Leader for Peace and Security Award in 2015, this recognition has celebrated those who have shaped global harmony and advanced the cause of democracy, dialogue, and human dignity.
Each recipient represents a pillar of peace — and together, you form a living fellowship of leadership that transcends borders, ideologies, and generations.
Your collective example has inspired the creation and growth of the AI World Society (AIWS) — an initiative founded by BGF to define and build a human-centered, ethical, and enlightened civilization in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.
The BGF–AIWS Family and the World Leader Spirit
As we begin the next decade, we are proud to introduce a new movement —
the World Leader Spirit, a symbol of the unity, wisdom, and moral imagination that define our shared global purpose.
The BGF–AIWS Family now brings together:
All World Leader for Peace and Security Award recipients,
All World Leader in AIWS Award recipients,
The BGF leadership, scholars, and innovators,
And the Enlightenment in Action Alliance (EAA) — an international community of outstanding students from top universities such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Oxford, and Cambridge.
Together, we represent a global alliance of conscience — a living embodiment of peace, ethical innovation, and interfaith understanding.
New World Leader Spirit Events
In celebration of this 10th anniversary, and in anticipation of the next chapter, BGF and the AIWS Family will host a series of global events — uniting leadership, culture, and moral imagination:
🌍 World Leader Spirit and Interfaith Values
A dialogue among world leaders and spiritual figures — across Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism — dedicated to integrating spiritual and ethical wisdom into governance and AI development.
2025 laureate Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will lead this initiative as its guiding moral voice.
🕊️ World Leader Spirit Symposium
An annual forum of world leaders, scholars, and innovators — hosted at Harvard University, MIT, and distinguished global venues — to deliberate on moral governance and peace in the AI Age.
🎵 World Leader Spirit Concert
A celebration of humanity and creativity — featuring global artists and orchestras in partnership with AIWS Music for Humanity, symbolizing unity, empathy, and enlightenment through music.
🍷 World Leader Spirit Dinner
An intimate gathering for dialogue, reflection, and fellowship — celebrating leaders who embody moral courage and human values in a complex world.
Honoring Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Legacy
We hold with deep reverence the legacy of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, one of our earliest and most inspiring honorees.
Following his tragic passing, the Boston Global Forum established the Shinzo Abe Initiative for Peace and Security on July 10, 2022, to honor his vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific and his lifelong commitment to peace through strength and moral clarity.
In continuation of that legacy, the AIWS Film Park is producing a feature film about Shinzo Abe’s life and leadership, highlighting his courage, vision, and enduring impact on global peace.
This film will be presented to the world on July 8, 2026, marking four years since his passing and serving as a tribute to his spirit — a leader whose ideas continue to inspire generations.
The Next Decade: Building the New Society in the AI Age
In the decade ahead, the BGF–AIWS Family will focus its collective resources, intellectual capital, and moral strength on creating the New Society in the Age of AI — one built on peace, innovation, trust, and human dignity.
Our initiatives include:
AIWS Government 24/7 — creating responsible, transparent, and citizen-centered governance enhanced by AI;
Trusted Digital Asset Economy — setting ethical, cultural, and technical standards for digital assets;
AIWS Cultural and Creative Innovation Parks — merging art, technology, and humanity through film, music, and design;
Global Collaboration for AI Ethics and Security — uniting world leaders, innovators, and faith communities to ensure AI serves humanity responsibly.
Our Shared Vision
The BGF–AIWS Family believes that the next chapter of world leadership will be defined not by dominance, but by moral depth — not by speed, but by wisdom.
Together, we will continue to build:
A world where technology serves humanity,
A world where peace is guided by conscience,
A world where leadership is inspired by spirit.
With our deepest gratitude for your leadership and friendship over the past ten years,
and our sincere hope for your continued guidance and collaboration in the years to come,
we welcome you — always — as the heart of the BGF–AIWS Family.
With respect and admiration,
Governor Michael S. Dukakis Co-Founder and Chair, Boston Global Forum
Nguyen Anh Tuan Co-Founder, Co-Chair, and CEO, Boston Global Forum
President Trump’s visit to Asia in late October 2025 involved crucial, high-stakes meetings with two of the region’s most important leaders: the newly inaugurated Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Strengthening the Japan-U.S. Alliance
The meeting with Prime Minister Takaichi in Tokyo was framed as a success, aiming to usher in a “new golden era” for the U.S.-Japan alliance. Coming only days after Takaichi took office as Japan’s first female prime minister, the summit focused heavily on personal diplomacy, defense, and economic commitments.
Defense and Security: Takaichi pledged to increase Japan’s defense spending and reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. The leaders emphasized cooperation to strengthen the alliance’s deterrence capabilities.
Economic Cooperation: The talks finalized significant agreements, including up to $550 billion in Japanese investments in U.S. energy and technology projects, marking a win for the U.S. administration on trade.
The High-Stakes Xi-Trump Summit
Following the stop in Japan, President Trump met with President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, on the sidelines of the APEC Summit. This was the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since 2019, and its primary focus was stabilizing the tense trade relationship.
Trade Truce: The leaders reached an agreement that temporarily lowered tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for China’s commitment to resume large-scale purchases of U.S. farm products (specifically soybeans) and an agreement to resolve restrictions on rare earth minerals.
Cooperation: The two also discussed cooperation on non-trade issues, including combating fentanyl (with an associated tariff reduction) and working together on global issues like the war in Ukraine.
The back-to-back summits demonstrated a clear U.S. strategy to shore up alliances with partners like Japan while simultaneously engaging the central rival, China, on critical trade and security issues.
Aligned with the AIWS-DASI framework, BGF is issuing AIWS Esteemed Digital Assets — a collection of verified, ethically governed tokens representing humanity’s greatest achievements in leadership, creativity, and moral thought.
Each AIWS Esteemed Asset includes:
Verified provenance via the AIWS Ethical Ledger.
Permanent registration in the AIWS Knowledge Vault.
Recognition by the AIWS Digital Asset Board as part of the AIWS Global Legacy Index.
Series of AIWS Esteemed Digital Assets
World Leader for Peace and Security Award Tokens (2015–2025) – celebrating laureates including Shinzo Abe, Angela Merkel, Ban Ki-moon, Emmanuel Macron, and Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, whose moral leadership has shaped global peace and stability.
World Leader in AIWS Award Tokens – recognizing leaders such as Sanae Takaichi, Audrey Tang, and Alex Pentland for advancing ethical, human-centered, and transparent AI governance.
AIWS Cultural and Creative Assets – encompassing films, symphonies, and artworks from the AIWS Film Park and AIWS Music for Humanity, celebrating the harmony between art, technology, and humanity.
AIWS Innovation Tokens – honoring groundbreaking research, invention, and intellectual innovation that advance human understanding, creativity, and the development of the New Society in the Age of AI.
Each digital asset stands as a living symbol of human dignity, creativity, and enlightenment — embodying the values of the AI World Society (AIWS) and the Boston Global Forum (BGF) in building an ethical, inclusive, and visionary digital civilization.
On October 31st, Yasuhide Nakayama, a former member of the House of Representatives of the Liberal Democratic Party who has held important positions such as Vice Minister of Defense, updated his X (formerly Twitter) account, writing about Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.”
He continued, “I have known Takaichi for many years, and she has always been straightforward, never sparing any effort, and doing her best for the country. I have never once seen her fawn or pander to anyone. As someone who knows her like that, it really hurts my heart when I see baseless criticism and malicious words. Sometimes people speak about people they don’t know based on their own imagination, but those words can also trample on someone’s sincere efforts.”
He added, “Prime Minister Takaichi is currently working hard overseas to protect Japan’s national interests. As a Japanese citizen, I am proud of her and deeply grateful.”
In response to this post, various comments have been received, such as, “The approval rating reflects the voice of the people, but it is unbearable to see slander based on the speculation of a few heartless people,” “Thank you for your comments criticizing the heartless slander against Prime Minister
Takaichi,” “People who criticize just want to complain about everything. They are not satisfied with themselves. And perhaps the main reason is jealousy,” and “Unfounded criticism and malicious words are really not good.”
