TOKYO, May 27 (UPI) -- Sadako Ogata, former U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Wednesday called for more efforts to educate the poor in remote parts of the world.
Ogata, who is now president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, was speaking to 46,000 people at the close of the four-day International Rotary Convention in Osaka.
She asked the group to continue their support for refugees and displaced people struggling to rebuild their lives, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Thursday.
"I firmly believe that education is the only way to promote understanding, tolerance and openness among diverse groups of people," she said.
As one of the first Japanese recipients of a Rotary Foundation scholarship, she urged Rotarians to continue providing opportunities in education and community development.
Glenn Estess Sr., who will become Rotary president in July, said the Rotarians would celebrate their 100th anniversary next year in the club's birthplace of Chicago.
