Bahá’í World/Volume 30/The Year in Review

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[Page 75]

The Year in Review

Bahá’u’lláh wrote that the purpose of religion is "to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men,"1 and Bahá’ís believe that the teachings of their Faith, when they inspire the actions of individuals and communities, can be a motive force for the progress of civilization.

The teachings of the Bahá’í Faith include doctrines not only for personal conduct, but also for the physical, moral, and spiritual advancement of all mankind, and the more than five million Bahá’ís in the world use these as the basis for their relationship with society. Their religion is more than just a private practice; it is a vital process that engages them actively in the development of their own communities and the world around them.

Though the Bahá’í community is still very young in relation to other world religions, its activities are rapidly expanding in both scope and scale. The size of these efforts is not their most important aspect, but rather the spirit that animates them, as Bahá’ís put the ideals of the Faith into action in communities throughout

'Bahá’u’lláh, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdás (Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1997), p. 168. [Page 76]the world. Bahá’ís are active in such areas as the advancement of women, racial harmony, social and economic development, and also in practices that will encourage the growth and development of their Faith.

This article is not a comprehensive record of these activities, but it highlights major areas and demonstrates the variety of ways in which the Bahá’ís are working to improve the world in which they live.

Advancement of Women

‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained that humanity's full potential cannot be reached until equality is realized, saying, "until this equality is established, true progress and attainment for the human race will not be facilitated."2 Equality between women and men is described as a vital element in the success of humanity as a whole, and in many places pursuing this ideal requires a struggle against entrenched ideas and practices that have historically allocated a lesser place to women in society.

In Brasilia, Brazil, Bahá’ís focused on using the justice system to promote the advancement of women and organized the National Seminar for the Training of Judges, Prosecutors, and Lawyers on the theme "Protecting Women from Domestic Violence." The seminar, held 5-7 November 2001, was carried out with the cooperation of both local government offices and NGOs, with financial backing from the Ministry of Justice. Additional support was provided by the Brazilian Association of Judges and Prosecutors for Children and Youth (ABMP), the Federal Council of the Brazilian Bar Association, and UNESCO.

Participants in the intensive seminar came from 20 of the country's 27 states and included judges, federal and state prosecutors, and representatives of the Human Rights Commission and the State Bar Association. Though the total number of participants was relatively small, the idea was to assemble people from different

2 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912, rev. ed. (Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1995), p. 375. [Page 77]regions of the country and train them so that they could continue the process in their respective areas.

Layli Miller, a Bahá’í lawyer with the US-based Tahirih Justice Center (TJC), was the primary facilitator, and the three-day training was based on a booklet she had prepared under the auspices of the TJC. It was printed for distribution to the participants, and each one received 30 copies to be able to reproduce the seminar at the local level. A videotape of selected presentations was also distributed to the participants to assist in their spreading the process throughout the country.

The program included speeches, panel discussions, and a two-hour presentation by one of the country's leading NGOs working on the defense of women, El Centro Feminista de Estudios y Asesoría (Feminist Center for Studies and Advisory Services), which provided an overview of current aspects of the juridical situation regarding violence against women.

In India, where a traditionally patriarchal society often reduces the value of women, the Bahá’í community worked during the year with religious leaders to raise awareness of the importance of equality while combating violent practices.

Dr. Ali K. Merchant represented the Bahá’í community at a convention of national religious leaders on the Abolition of Female Feticide and Infanticide. The conference, held 24 June 2001 in New Delhi, was jointly organized by the Indian Medical Association and the National Commission for Women and brought together more than 400 people. UNICEF, the Department of Women and Child Development, and the Ministry of Human Resource Development were also principal organizers of the meeting, held at the Chinmay Mission Auditorium in New Delhi.

Dr. Merchant shared the Bahá’í perspective on the topic and contributed to the unanimous voices of the gathered leaders that the destructive practices of female infanticide and feticide must be eliminated. The group also addressed general practices and attitudes that lead to discrimination against women, which participants identified as stemming from ignorance and prejudice. Dr. Merchant called on the religious leaders who were present to reexamine the sacred scriptures of their religions, which have been used as a means of lowering the position of women in Indian society. [Page 78]Other Bahá’í communities participated in smaller-scale local efforts, often through the coordination and assistance of local or national Offices for the Advancement of Women. In July 2001, the National Council of Women's Societies held its First Quadrennial National Convention in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The theme of the conference was "Promoting the Rights of Women through the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)." Members of the Bahá’í Office for the Advancement of Women in Nigeria participated in the conference, along with members of government ministries and NGOs, and were able to promote the Faith's perspective by distributing some 1,500 pamphlets on the Bahá’í view of the equality of women and men.

Bahá’ís in Cameroon participated in the commemoration of World Rural Women's Day in Buea, Cameroon, on 15 October. The local Bahá’í community of Buea was invited by the provincial delegate of Women's Affairs for the South West Province to collaborate in the celebration. As a result, a Bahá’í representative took part in a panel discussion broadcast over the provincial radio station. On the day of the commemoration, another Bahá’í representative was present at the ceremony, which was presided over by the Governor of the province.

From 5 to 7 October 2001, members of the Bahá’í community of Greece participated in a symposium about the social exclusion and trafficking of women. It was held in Thessaloníki and organized by Médecins du Monde, under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace, and the General Secretariat of Equality.

Social and Economic Development

One of the many ways Bahá’ís work to advance the welfare of human society is through social and economic development activities. The projects, whether initiated by Bahá’ís or simply involving them, are intended to increase capacity and build resources while also offering a direct and positive impact.

In Ethiopia, Bahá’ís in the Weyisso Kenchera community inaugurated a 33,000-cubic-meter water pond project on 5 May 2001. The project was designed to alleviate the problem of water shortages. [Page 79]

YEAR IN REVIEW

In Vanuatu, onlookers examine a vehicle running on coconut oil based fuel, developed by a Bahá’í in the country to reduce dependence on outside oil and to better use local resources.

John Schramm, the Canadian Ambassador to Ethiopia, officially opened the project, which was completed over a one-year period and was funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Ethiopia originally initiated the project in consultation with local Bahá’ís, and the entire community was involved in support of the pond project, which will benefit 300 households with approximately 3,000 people and more than 15,000 cattle in the drought-plagued region. The project will not only eliminate the need for migration to search for water but will also substantially decrease the occurrence of water-borne illnesses in the region.

The Brazilian Ministry of Education, as part of a government program to reduce unemployment, granted $850,000 to the Association for the Cohesive Development of the Amazon (ADCAM), a Bahá’í-inspired development organization in the Amazon basin.³ The grant will allow ADCAM to build and equip a three-story

³ For more information about ADCAM, see The Bahá’í World 1995-96, pp. 301-05. [Page 80]technical education building, to be known as the Masrour Technology Institute, on its 12-acre property in the São José suburb of Manaus. Construction began in December, leading to completion of the building in July 2002.

Initially, courses will be offered in business management, social development facilitation, and environmental technology, with additional classes in design, nutrition, and air conditioning technology to be included as the teaching staff expands. By 2006, the Institute expects to have a full complement of staff, with the capacity to serve approximately 640 students per year in the main subjects and another 4,350 per year in the shorter, basic-level courses.

ADCAM currently operates three other major programs: an elementary school, a youth leadership project, and a supervised youth service project, which collectively serve more than 700 people.

In June, Health for Humanity (HH) and the Mongolian Bahá’í Doctors Association organized the first Bahá’í International Health Conference in Mongolia. The conference took place 5-8 June 2001 in Ulaanbataar.

Health for Humanity is a health development organization that focuses its activities around three broad program areas: blindness prevention, public health development, and international exchange. The fundamental belief of HH is that people everywhere have capacity and inherent nobility and can care for themselves when they have the proper education and resources. The Mongolian conference was part of HH's international exchange program, which

MINISTÉRIO DA EDUCAÇÃO Bahá’ís and representatives of the Brazilian Ministry of Education and Culture, at the ceremony marking the agreement between the Ministry and ADCAM in September 2001. [Page 81]Participants in a training workshop on moral leadership in Accra, Ghana, in September 2001.

encourages learning experiences and an exchange of medical knowledge and ideas by both volunteers and partners, with ongoing activities in Mongolia and in China.

The International Environment Forum (IEF), a Bahá’í-inspired NGO that explores not only technical and scientific solutions to environmental problems but also the potential benefit of new social, cultural, and spiritual insights, organized its fifth international conference in October 2001. The three-day program, titled "Knowledge, Values, and Education for Sustainable Development," was held at Townshend International School in Hluboka nad Vltavou, Czech Republic. Twenty IEF members gathered at the conference, with dozens of others joining via the Internet. Participants included researchers, teachers, students, and professionals from a wide range of disciplines, and practitioners in the field of environment and sustainable development.

In a keynote address entitled "Knowledge and Indicators for Sustainable Development," Prof. Bedrich Moldan of Charles University in Prague, who is the former Czech Minister of the Environment, raised the idea of promoting or establishing a kind [Page 82]of "global moral minimum" system of values for the environment. In the end, participants concluded that values and education are not only complementary but also essential to the technical and scientific issues related to sustainable development.

In Ghana, the Olinga Foundation for Human Development, a Bahá’í-inspired NGO, is exploring the need for moral leadership as a means to address the social problems in that country. The group organized a moral leadership training workshop in Accra from 3 to 9 September 2001, which was supported by CIDA and Bolivia's Núr University.

The 30 participants came from teacher training colleges, government ministries, NGOs, and the media. John Kepner, Director of Projects at Núr University, and Leslie Casely-Hayford, the Director of the Olinga Foundation, facilitated the training, the framework of which was based on six key elements: service-oriented leadership, leadership in personal transformation, leadership in social transformation, fundamental moral responsibility, belief in the essential nobility of humanity, and development of capacity. Together, these create a system of moral leadership which the organizers believe is sorely needed. Participants learned new training methods, structures, and techniques through workshops and presentations and were given both conceptual and practical tools that emphasized moral values and means for promoting moral leadership in government, classrooms, and through the media.

Race Unity

The Bahá’í Faith teaches that all people are equal, and Bahá’ís strive to eliminate prejudices that create separations between people based on race, creed, or culture. Far from seeking a uniform whole, though, Bahá’í communities are encouraged to integrate the cultures and heritage of the vast palette of humanity. The Bahá’í community, which has members from more than 2,000 ethnic and tribal backgrounds, seeks to create a unified planet that is free from racial prejudice and realizes Bahá’u’lláh’s statement that "the earth be regarded as one country and one home."4

4 Bahá’u’lláh, Tablets, p. 127. [Page 83]In Brazil, a country where race relations are the cause of much national stress, two seminars, one in Brasilia and another in Rio de Janeiro, gathered federal deputies, journalists, researchers, and others to discuss the question of racism in the Brazilian media. The gatherings, held in August, were promoted by the Bahá’í community of Brazil, with the support of two other NGOs. Parts of the first seminar were broadcast by the Federal Chamber's television station and were later repeated several times.

Some 400 people attended the Rio de Janeiro seminar, which was the larger of the two. Among the participants was the ombudsman of Folha de São Paulo, Brazil's leading newspaper, who said that these seminars were instrumental in changing the editorial position of the paper regarding racism in Brazil and the progress of preparations for the World Conference against Racism (WCAR). Instead of the occasional small notes that first appeared in Folha de São Paulo, the paper began to dedicate significantly more articles, editorials, and features to developments regarding the WCAR and actions to combat racism in Brazil.

In Australia, more than 500 representatives from government, private, civil, and Aboriginal groups celebrated the unveiling of a monument in Townsville, Queensland. The 47-meter monument depicts a Rainbow Serpent, the creature responsible for the creation of the world according to Aboriginal traditional beliefs.

Farvadin Daliri, an Australian Bahá’í, is the manager of the Townsville Migrant Resource Center, which created the serpent. Mr. Daliri also served as the project manager and sculptor for the concrete and steel monument. The project took two years to complete and involved consultation with members of many tribes about the spiritual significance of the project in terms of Aboriginal heritage. During the final stage, five indigenous artists from Townsville's correctional center and Aboriginal artist Jackie Elliute finished painting the serpent.

The unveiling took place on 23 March, coinciding with National Harmony Day, and included traditional dancing and music in celebrating Aboriginal culture.

5 For a report on the World Conference against Racism, see pp. 125-32. [Page 84]Bahá’ís in Peru entertain and educate students with the Universal Peace musical theater program, which teaches the concepts of world citizenship in primary schools.

Racial prejudice was called the "most challenging issue" in America by Shoghi Effendi, and Bahá’ís in the United States are addressing the challenge through efforts such as participation in the Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Parade in Houston, Texas. Bahá’ís participate in the event annually, along with hundreds of organizations, schools, institutions, and corporations, to promote and honor the diversity of the city. In 2002, however, the chairman and CEO of the MLK Jr. Parade Foundation met with a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly and, responding to the depth of feeling and conviction that the Bahá’ís show in the parade every year, asked them to contribute a float and to both lead and close the parade. He went on to request that the Bahá’ís cosponsor this event with the MLK Foundation and asked them to help in the planning to ensure the success of the parade.

Some 300,000 people attended and four national TV networks broadcast segments of the parade's festivities to a potential audience of millions more throughout the nation. Bahá’í singers also participated in "Celebrating Multicultural Diversity, a Family Concert" held the day before the parade.

In Canada, the Honor All Nations Drum and Dance Group, accompanied by Kevin Locke, traveled through Vancouver Island, [Page 85]British Columbia, in June. Honor All Nations is a Bahá’í intercultural performance and service group, and Mr. Locke is a Bahá’í of Lakota heritage who performs several traditional native art forms, including storytelling, hoop-dancing, and flute-playing. The trip focused on Canadian First Nations areas, where many children and youth must deal with the marginalization of their language and culture and often struggle with discrimination, substance abuse, and violence. The group’s message of unity and upliftment was meant to provide inspiration to the young people and give them a positive view of their culture and heritage. The trip aimed both to vitalize the culture and to propagate the Bahá’í teachings. The group was warmly received at its many stops, and positive articles about its efforts were published in several local newspapers.

Education

The Bahá’í teachings repeatedly emphasize the importance of education, especially that of children, in the various arts and sciences and stress the inclusion of moral and spiritual elements in curricula. Both of these are described as essential to a complete education, and Bahá’í classes and schools seek to incorporate these principles into traditional educational disciplines.

One significant Bahá’í educational initiative is Landegg International University in Switzerland. On 20 September 2001, Landegg was formally registered by the cantonal and federal authorities as a private university, after meeting the criteria set by the government. Landegg’s new status is a recognition by the Swiss government of the legitimacy of Landegg’s unique approach to education, which is based on the idea of applied spirituality.

The university, formerly known as Landegg Academy, currently offers undergraduate degrees in four areas: economics and international development; political science and international relations; psychology, human development, and education; and the integrative study of religion. Landegg also offers master’s programs in conflict resolution, leadership and global governance, economic and social development, spiritual psychology, and moral education. Over the years, Landegg has established scholarly exchange programs with [Page 86]a number of universities, including the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Beijing University in China, the State University of Sergipe in Brazil, and the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh in the United States.

Although the Landegg campus is relatively small, with a current capacity of approximately 100 full-time students, its reach is global. At any given time, only about one-third of the school's students are on campus, while the rest study from afar, using an array of distance-learning technologies but principally e-mail and the World Wide Web.

The Ruaha School, a Bahá’í-sponsored school in Iringa, Tanzania, received a two-year $122,000 grant to build a new girls' dormitory capable of housing 120 students, increasing the school's housing capacity by 46 percent. The new dormitory will provide 1,040 square meters of living space, including a 405-square-meter courtyard. The school, which currently has about 400 students, is owned and operated by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Tanzania. The grant was given by the Unity Foundation, a Bahá’í-inspired development agency in Luxembourg that has also recently provided funding to a health outreach project in Guyana and a nonprofit printing operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that produces low-cost educational materials for community development and projects throughout the country.

Children in front of the Asma of Kakombe School complex in Uvira, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, in June 2001. [Page 87]Students at the Bahá’í-run Badí School in Panama view displays at the school’s science fair.

Ruaha’s primary mission is to serve the Tanzanian community by providing quality education at an affordable cost. One of its major goals is to provide education for girls. More than two-thirds of its students are female, in a country where girls make up fewer than half the students enrolled in secondary schools.

While some Bahá’í schools are expanding and changing, others are just beginning. On 28 September 2001, the Bahá’í community in Daga, Papua New Guinea, witnessed the official opening of the Bonara Community School, a primary school that serves the Milne Bay province. The Bahá’ís of the Daga area initiated the project with funding and support from the Bahá’í community, the government of PNG, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which provided funds for four teachers’ houses and two large classrooms.

More than 1,000 people attended the opening, with some of the participants walking for up to two days to reach the remote area. Guests included representatives from the provincial government and the National Spiritual Assembly, as well as Continental Counsellor Jalal Mills. Peter Baki of the Department of Education of PNG delivered the opening speech. Mr. Baki praised the Bahá’ís [Page 88]for their efforts and mentioned other Bahá’í projects in the area, such as a tree-planting campaign, as well as the school. Though the facility will serve the entire community, he called the Bahá’ís the "spiritual guardians" of the school.

The Bahá’í Center of Learning in Western Australia was opened on 18 August 2001. Some 85 people attended the meeting, including press representatives and dignitaries. The Governor of Western Australia, Lieutenant-General John Sanderson, officially opened the center and spoke about the Bahá’í Faith and the purpose of the building, specifically highlighting the Bahá’í perspective on education. He also acknowledged the 90 public schools in the area that offer Bahá’í education programs. Fiona McDonald, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia, spoke about the purpose of the center, which offers programs about the Bahá’í Faith and its teachings as well as in-depth programs based on the Ruhi study materials.

Arts

Bahá’u’lláh wrote, "the true worth of artists and craftsmen should be appreciated, for they advance the affairs of mankind. Just as the foundations of religion are made firm through the Law of God, the means of livelihood depend upon those who are engaged in arts and crafts."7 Inspired by Bahá’u’lláh’s words, many Bahá’í artists throughout the world use their arts not only to express their Faith, but also as a means to inform others about it.

In the United Kingdom, the Bahá’í International Community and Arts for Nature collaborated on an evening which used the arts to remember the life of Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum, who passed away in January 2000. Apart from being an author, a lecturer,

Developed in Colombia, these materials treat a variety of topics such as the development of spiritual qualities, prayer, the soul and the afterlife, carrying out acts of service, the spiritual education of children, Bahá’í history, and teaching the Bahá’í Faith.

7 Bahá’u’lláh, cited in "The Arts," The Compilation of Compilations, vol. 1 (Ingleside: Bahá’í Publications Australia, 1991), no. 10, p. 3.

8 See The Bahá’í World 1999-2000, pp. 167-95, for a retrospective article about the life of Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum. [Page 89]

YEAR IN REVIEW

The cast of performers at an Arts for Nature tribute honoring Rúbiyyih Khánum, held 15 May 2001 at Canada House in London.

and a leader of the Bahá’í community, Rúḥíyyih Khánum cared deeply about environmental issues and was an inspiration for the establishment of Arts for Nature, a 14-year-old organization that uses the arts to advocate for environmental issues.

Rúhíyyih Khánum supported the first Arts for Nature event, which was held in 1988 in London and organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature UK and the Bahá’í International Community. She gave the keynote address at the event, alongside HRH Prince Philip.

The audience at the memorial evening, held in Canada House in London, included the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duchess of Abercorn, the Canadian High Commissioner, and more than 150 others. The guests enjoyed a reception and dinner, with a musical performance and dramatic presentations. The centerpiece was a theatrical performance entitled "A Life So Noble," which was inspired by Rúhíyyih Khánum’s life and portrays four major aspects of her life and character, with a different actress personifying each.

The show, written by Beverley Evans and directed by Annabel Knight, uses words taken from Rúḥíyyih Khánum’s writings and talks. Each attendee was given two books: Sacred Earth and Rúḥíyyih Khánum’s Prescription for Living, based on the Bahá’í teachings.

Elsewhere in the UK, the Saint Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art in Glasgow mounted an exhibition featuring the Bahá’í Faith, which opened 22 June and ran through 21 October.

Highlights of the exhibition included works by Bahá’í artists, a [Page 90]Bahá’í artist Sima Baher standing with a mural that is part of her exhibit “The Earth Is But One Country,” which was displayed in Uruguay in 2001.

multimedia display, and a series of panels describing the history and teachings of the Faith. The Bahá’í Publishing Trust of the United Kingdom prepared a booklet to complement the panels, which was made available to museum visitors. More than 40,000 people visited the Bahá’í exhibit during its five-month run. Among the artistic displays were a model of the award-winning House of Worship in New Delhi, India, Rob Hain’s painting “The Voyages of the Crimson Ark,” and three works from a series illustrating The Seven Valleys, one of Bahá’u’lláh’s primary mystical works. Also, a room of the display was used as a “Tranquility Zone,” a space for private prayer and meditation. The realization of the exhibition was the result of a long-standing relationship between the Bahá’ís and the museum, and the displays were partially sponsored by the Bahá’í Council for Scotland.

Beyond Words, a Bahá’í performing arts group consisting of youth from Albania, Cameroon, Canada, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, South Africa, the UK, and the US, traveled through Lesotho [Page 91]for a month, performing music and dances addressing issues such as unity, the elimination of prejudice, drug abuse, and HIV/AIDS.

The group performed for 17 organizations during its stay in Maseru, Lesotho. Hundreds attended the performances, many of which were given multiple times in the same location due to public demand. The group's travels and its message were promoted in local media through interviews with members in newspapers, TV, and radio.

The group's 17 November performance was sponsored by the Save the Children Fund UK, and more than 100 youth were invited to attend a full-day workshop on how to take initiative to help others within the country.

Individual Bahá’ís are also recognized for their achievements as they strive to use the arts to embody the teachings of the Faith and to express their religion through artistic endeavors.

Three Bahá’í women toured Canada and the United States performing music and dance. The program consisted of Persian classical music with three live musicians, Persian classical dance, including a performance about the life of the famous Bahá’í poet Táhirih, and songs and dances from Africa. The two-hour performances in five cities were attended by some 1,500 people and were enthusiastically received. After the performances, many audience members asked for literature and information about the Faith.

The performers were Karin Blumenthal from Germany, who performed classical and free-form dances, Ghazal Ighani, a Canadian of Persian origin, and Ranzie Mensah, a Ghanaian living in Italy, who gave vocal performances. Ms. Ighani has two recorded albums, one of Bahá’í songs and the other a Persian pop classical album which has been distributed worldwide. Ms. Mensah has recorded five albums and has been featured on national TV shows in Africa, France, and Italy.

Media coverage of the performances included local radio and television announcements and a television interview about the performance at the Alix Goolden Performance Hall in Victoria, British Columbia, which aired on local television several times during the day. Students from the Maxwell International Bahá’í School in nearby Shawnigan Lake opened the evening with a play. [Page 92]Also in Canada, the Banff Center for Continuing Education announced a Bahá’í, Benjamin Hatcher, as the recipient of its 2002 Clifford E. Lee Choreography Award. The award is administered annually by the Banff Center to an emerging Canadian choreographer to encourage his or her professional development. Mr. Hatcher, who is both a dancer and a choreographer, received $5,000 and the opportunity to spend six weeks in residence at the Banff Center working with professional dancers at the summer dance program. He will also have access to full production support and staging facilities at the center, and his new work will be presented in July 2002.

Involvement in the Life of Society

Bahá’í communities, far from being isolated from the world around them, are actively involved in public outreach, desiring to share the spiritual principles and ideals that they believe will bring peace and unity to the world. They seek to demonstrate to the public how the Bahá’í teachings can be used to contribute to an "ever-advancing civilization."

The terrorist attacks on the United States on 11 September provided an opportunity for people all over the world to unite, and Bahá’í communities worldwide participated in commemorations to promote the unifying teachings of their Faith.

The Bahá’í community of the United States issued a statement on the destiny of America as "the promoter of world peace." Although the statement does not specifically mention the terrorist attacks, it was designed to offer a new perspective on these and related events. Published 23 December 2001 as a full-page advertisement in The New York Times, the statement says that Bahá’ís believe the American nation "will evolve through tests and trials to become a land of spiritual distinction and leadership, a champion of justice and unity among all peoples and nations, and a powerful servant of the cause of everlasting peace."

The National Spiritual Assembly of Greenland issued a statement to the people of Greenland, expressing "heartfelt condolences for those innocent victims who were struck down by shameless acts

For the text of this statement, see pp. 295-97. [Page 93]

YEAR IN REVIEW

of terrorism." The statement also expressed the view that "Our beloved country also needs to join hands with the other governments as a nation and participate fully in raising the standard of justice and peace amongst all nations." The statement was run in both national newspapers, in Greenlandic and Danish. This marked the first time since the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly in 1992 that it had addressed the people of Greenland.

In Australia, more than 1,000 people attended an interfaith gathering at the House of Worship on 16 September 2001. Members of Bahá’í, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, and Muslim faiths offered prayers for the victims of the attacks.

On 15 November, Bahá’ís in Reykjavík, Iceland, participated in a seminar on religious tolerance, held in connection with the terrorist attacks on 11 September, organized by the Iceland University of Education. The representatives of six religions were invited to participate. Each introduced his or her faith group answered the following question: "How do you, as a representative of your religion, believe the education system could promote more respect and tolerance towards different religions and their followers?"

and

Bahá’ís in Malaysia held a commemorative gathering on 6 October in Ipoh. Around 80 people joined in the "Prayers for World Peace" event, which brought together members of different religious groups in Malaysia, who contributed prayers and writings from many faiths.

Irish Bahá’ís also participated in an interfaith prayer service in response to the terrorist attacks, hosted by the Redemptorist

President Festus Mogae of Botswana (left) with two of the translators who produced a Bahá’í prayer book in the native Setswana language. [Page 94]

The State Bancil of Orissa Celebrates the Release Rahai Faith in Oriya Lang

The Shri Ne Chief ster Chief Minister Naveen Patnik of Orissa, India, (center) holding a copy of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas at the ceremony celebrating the translation of the book into the Oriya language.

Fathers Catholic Church in Limerick, Ireland. Thousands of people joined in the program, which included music and readings from various scriptures.

Though the Faith is apolitical in character, Bahá’ís do strive to contribute to the discourse of society by participating in activities and dialogues with governments and leaders of thought and through collaboration with the UN and other international organizations.

On 22 and 23 September 2001, Greek Bahá’ís participated in the first NGO Fair of Volunteerism and Humanitarianism, held at the Zappeion in Athens. The exhibition was held under the auspices of the Department of International Cooperation for Development of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Coalition of NGOs in Greece.

The Bahá’í stand explained the principles that guide the work of the Bahá’í community in social and economic development projects and showed concrete examples of projects in Africa and Europe. There was also a video about the FUNDAEC program in Colombia. Statements by the Bahá’í International Community on a variety of subjects such as sustainable development, racism, [Page 95]and the role of religion in the advancement of women, were distributed in both Greek and English.

Volunteerism and Humanitarianism was also the theme at the International Fair in Luxembourg on 9 December 2001, which attracted close to 10,000 visitors. The Luxembourg Bahá’í Women's organization Union Luxembourgeoise des Femmes Bahá’íes joined some 200 other organizations in this event, which was organized by a commission of the Ministry of Family.

The Bahá’ís provided a presentation on the work of the Luxembourgish Bahá’í community in the areas of the equality of women and men and service to humanity. The exhibit also included a corner with information materials and Bahá’í publications. The Unity Foundation, a Bahá’í-inspired NGO, was also represented. The Luxemburger Wort, the largest newspaper in Luxembourg, wrote about the participation of the Bahá’í community at this event in its 10 December edition.

In September 2001, workshops of the "Stop and Act" program were facilitated for close to 65 students in three Austrian cities. The workshops were initiated by GLOBart, a Bahá’í-inspired NGO dedicated to connecting the arts and sciences, as a social service for schools in Horn, St. Polten, and Wien.

"Stop and Act" was developed by the Russian journalist Shamil Fattakhov. The project was implemented in almost all Southeastern European countries under the title "Promoting Positive Messages Through the Media: The Happy Hippo Show." The project is

WORLD RELIGION DAY ENSEMBLE DEVENONS DES ARTISANS DE PAIX

Bahá’ís in Mauritius lead a parade celebrating World Religion Day in January 2002. [Page 96]Participants in a panel discussion on "Religions against Violence" in Stuttgart, Germany, at a World Religion Day commemoration on 20 January 2002.

sponsored by the government of Luxembourg as part of the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe (formerly the Royaumont Process), a diplomatic initiative launched by the European Union in 1995. The program features short dramatic sketches that center around a moral dilemma, requiring audience members to discuss possible resolutions to the situation. At the end, one of these is chosen and acted out.

Each workshop was followed by a public show, with up to 700 people attending, including representatives of media, local authorities, educators, and social workers. The project was covered in newspapers and on local TV. The same month Mr. Fattakhov, who facilitated the Austrian seminars, was awarded the 2001 Innovation Award by GLOBart.

In the United States, Prof. Suheil Bushrui, holder of the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace at the University of Maryland's Center for International Development and Conflict Management (CIDCM), presented a Bahá’í perspective on ethics and humanity during a workshop organized by CIDCM with the support of the William [Page 97]and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The workshop was held at the University of Maryland at College Park on 12 February 2002. Entitled "Separating Fact from Fiction after 9/11: Insights from Conflict and International Development Scholarship," the program featured sessions on radical Islam and Islamic social movements; on policing and law-enforcement against terrorism in the context of democratic societies; and on the impact of the 9/11 events on the US role in international affairs and on the processes of globalization. Participants included representatives of the Office of the UN Secretary General, the US Agency for International Development, the National Academy of Sciences, the United Nations Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Henry Stimson Center, as well as scholars in conflict and peace studies from around the country.

Interfaith Activities

‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote that "religion should be the cause of love and agreement, a bond to unify all mankind, for it is a message of peace and goodwill to man from God."10 His vision of cooperation and amity among religions guides the Bahá’í community in its pursuit of unity, and Bahá’ís are acutely aware that religion should be a means for the unity of mankind, not for its division.

In 1950 the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States initiated World Religion Day as a means of calling attention to the harmony of spiritual principles and the oneness of the world's religions, and to emphasize that religion is the motivating force for world unity. Now Bahá’ís around the globe celebrate the day, commemorated annually on the third Sunday in January, by hosting discussions, conferences, and other events that foster understanding and communication among the followers of all religions.

More than 400 people gathered in Stuttgart, Germany, on 20 January 2002 for a multifaith discussion on the topic "Religions against Violence," which was sponsored by the National Spiritual

10 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’í World Faith (Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1956), p. 240. [Page 98]Assembly of Germany. Participants on the panel discussed both the peace-promoting elements of religions and their potential to generate conflict and war. All agreed that world religions, if seen in their true essence, are against violence. Faith groups represented at the event included the Central Jewish Council of Germany, the German Buddhist Union, the Department of Theology of the University of Tübingen, the Central Muslim Council of Germany, and Hans Küng's Foundation for World Ethics.

Panelists also noted that competing claims to exclusive truth often prevent religions from establishing a climate of harmony and unity. Prof. Urs Baumann, a Catholic theologian, said the notion that a religion is "the only path to truth and salvation" has all too often been considered the "greatest reason for violence," especially when such a claim becomes institutionalized by government or politics.

Other significant World Religion Day observances included events in Bulgaria, Mongolia, Pakistan, and the United States, where numerous local Bahá’í communities sponsored celebrations. In Bulgaria, about 45 people gathered at the national Bahá’í center in Sofia. Participants included followers of diverse religions, academicians, and members of nongovernmental organizations. The program included the reading of prayers by representatives of the Bahá’í Faith, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. After the devotional program, a talk entitled "Religious Tolerance: Historical Scope and Modern Understanding" was given by Theodore Bourilkov, member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Bulgaria, which sponsored the event.

More than 100 people gathered in Ulaanbataar, Mongolia, including representatives of the Bahá’í Faith, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. Several government officials and four lecturers from the religious studies department of the national university also attended.

In Pakistan, more than 50 people attended a program at Bahá’í Hall in Karachi, including members of Pakistan's Zikri community. The Zikri community is a peaceful Sufi sect of Islam.

The World Religion Day Web site" lists many more countries that participated in 2002's World Religion Day, including Albania, <www.worldreligionday.com>. [Page 99]Australia, Austria, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Slovakia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vanuatu.

Bahá’í communities are also involved in long-term efforts to promote religious harmony and cooperation. One of the most active of these is the Bahá’í community in Norway, which participated in the signing ceremony of the Oslo Declaration on Freedom of Religion or Belief on 8 November 2001 as part of an interfaith coalition composed of the major religious groups in the country.

The Declaration was drafted and adopted by a coalition of governments and nongovernmental organizations in August 1998 at an international conference on religious freedom. Among the participants in that conference was the Bahá’í International Community. The document demonstrates a collective commitment to religious tolerance and is significant because of the diversity of religious groups s that participated in its drafting. Twenty-five groups signed the Declaration. Britt Strandlie Thoresen, member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Norway, represented the Bahá’ís. Representatives of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, and humanism also participated.

The signing ceremony was initiated by the Cooperation Council of Religions and Life-Stance Communities and the Oslo Coa- lition of Freedom of Religion or Belief. The Bahá’í community

Britt Strandlie Thoresen, member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Norway, signs the Oslo Declaration on Freedom of Religion or Belief at a ceremony held at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in November 2001. [Page 100]of Norway is a member of both groups. The ceremony took place at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and was attended by more than 100 guests, including officials of the Norwegian government, members of Parliament, representatives from some 16 foreign embassies, and members of various human rights groups and academic organizations.

The Declaration specifically affirms that “every human being has a responsibility to condemn discrimination and intolerance based on religions and belief, and to apply religion or belief in support of human dignity and peace." It gives recognition to the idea that "religions and beliefs teach peace and good will."

After the ceremony, Gunnar Stålsett, the Bishop of Oslo and president of the Oslo Coalition of Freedom of Religion or Belief, thanked the participants, stating that he would give a copy of the signed protocol to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, when he came to Oslo on 10 December to receive the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the United Nations.

Dutch Bahá’ís are also involved in an interfaith initiative, a national initiative on Freedom of Religion and Belief, which was

Members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Samoa elected in 2001, standing in front of the Samoan House of Worship in Apia. [Page 101]created in May 2001 as a result of the conference "Freedom of Religion: A Precious Human Right," held the previous year. The initiative brings together many faiths, whose collective goal is to monitor the situation of religious freedom in the world and to advise the Dutch government on related issues. Situations such as human rights problems related to religious intolerance in Fiji and Macedonia are currently being monitored.

The initiative includes members of the Hindu Council; the Protestant Missionary Council; the Catholic Organization for Ecu- menism; the Dutch government's Department of Mission, Church Social Welfare Work, and Development; the Liberal Jewish Council; the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Netherlands; the Dutch Muslim Council; and the Roman Catholic group Justitia et Pax.

In Réunion, Bahá’ís strengthened their interfaith dialogue and relations with government officials by participating in a Group for Interreligious Dialogue meeting with the Prime Minister of France, Lionel Jospin, during his visit to the Island on 9 March 2002. Mr. Jospin invited members of religious communities to discuss issues of relevance to the country, including interaction between different religious and ethnic communities, religious lessons in school curricula, and matters of personal morality.

The participation of the Bahá’ís was a major step for the community in that country, and the representative of the Faith presented the Prime Minister with several Bahá’í documents, including statements of the Bahá’í International Community.

Community Development

In the same way that individual Bahá’ís are responsible for their personal spiritual development, so are they responsible for promoting creativity, building capacity, and developing distinctive social patterns within the Bahá’í communities. Just as individuals are counseled by the Bahá’í teachings to "acquire the attributes of spiritual and material perfection," 12 they must collectively pursue those goals

12 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Secret of Divine Civilization (Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1994), p. 35. [Page 102]

Naw-Ruiz

The President of Singapore, S.R. Nathan, poses with Bahá’í children at the national Naw-Rúz celebration in March 2002.

in more than two hundred countries and territories throughout the world, where Bahá’í community life and administration are constantly developing.

A significant step in the development of national communities is the recognition of their National Spiritual Assemblies by their countries' governments. Such registration and incorporation allow the Bahá’ís to enjoy the same freedoms and protection as their coreligionists.

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Gambia achieved incorporation in January 2002. This, together with the recent recognition and listing by the Department for Religious Affairs of the Bahá’í Faith as one among four independent religions in the country, declares the independence of the Faith from its sister communities, safeguards the National Spiritual Assembly's right as the sole legitimate organization to administer the affairs of the Bahá’ís in the Gambia, and grants full rights to pursue its humanitarian objectives for the nation.

In Iceland, the civil powers of Bahá’í administration were increased through an agreement with the government allowing [Page 103]representatives of Local Spiritual Assemblies to be named as Forstöðumaður ("heads of the faith"). Though their status in the Bahá’í community remains unchanged, they gain the responsibility for carrying out matters such as marriages, funerals, and registering children's names.

The Local Spiritual Assemblies of Akureyri, Hafnafjörður, Kópavogur, and Reykjavík are now entitled to carry out these functions, in addition to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Iceland. Previously, there had been only one "head" of the Bahá’í Faith in that country.

In the Seychelles, nine local Bahá’í communities were officially incorporated by the government, as announced in the Official Gazette of 24 December 2001. Another local community, in Klaipeda, Lithuania, also gained official registration.

The occasion of Naw-Rúz, the Bahá’í new year, on 21 March 2002 provided several national Bahá’í communities an opportunity both to raise their profiles and to showcase their development to the governments and to the wider community.

In Singapore, President S.R. Nathan and his wife were the guests of honor at the country's Naw-Rúz gathering on 20 March 2002. The celebration included a dinner and musical entertainment provided by several groups, including a Bahá’í children's choir. Some 580 people attended the event, and each was given a pamphlet that outlined the meaning of Naw-Rúz, provided a brief summary of the history of the Faith in Singapore, and described the activities of Bahá’ís in the country and throughout the world.

In a message commemorating the new year, British Prime Minister Tony Blair commended the Bahá’í community of the United Kingdom for its "significant contribution" to multi-culturalism and interfaith dialogue. The message was read at a reception on 21 March 2002 in the House of Commons, which was attended by nearly 100 people and was sponsored by the All Party Friends of the Bahá’í Faith. Participants included members of the British parliament and other government officials, as well as representatives of NGOs and the media.

MP John Battle, the Prime Minister's advisor on interfaith matters, read Mr. Blair's message, which singled out the "contribution of the Bahá’í Faith to the stability and prosperity of [Page 104]Bahá’í youth in Lomé, Togo, in a tutor training course for Ruhi study materials in August 2001.

British society as a whole" and said, "I am very encouraged by the vision the Bahá’í community demonstrates in recognizing the power of interfaith dialogue and the importance of all citizens fulfilling their potential."

Barney Leith, Secretary-General of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United Kingdom, addressed the gathering about the UK Bahá’í community's Institute for Social Cohesion, an initiative to facilitate dialogue between entities working to build stronger societal bonds in the United Kingdom.

The Bahá’í community of Northern Ireland also received Naw- Rúz greetings from the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister of the Province.

In India, the House of Worship in New Delhi was the setting for a Naw-Rúz reception that brought together some 180 Indian and foreign guests. They included members of Indian civil society, high-level Indian politicians, professionals and senior executives of the Indian business community, representatives from various foreign embassies and high commissions, and dignitaries from United Nations agencies. Fariborz Sahba, the architect of the Indian House of Worship, was also among the guests. [Page 105]Naw-Rúz celebrations were also held in Bata and Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. The Naw-Rúz program organized by the community of Bata took place at the local Bahá’í center and featured artistic presentations such as songs, skits, and dances prepared by the children and youth groups of both Bata and the nearby community of Ntobo. Other presentations included a short introduction to the Bahá’í Faith, a talk on the Bahá’í calendar, and a slide presentation on the Bahá’í World Centre and the terraces of the Shrine of the Báb. Approximately 150 people attended the celebration, including representatives of the Catholic Church in Bata and local elementary and secondary school teachers.

In Malabo, the Naw-Rúz celebration took place in the main hall of the national Bahá’í center with the attendance of approximately 80 people, including several professors from the National University of Equatorial Guinea. There were traditional dances performed by a children's group and songs performed by the Bahá’í choir of Malabo.

Youth

Bahá’í youth hope to rise to meet the expectations set forth by Bahá’u’lláh in His statement, "Blessed is he who in the prime of his youth and the heyday of his life will arise to serve the Cause of the Lord."13 In the Bahá’í Faith, youth are called upon to use their energy and vitality for the service of their Faith and humanity. One of the ways youth have found to translate their enthusiasm into action is participation in arts workshops that promote the Bahá’í teachings through dance and music. Pacific Flame is one such workshop-a performing arts group from Tonga that brought the Bahá’í message to Fiji through music and comedy during its trip in September 2001. The group addresses issues such as substance abuse, family violence, the oppression of women, the oneness of religion, and the oneness of humankind.

Throughout their time in Fiji, the youth of Pacific Flame performed for audiences of all ages, faiths, and ethnic backgrounds, 13 Bahá’u’lláh, cited in "Youth," The Compilation of Compilations, vol. 2 (Ingleside: Bahá’í Publications Australia, 1991), no. 2232, p. 415. [Page 106]reaching hundreds of people with their message of love and unity. Their venues ranged from the exclusive Sheraton Resort to a school for disabled children. One evening they performed in a village with no electricity, using only a kerosene lantern and a battery powered CD player. The Sun, one of Fiji's largest newspapers, published an article on the group.

In Budapest, Hungary, members of the Budapest dance workshop Puzzle are helping to promote their message and their methods by training Roma youth in Sarkad to form their own workshop. Many of the young people come from adverse social circumstances, and involvement in the workshops helps not only to uplift them but allows them to help others.

Another of the forums in which Bahá’í youth gather to share their enthusiasm for their Faith and create strategies of action are youth conferences such as the Ninth Congress of the Bahá’í Youth Movement of the Americas. More than 600 youth from 15 countries attended the conference to talk about peace, change, and the future.

Organized by the Bahá’í National Youth Committee of Brazil and held outside São Paulo, Brazil, from 17 to 21 January 2002, the event brought together youth from different countries and

Participants in the Day for Children and Youth at the Bahá’í center in Assomada, Cape Verde, in December 2001. [Page 107]backgrounds to share ideas of how to better the world. The Congress was the latest event in an international Bahá’í Youth Movement that is focused in the Americas. Through this movement youth dedicate themselves to discovering solutions to the challenges facing the world and to becoming catalysts for spiritual transformation. The youth in Brazil ended the four-day Congress by committing themselves to actions they will take over the next year in order to effect a positive change in their community. Some of these included starting moral education classes for children, making use of the arts as an educational tool, starting a moral education theater group, and becoming involved in community-building projects. Several groups of youth launched a two-week campaign immediately following the Congress to spread the principles of the Bahá’í Faith.

Mirroring the activity of the Bahá’í Youth Movement, other national and international youth conferences gave Bahá’í youth around the world opportunities to gather, reflect, and plan activities. More than 250 youth attended the Fifth Annual Montreal Bahá’í Youth Conference, held from 29 to 31 March. The three-day conference attracted youth from 10 countries and consisted of talks, workshops, dance and dramatic performances, audio-visual presentations, and an art exhibit, all revolving around the role of Bahá’í youth in the twentieth century and their responsibilities in the century to come. The conference ended with youth resolving to focus their activity in systematic action along three main lines—the establishment or strengthening of study circles, devotional meetings, and community children's classes. Others were also inspired to start community development programs and dance-theater workshops within their respective communities.

The national youth conference in Limbe, Cameroon, was held 26-30 July. Close to 150 participants gathered for the event, with support from members of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Africa, the Auxiliary Board, and the National Spiritual Assembly. The program included workshops on the study of the Bahá’í writings, and the youth consulted on how they could help in advancing the systematic process of growth of the Bahá’í Faith in Cameroon. At the end of the conference, 39 youth volunteered to embark on trips to spread the Bahá’í teachings. [Page 108]Bahá’ís studying training institute materials in Assam, India, in April 2002.

Some 210 individuals from 14 different countries attended the Eighth ASEAN¹¹⁴ Bahá’í Youth Conference at the Kampaeng Saen Agriculture Training Center in Nakhon Prathom, Thailand, from 22 to 25 December. The theme of the conference was moral leadership and learning how to be a source of social good. The first day was marked by the reading of a letter from the Universal House of Justice, which urged the youth to ask themselves how, as individuals, as members of local and national committees, and as the vanguard of an entire generation in their region, they could ensure that the advancement of the process of entry by troops called for by the Five Year Plan is achieved in each of their countries. There were workshops on the crises of our times, prevailing mental models, the conceptual framework of moral leadership, and the role of youth in society.

Sharing the Bahá’í Message

Of all the activities of the Bahá’í community, none is seen as more fundamentally important or meaningful than teaching the Bahá’í

¹⁴ Association of Southeast Asian Nations. [Page 109]

YEAR IN REVIEW

Faith, an undertaking which is called "the greatest of all divine bestowals."15 For Bahá’ís, this teaching represents more than a mere numerical increase; it is a measure of humanity's response to the message that they believe is the means for the advancement of the whole human race.

In the Hawaiian Islands, more than 80 Bahá’ís from throughout the Pacific participated in the Ocean of Light project, designed to systematically inform people in the Pacific region about the Bahá’í teachings. Bahá’ís from Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga, and other neighboring islands joined together for the project, which culminated in the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Faith in the Pacific islands.16

The project included large public gatherings, which attracted hundreds of people to hear the Bahá’í message, sessions where Bahá’ís discussed ways to propagate their Faith, and trips by groups of people to cities, towns, and villages to teach their Faith to local residents.

Programs of Bahá’í training institutes are becoming one of the features of Bahá’í community life, and through their curricula, Bahá’ís learn systematic methods for contributing to the spiritual and administrative growth of their communities, offering service, expressing their faith through arts and music, and teaching the Faith to others. 17

Institutes can also address issues such as health care, literacy, and the equality of women and men-issues which relate directly to the broader society. In Malaysia, a literacy campaign for junior youth among the native Asli people incorporates literacy training with systematic study of the Bahá’í writings, all in the Malay language. The literacy program will allow those who participate to move on to other institute training such as the Ruhi study materials, which are widely used in Bahá’í communities around the world.

15 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Japan Will Turn Ablaze (Tokyo: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1993), p. 12. 16 For a report of these events, see pp. 114-17. 17 For more about training institutes, see The Bahá’í World 2000-2001, PP. 191-99. [Page 110]Bahá’ís in Peru participate in a Ruhi training course in Lake Titicaca in November 2001.

In Japan, Bahá’ís introduced training institute materials to members of the Airaku Church after members of the church expressed interest in how the Bahá’ís learn about their own religion and apply the teachings to their lives. A session with the Ruhi study materials was held at the Airaku Church in Kurume City on 19 October 2001. Approximately 30 people participated, responding well to the session and expressing interest in continuing the sessions and in making contact with Bahá’ís in Brazil and Chicago, where there are other branches of the church. Many also wanted to know more about how the Bahá’ís’ lives are affected by the teachings of their religion.

In most cases, the efforts of Bahá’ís to teach the Faith are concentrated on individuals establishing a connection with other people and expressing their relationship to the Faith and what it means in their lives. Olya Roohizadegan, an Iranian Bahá’í who escaped death at the hands of her own government because of her beliefs, now travels throughout the world and tells her story not as one of suffering and oppression, but as one of hope-the hope given to her by the Bahá’í teachings.

In the summer of 2001, Mrs. Roohizadegan traveled extensively through Canada and the United States, giving public talks about [Page 111]In Melbourne, Australia, a group of Bahá’í youth calling themselves "Clown Nine" have been using dance, music, and clowning to promote virtues and the principles of the Faith.

her own life and Faith, and in many cases presenting people with their first encounter with the Bahá’í Faith. Her story has made an impact on many people and has received extensive media coverage from those impressed by her story of triumph over adversity.

Bahá’í World Centre

At the heart of the worldwide Bahá’í community is the Bahá’í World Centre, the spiritual and administrative center of the Bahá’í Faith. The Universal House of Justice and International Teaching Centre coordinate and direct the activities of Bahá’í communities, and the World Centre houses the holiest places for Bahá’ís, the Shrines of Bahá’u’lláh and of the Báb. Shoghi Effendi described the World Centre as the place "where the processes disclosing [the Bahá’í Faith's] purposes, energizing its life, and shaping its destiny all originate."18

This year, the activities at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa, Israel, were focused primarily on events surrounding the long-awaited inauguration of the terraces of the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel. In addition to this historical development, other progress was evident. In Bahjí, for example, near the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, a new Visitors' Center opened which now serves as a

18 Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By (Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1995), p. 355. 19 For a report of these events, see pp. 37-73. [Page 112]Exterior of the recently completed Bahji Visitors' Center near the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh.

reception area for the thousands of Bahá’í pilgrims who travel there annually to visit that holy place.

The Visitors' Center is a complex of facilities that encompasses several courtyards, a monumental gate structure, and a 400-square-meter reception hall. The building has been designed in keeping with the setting around the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, and the entire complex aims both to enhance the graceful simplicity and gentle aura of spirituality of the Shrine and to create an atmosphere for visitors that prepares them for their spiritual encounter with the Shrine.

Adjacent to the pilgrim facilities is a wing which houses the Visitors' Information Center, for the reception of special visitors to Bahjí. 20 It has an information gallery, an audio-visual hall, and a lounge to receive visitors.

20 For more information about visitors to the Bahá’í World Centre, see pp. 139-40.

ERRATUM: In The Bahá’í World 2000-2001 the photo caption on p. 69 of the Year in Review should read: Jamshed Fozdar stands with Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne, the founder and president of the humanitarian organization Sarvodaya, in front of Dr. Ariyaratne's Vishva Niketan Peace Center in Colombo, Sri Lanka.