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Posted: August 25, 2010
You are
cordially invited to attend the December 2010 Bahá'í Conference on Social and
Economic Development (SED) in
Orlando,
Florida, which begins Saturday evening, December 18 and
ends at noon on Tuesday, December 21. The theme for this year’s Conference is “Deeds, Not Words: Uniting the Spiritual and the Practical”. The Conference Program includes a mixture of compelling plenary addresses and a variety of challenging and inspiring workshop sessions building on this theme that will contribute to the learning and the sharing of knowledge that are the hallmarks of this Conference. There will also be artistic offerings each day to lift our spirits, plus a focused two-hour networking session on Sunday evening to provide an additional opportunity for networking by a range of interest groups. The distinguished plenary speakers confirmed thus far for this year’s Conference include Erica Toussaint-Brock (NSA of the U.S.), Roy Steiner (Gates Foundation), Peter Adriance (U.S. Office of External Affairs) and Sovaida Ma’ani Ewing (lawyer/author/educator).
Performing Arts Presentations – Jack Lenz (
Two special pre-Conference
events will also be offered. More
details are provided below.
Conference Registration and Hotel Information
Quickly and easily register
online using our secure Online Registration Form by clicking on the
link provided above! Or you may wish to call in or fax
your registration and credit card information (Phone: 407-740-5415
Fax: 407-647-6079). If you represent an organization or other SED entity
or entities, please also provide information concerning that entity (name and
your title). Early Registration
fees (in U.S. Dollars) for
the Conference are $120 for adults, $60 for youth (ages 15-20) and $40
for children and junior youth (age 4-14) – (higher after Nov. 15). Families registering together will receive a
10% discount off these rates.
The site for the 2010 Conference
will again be the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando (www.rosencentre.com), which is in close proximity to the Orange
County Convention Center. A special group rate for up to 4 persons
in a room has been arranged for this event. This special rate is valid
from Dec. 15 to December 23. Hotel Reservations: Telephone:
1-800-204-7234 or 407-996-9840. Fax: 407-996-3157
Address: Rosen Centre Hotel, Transportation
from Orlando International Airport
-
Mears Transportation
offers a variety of shuttle options from the Orlando International Airport to
the Rosen Centre Hotel (Zone 3).
For complete information, visit their website at:
www.mearstransportation.com.
Children’s
Classes
–
The
children will also have the opportunity to learn and engage in activities related
to the Conference theme. Classes for
individual age groups will be available each morning during the plenary session
and morning workshops. During this time
children will be under the supervision and guidance of experienced Baha’i
teachers.
The age
groups of the classes are 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, and 10-11. We are unable to
accommodate children under age 4. However, a salon will be available for
parents of these small children to informally share in their care.
In the afternoon, large group activities will include
arts-based activities and recreation.
Child care is available in
the evenings (including
the opening session of the Conference on
Saturday evening) starting 15 minutes
before the evening session until 9:00pm.
This is a time where children can unwind from the day and receive loving
care and supervision. If you have a
child or children with special needs please contact us and let us know what we
can do to ensure the conference is a great experience for you and for
them.
There is
no provision for children’s activities during the Pre-Conference Activities
(see below). Junior
Youth Program
– A special
program specifically designed for Junior Youth is in the planning stage. As more details become available, they will
be posted here. There is no provision
for junior youth activities during the Pre-Conference Development Activities
(see below). Youth and Young Adult Program – Special offerings for youth and young adults are again being planned this year, to effectively address the interests and concerns of this important segment of attendees (ages 15 and up). Sessions will include a number of youth-friendly activities. Book Sales – A large Book Store provided by the Bahá'í Distribution Service (http://www.bahaibookstore.com/) will be on hand with an ample selection of Bahá'í books and a variety of other materials.
Pre-Conference Activities Pre-Conference Bahá'í Development Seminar – Prior to this year’s Conference a two-day “Bahá'í Development Seminar” is planned, which will build on this year’s Conference theme: “Deeds Not Words: Uniting the Spiritual and the Practical”. This offering, for active and experienced development practitioners by invitation only, will be held from Thursday evening, December 16th through Saturday afternoon, December 18th, 2010. The Seminar planning team has offered the following description for this year’s Seminar:
“Is not the purpose of every Revelation to
effect a transformation in the whole character of mankind, a transformation
that shall manifest itself, both outwardly and inwardly, that shall affect both
its inner life and external conditions?”
These stirring words of Bahá’u’lláh bring clarity to our understanding
of the purpose and focus of our Faith and lives. Again this year, prior to the Conference a
two-day “Bahá’í Development Seminar” is planned for active and experienced
development practitioners from Thursday evening, December 16, through Saturday
afternoon, December 18, 2010.
The seminar will draw from this year’s
Ridván Message from the Universal House of Justice as it guides our evolving
understanding of social and economic development in the context of social
action. As the House of Justice offers
the framework for the Bahá’í community’s engagement in social action, it is
timely for us to reflect upon its meaning and implications for current
practitioners. What is the relationship
of Bahá’í inspired projects to the process of social
action as described in the
Message? What role can development
practitioners play in supporting the friends working at the grassroots of the
community in drawing upon their “experience and capacity as they strive to
address the concerns of the society around them.”? What is our understanding of social action
with regard to its relationship to the processes of growth? How can we make our development efforts
coherent with the framework for action?
Once again, this year, we will be using
the highly participatory Open Space Technology and World Café techniques to explore
these questions as well as those issues that you yourselves wish to bring to
the seminar. This is an opportunity to
share, exchange ideas, explore issues in depth and raise questions with friends
bringing a wealth of experience and perspectives on social and economic
development and the Bahá’í community in action.
If you are an active and experienced
development practitioner and would like to participate
and
have not already received an invitation, please let the planners know of your desire to receive one by sending an
email message to
SeminarInvitation@rabbanitrust.org.
Please include information about your development experience and/or engagement
in social action initiatives, current focus and specific
reasons for wishing to participate. **************
Additional pre-Conference offering on the
Covenant and Bahá'í Administration – by Mr. Glenford Mitchell –
For those who may not fall into the
experienced practitioner category, a very special concurrent offering is
planned to be held from
9:00 A.M. Friday morning, December 17th through Saturday afternoon, December 18th, as follows:
Towards World Governance: The Baha'i
Covenant and Administration
Mr. Glenford Mitchell
The purpose of the seminar on the Covenant
and Administration is to explore in some depth the origin, theory and
practice of the Bahá'í Administrative Order. The ultimate goal of the Bahá'í
Revelation is the establishment of a new World Order. Baha'u'llah states
in His Kitáb-i-Aqdas that the "world's equilibrium hath been upset through
the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order."
And He calls attention to the revolutionizing impact of "this unique, this
wondrous System -- the like of which mortals eyes have never
witnessed." We learn from Shoghi Effendi that the Bahá'í Administrative
Order is not only the "framework" of the Will and Testament of
'Abdu'l-Bahá, but also the "pattern and nucleus" of the new World
Order announced by Bahá'u'lláh. It is clear, then, that the efforts we
make in advancing the process of entry by troops in the Five Year Plan are
directed towards reaching that final goal. Hence, acquiring
knowledge of the Administrative Order, which is vitalized by the Covenant
of Bahá'u'lláh, is essential to the success of current and
future exertions in the teaching work of the worldwide Bahá'í community.
The seminar is to assist the participants to appreciate the
total sense in which this is so. **************
As a reminder and aid in better serving you, we suggest
that, except as noted above, all electronic correspondence relating to Trust
matters, including the 2010 pre-Conference Seminars and Conference on Social
and Economic Development, be addressed to
email@rabbanitrust.org (Seminars/Conference)
or
Rabtrust@aol.com (all other
matters). Postal correspondence and telephone messages related to the
planning of the Seminars and Conference may be directed to the Trust at:
We rejoice in the opportunity to again serve the Bahá'í community and
look forward to seeing you in
The Rabbani Charitable Trust |
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