2008 Bahá'í
Conference on Social and Economic Development
-----
Program Schedule
(Unless otherwise
noted, all Program Participants listed reside in the
Opening
Plenary Session of Bahá'í SED Conference - Music, Devotions, Greeting
Presiding: Dorothy
Marcic
Plenary
Address: “Climate Change and Children”
Speaker: Caryl Stern (President &
Musical
Interlude
10:00 pm
For Youth: “Get Acquainted” Session Salon 19
Plenary Session: Presiding: Peter Adriance
Plenary Presentation
and Open Discussion: “The Many Challenges of Climate Change”
Panel: Halldor
Thorgeirsson (
Panelists will offer
information and views on the following:
·
The science of
climate change and its implications -- a Bahá'í perspective.
·
The state of
international negotiations; issues and challenges; prognosis for international
agreement on a post-Kyoto treaty.
·
The approach and
perspective of the Bahá'í International Community on climate change (programs
held; statement developed; ongoing work with other NGOs on the ethical
dimensions, Bahá'í engagement with the
·
The Canadian
story; outcomes of the Ottawa International Environment Forum Conference;
weaving responsible actions on climate change with the activities of the Five
Year Plan; the link to SED.
These offerings will be
followed by dialogue with the audience.
2:00 – 4:30 pm Salon
1
“Rural
Development in
Presenters: Sainphor Liné
Balthazar (
This session will
deal with the tremendous progress achieved in fulfilling the 1999 goal of
creating a rural elementary school in
2:00 – 4:30 pm Salon
2
“Creating an
Environment of Mutual Support: Implementation of the Junior Youth Spiritual
Empowerment Program” (To be repeated on Sunday)
Presenter: Russell George
In 2002, the
Office of Social and Economic Development introduced a new program that would
aim to “equip young people with the words and a way of thinking that will
enable them to engage in meaningful social action as they grow.” Three short years later, the outcomes of this
“campaign” for the “spiritual empowerment of junior youth” so impressed the
Universal House of Justice that they designated junior youth groups as a
“fourth core activity.” Given its origin
and its perpetuation through regional training institutes, the program can be
seen as a single SED project with global reach.
The sense of urgency imparted by the House of Justice provides some
significant challenges and calls for a deeper understanding of this important
program that has challenged conventional attitudes about the education and
training of junior youth. Midway through
the last Five Year Plan, the Louis G. Gregory Bahá’í Institute began to give
attention to the development of the Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program
in the Carolinas and
2:00 – 4:30 pm Salon
3
“The Relationship
of Spiritually Motivated Social Principles to Building Democratic Governance”
Presenter: William E. Davis
Three
interrelated social principles, traceable to a spiritual basis, have a profound
effect on the promotion of democratic institutions and their development. Each of the three concepts provides an
underpinning for the creation of the social capital and institutional framework
necessary to building enduring democratic processes and institutions. In this session Mr. Davis will address each
of these principles and complement the discussion with practical applications
from his personal experience of working in democratic institution-building for
the past 16 years.
2:00 – 4:30 pm Salon
4
“A Bahá’í-Inspired
Program for Preserving Marriages”
Presenters: Daniel B. Lord
This session
describes a program that addresses a special need in communities, the acquisition
of specific attitudes and skills necessary for sustaining marriages. After briefly tracing the program’s
development over the years and in several countries, participants engage in its
unique methodology: questions and answers with reference to the Bahá’í
writings, and scenarios for applying Bahá’í and other religious teachings to
problem-solving in intimate relationships, with a focus on the principles of
consultation and of the equality of men and women. (The question-and-answer format is on the
Bahá’í laws on marriage, the nature of marriage, preserving marriages, and
preparation for marriage; the scenarios apply Bahá’í and other religious
teachings on the four main causes of marital conflict, five conditions for
consultation, and four helpful factors for successful consultation in
marriage.) This session is intended for
persons interested in pursuing similar small-scale socio-economic projects for
strengthening marriages and the family unit; the degree of attendee
participation is high.
2:00 – 4:30 pm Salon
9
“Race Unity
Meets the Core Activities: An Explosion of Growth at Their Intersection” (To be repeated
on Sunday)
Presenter: Tod Ewing
This workshop is designed to examine the
framework for action as delineated by the Universal House of Justice and
determine how racial unity and justice can be integrated in new ways within the
context of cluster development. Within
the social milieu of the recent U.S. presidential election, which brought to
the surface both racial and gender sensitivities, such an examination is of
great importance and can generate spiritually-based strategies that become a
systematic aspect of the framework for action.
This interactive session (small and large group discussion) will include
an examination of pertinent guidance relevant to this theme from a variety of
sources, including the Central Figures of the Faith and the Universal House of
Justice. The goal is to leave the workshop with a
racially and culturally relevant framework for action that can be integrated
within the cluster development process or any aspect of Bahá’í community life.
2:00 – 4:30 pm Salon
10
“Unity in Motion: Developing
Mind, Body and Spirit” (To be repeated
on Sunday)
Presenter: Allen Ruppel
Unity in Motion
is an organization that has touched the lives of over 350 at-risk children and
youth and even more parents, guardians and mentors in the
2:00
– 4:30 pm Salon
15
“Bahá'í SED
101”
Presenter: Elizabeth Bowen
Based on the publication “Developing Patterns of Community Life -
A Guide to Consultation on The Process of Social and Economic Development for
Bahá'í Communities”, this session will deal with both the supportive Writings
and a ten-step method for planning, initiating and managing social and economic
development projects. The content of
this session has been developed by SED practitioners from both North and
2:00 – 4:30 pm Salon
16
“SED Projects
and Fulfilling International Pioneering Goals”
Presenter: Patricia Alston
The session,
offered by the U.S. Office of International Pioneering, will be of interest to
all those who are interested in learning more about pioneering, travel teaching
and youth service projects: the importance of Ruhi and the institute process,
how to prepare for international service, what pioneering means and current
opportunities for service. Bahá’u’lláh referred to pioneering as “the prince of
all goodly deeds.” The session will include
an overview of SED Projects listed at the
2:00 – 4:30 pm Salon
19
For Youth – “My
“Public
Service in the Medical Field and the Relationship with the Faith”
Presenters: Maia Schuster and
Nason Rouhizad
Networking by Common Interest Groups
Consultation & Conflict Resolution –
Facilitator: William E. Davis Salon 1
Economic Development & Business – Facilitator: Steve Karnik Salon
2
The Environment & Agriculture –
Facilitator: Peter Adriance Salon 3
Health – Facilitator: Ray Rudolph Salon 4
Education –
Facilitator: Nancy Joy Allchin Salon 9
Arts and Media –
Facilitator: Greg Kintz Salon
15
Unity, Equality & Social Justice – Facilitator: Tod Ewing Salon
16
For Youth – Counsellor Farzin Aghdasi Salon 10
The Role of Youth in Social Action
9:15 – 10:00 pm Junior
Ballroom
Plenary Session - Musical Interlude: Jack Lenz (
Presiding: Karen Schuster
10:15 pm
– Whenever
For Youth – Storytelling Salon 19
Plenary Session: Presiding: Tod Ewing
Plenary
Address: “Learning
About Social Action”
Speaker:
Counsellor Farzin Aghdasi
“Navigating the Pathways of
Local Development: Ensuring Sustainability”
Presenter: Shamim Mohandessi
As the world rapidly evolves
with injustice and violence plaguing societies everywhere, it is easy to become
so involved in stories of strife abroad that we neglect the problems developing
in our own localities. For those
interested in development, it is important to become adept at engaging our
local leaders to ensure that our own communities develop in a just and
sustainable manner. This workshop offers
an opportunity to learn about the tools, methods and processes for encouraging
sustainable development in our communities.
It will examine the means by which we can ensure that our community is
mindful of its residents, its environment and its posterity. Participants will first examine a case study
and then work with hypothetical scenarios before moving into a discussion of
cases in their own communities.
“My African
Experience: Stories of a Year of Service and Why Youth
Should Think of Applying”
Presenter: Maia Schuster
This session will feature a lively and inspiring first-hand
account of a year of service in
“RESPECT: From
Bahá'í SED Conference to the World”
Presenter: Dorothy Marcic
In 1999 this presenter offered a session at the Bahá’í SED
Conference about the equality of men and women. That session has turned into an off-Broadway
class theatrical production now playing in several
10:30 – 12:00 noon Salon
4
“The Northwest
Earth Institute – Grassroots Organization for Environmental Education”
Presenters: Loyce Forsgren
and Krista Forsgren
This workshop
will introduce participants to the Northwest Earth Institute, a grassroots
organization based in
10:30 – 12:00 noon Salon
9
“SED in a
Changing World: Challenges? Opportunities?”
Presenters: Peter Adriance, Stephen Karnik and others.
This will be an
exploration of key issues, ideas and insights emerging from the 2008 pre-Conference
Bahá'í Development Seminar for active and experienced development practitioners
(held Dec 17-19). The Bahá'í Writings
make reference to the simultaneous processes of integration and disintegration
which will go hand-in-hand with the unfolding of the new world order. Participants will explore the nature of such
change, some current examples and the accompanying challenges and opportunities
confronting SED practitioners. The aim is to discover and develop insights
which would support and enhance our own efforts to undertake SED in a changing
world.
“The Each One
Feed One – Each One Teach One Project in the
Presenter: Carl Stefan
This
offering will describe how a family vacation turned in to a full-fledged SED
project. Each One Feed One – Each One
Teach One (EOFO-EOTO) began in the
10:30 – 12:00
noon Salon
15
“From
Renewable to Nonrenewable: Changing Our Perspective on Managing the Planet’s
Natural Resources”
Presenter: Greg Lepard
Traditionally
resources have been classified as nonrenewable or renewable. Oil and gold, for example, have been
considered nonrenewable, while soil, air, and water have been regarded as
renewable. However, as we continue to
use and abuse the world, these so-called “renewable” resources are getting
close to becoming nonrenewable, unless we do something about it as trustees for
this divine heritage. This problem
highlights the intimate relationship between human beings and the resources
around us. Learning the truth about air,
soil and water consumption and its effects is a necessary step to ensuring we
make the necessary changes in our behavior.
The goal of the workshop is to educate and stimulate participants’ minds
and hearts, so they become sensitive to the environment and to the consequences
of its resources being overused.
10:30 – 12:00
noon Salon
16
“One Common
Faith”
Presenter: Rob Sockett
For several years now work has been progressing on a
project called “Changeless Faith”, the goal of which is to take various
messages and statements of the Universal House of Justice -- such as One Common Faith, The Prosperity of Humankind, Century
of Light, and The Promise of World
Peace -- and create innovative interactive online study companions aimed at
engaging the general population through the Web. The first of these companions is “One Common
Faith: A Study Companion”. The document One Common Faith clearly reaffirms the
need for religion in the development of our world society. It is the theoretical underpinning for all Bahá’í
interactions with global development projects.
This workshop will describe Changeless Faith with a focus on the
concepts described in One Common Faith.
For Youth – “A Life of Service”
Presenters: William E. Davis
This session will focus on
the presenter’s personal experiences (as an international consultant [justice]
and long-time U.S.-N.S.A. member), life choices and some lessons learned. Participants will engage in a reflective
activity to identify their own pathway and steps to realize the most suitable
actions for them to consider.
2:00 – 4:30 pm Salon
1
“Rural Development in
Presenters: Sainphor Liné
Balthazar (
This session will
deal with the tremendous progress achieved in fulfilling the 1999 goal of
creating a rural elementary school in
2:00 – 4:30 pm Salon
2
“Creating an
Environment of Mutual Support: Implementation of the Junior Youth Spiritual
Empowerment Program” (Repeat of Saturday
Session)
Presenter: Russell George
In 2002, the
Office of Social and Economic Development introduced a new program that would
aim to “equip young people with the words and a way of thinking that will
enable them to engage in meaningful social action as they grow.” Three short years later, the outcomes of this
“campaign” for the “spiritual empowerment of junior youth” so impressed the
Universal House of Justice that they designated junior youth groups as a
“fourth core activity.” Given its origin
and its perpetuation through regional training institutes, the program can be
seen as a single SED project with global reach.
The sense of urgency imparted by the House of Justice provides some
significant challenges and calls for a deeper understanding of this important
program that has challenged conventional attitudes about the education and
training of junior youth. Midway through
the last Five Year Plan, the Louis G. Gregory Bahá’í Institute began to give
attention to the development of the Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program
in the Carolinas and
2:00 – 4:30 pm Salon
3
“Putting
Spiritual Teeth on the Gears of Industry”
Presenter: Crispin Pemberton-Pigott (
A socio-economic-industrial experiment, an attempt at “the supreme
achievement” (i.e., “measures
which would universally enrich the masses of the people” –
‘Abdu’l-Bahá), is
now in its twenty-fifth year in
2:00 – 4:30 pm Salon
4
“Bahá'í SED 202”
Presenter: Elizabeth Bowen
This session is a
follow-on offering for those who over the years have experienced and benefited
from the “Bahá'í SED 101” workshop and wish to delve more deeply. A more specific description of this session
is posted on the Bulletin Board near the Conference Registration Desk.
2:00 – 4:30 pm Salon
9
“Race Unity
Meets the Core Activities: An Explosion of Growth at Their Intersection” (Repeat of Saturday Session)
Presenter: Tod Ewing
This workshop is designed to examine the framework for action as
delineated by the Universal House of Justice and determine how racial unity and
justice can be integrated in new ways within the context of cluster
development. Within the social milieu of
the recent U.S. presidential election, which brought to the surface both racial
and gender sensitivities, such an examination is of great importance and can
generate spiritually-based strategies that become a systematic aspect of the
framework for action. This interactive
session (small and large group discussion) will include an examination of
pertinent guidance relevant to this theme from a variety of sources, including
the Central Figures of the Faith and the Universal House of Justice. The goal is to leave the workshop with a racially
and culturally relevant framework for action that can be integrated within the
cluster development process or any aspect of Bahá’í community life.
2:00 – 4:30 pm Salon
10
“Unity in Motion: Developing Mind, Body and Spirit” (Repeat of Saturday Session)
Presenter: Allen Ruppel
Unity in Motion is
an organization that has touched the lives of over 350 at-risk children and
youth and even more parents, guardians and mentors in the
2:00 – 4:30 pm Salon
15
“Developing
Bahá’í-Inspired Education Models”
Léonie E. Naylor and Michael L. Naylor
This
session will consist of an examination of the ills that plague present-day
educational models, and their effects on the individual, culture and community,
and of humanity’s overall movement toward Bahá’u’lláh’s vision. Also included will be the presentation of
alternative, Bahá’í-inspired methods and solutions, including analysis of a
project under development -- Our Musical
World, a global life-skills instruction program through music. These
solutions attempt to uplift the individual, provide a new model for curriculum
development, break down cultural barriers and educational “stove-piping”, and
incorporate the arts into education.
2:00 – 4:30 pm Salon
16
“Leadership
in Development – A Practitioner’s Toolkit to Survive and Thrive”
Presenter: Ian
Holland (
This workshop aims to discuss some of the key resources available
to practitioners who seek to engage in development leadership and management
within secular development institutions, such as the United Nations. The presenter, Deputy Country Director/Deputy
Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program in
2:00 – 4:30 pm Salon
19
For Youth – “The Real Deal”
Presenter: Erica Toussaint
7:30 – 9:30 pm Junior
Ballroom
“An Evening of
Musical Inspiration” - Jack Lenz (Canada) is
joined by some special musical guests, including Van
Gilmer, Red Grammer, Smith and Dragoman (Canada), Andy Grammer, David Grammer,
15 Minutes after the Artistic Performances Junior Ballroom
For Youth – Jam
Session
Plenary Session: Presiding: Van
Gilmer
Plenary Address: “Sustainable
Development for a Changing World"
Speaker:
Erica Toussaint
10:15 – 10:45
am Junior
Ballroom
Closing Remarks –
10:45 – 11:25
am Junior
Ballroom
With collaboration from Jack Lenz
11:25 – 11: 50
am Junior
Ballroom
Musical Finale - Jack Lenz (
11:50 am
-- Close of Conference
1:30 – 3:00 pm Salon
11
Post-Conference
Critique
The Rabbani Charitable Trust
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