Conference Announcements: Baha’i Studies, Development and the Environment
The International Environment Forum, a Baha’i inspired NGO concerned with the environment and sustainable development is combining forces with the Association for Baha’i Studies North America in respective of each organisation’s annual conferences. The joint conference theme is “Environments”. A single registration makes both conferences available to participants. IEF participants can also participate through e-conferencing facilities. The 13th Annual conference of the International Envisonment Forum will be held in Washington D.C, August 13-16, 2009. The stated theme of the conference is encapsulated in this paragraph.
“The teachings of the Bahá’í Faith shed light on the dialogue between the human soul and its environment. “We cannot segregate the human heart from the environment outside us and say that once one of these is reformed everything will be improved.” Shoghi Effendi wrote, “Man is organic with the world. His inner life moulds the environment and is itself also deeply affected by it. The one acts upon the other and every abiding change in the life of man is the result of these mutual reactions.” The nature, quality, and condition of the environments we inhabit therefore have profound implications for human well-being. In this context, how can science and religion, as complementary systems of knowledge and practice, be applied more effectively to the preservation, refinement, and improvement of the myriad environments – natural, cultural, and built – within which we live and grow?”. Details concerning the 33rd Annual conference of the Association for Baha’i Studies is also available.
The Rabbani Trust is a Baha’i inspired NGO dedicated to disbursing funds for “charitable, religious, literary and educational purposes, to promote the spiritual and social well being of the entire human race” and among its activities sponsors the annual Baha’i Conference on Social and Economic Development. This year the conference theme is “Baha’i-inspired Development and the Growth Process: Partners in Transforming Society“and the conference is scheduled for December 19-22, 2009 in Orlando Florida.