Socio-economic development (Bahá'í)
Since its inception the Bahá'í Faith has had involvement in socio-economic development beginning by giving greater freedom to women,[1] promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern,[2] and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and clinics.[1]
The accelerated growth of the worldwide community in the 1960s-1980s expanded it with a large number of poor, illiterate villagers and tribal peoples in India, Africa and South America, which meant an enormous challenge for the social and economic development of communities. According to the Bahá'í teachings, development should increase people’s self-reliance, communal solidarity, giving access to knowledge, and, where possible, removing sources of injustice. Spiritual, moral and material development should be linked together.[3]
The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the Universal House of Justice dated 20 October 1983 was released.[4] The Office of Social and Economic Development was established[5] and Bahá'ís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the Bahá'í teachings, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. Worldwide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Bahá'í socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482.[4]
Examples of short-term projects are health camps, training seminars, tree-planting and environmental clean-up projects. Long-term projects include literacy, health care, agricultural and environmental projects. Most of the projects are schools, which range from village tutorial schools to large secondary schools, and some universities.[3]
The Bahá'í International Community, an international non-governmental organization, maintains a presence devoted to supporting and coordinating socio-development activities at the United Nations as well as presenting papers and reports of activities of the religion to UN agencies.[6] Bahá'ís and interested parties have participated in an annual conference since 1999 sponsored by the Rabbani Charitable Trust in Orlando Florida.[7] The Bahá'í Chair for World Peace is located at the Center for International Development and Conflict Management under the auspices of the College of Behaviorial and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland.[8]
Contents |
[edit] List of Projects
The list below comprises Baha'i-inspired socio-economic projects
- Tahirih Justice Center
- Dawn Breakers International Film Festival
- FUNDAEC
- Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial
[edit] See also
- Bahá'í Faith by country
- Bahá'í radio
- Bahá'í school
- Bahá'í Faith and gender equality
- Huqúqu'lláh
- Ruhi Institute: Releasing the Powers of Junior Youth
[edit] References
- ^ a b Momen, Moojan. "History of the Baha'i Faith in Iran". draft "A Short Encyclopedia of the Baha'i Faith". Bahai-library.com. http://bahai-library.com/momen_encyclopedia_iran#9.%20Social%20and%20economic%20development. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
- ^ Kingdon, Geeta Gandhi (1997). "Education of women and socio-economic development". Baha'i Studies Review 7 (1). http://bahai-library.com/kingdon_education_women_development.
- ^ a b Momen, Moojan (2007). "The Bahá’í Faith". New Lion Handbook: The World's Religions. Oxford: Lion Hudson Plc. pp. 464. ISBN 9780745952666.
- ^ a b Momen, Moojan; Smith, Peter (1989). "The Baha'i Faith 1957–1988: A Survey of Contemporary Developments". Religion 19: 63–91. doi:10.1016/0048-721X(89)90077-8. http://bahai-library.com/momen_smith_developments_1957-1988.
- ^ Smith, Peter (2008). An Introduction to the Baha'i Faith. Cambridge University Press. p. Preface-Chronology. ISBN 9780521862516. http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521862516&ss=fro.
- ^ "Social and Sustainable Development". Areas of Work. Baha'i International Community. http://bic.org/areas-of-work/social-and-sustainable-development. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ "Baha'i Development Conference". Rabbani Charitable Trust. February 28, 2010. http://www.rabbanitrust.org/bahai_sed_conference.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ "The Baha'i Chair for World Peace". The Baha'i Chair for World Peace. 2009. http://www.bahaipeacechair.org/. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
[edit] External links
|
|||||||||||||||||||
