The annual Race Unity Speech Awards were initiated by the New Zealand Bahá’í Community in 2001 in support of Race Relations Day (21 March). The speech topic this year is “Speaking for Justice, Working for Unity”. At the national level, a Race Unity Hui is being run in conjunction with the National Finals of the Speech Awards on 11 May 2019 in Auckland.

Dr Lopez-Claros covers a number of the specific solutions that were proposed by `Abdu'l-Bahá as he was travelling through the West and how the discourse on wealth and inequality has evolved over the last century.

The Office of Public Affairs was invited to contribute to a symposium at Waikato University on the topic of 'Faith and Society'. Aidan MacLeod gave the talk, which was focused on sharing reflections on the role of religion in society.

The persecution of the Bahá’í communities in both Iran and Yemen has increased over the past few months.

The top award for the 2018 Race Unity Speech Awards was presented to Hena Dugh, a year 13 student at Hastings Girls’ High School. It was a wonderful and uplifting occasion.