Reflections on World Conferences in Aotearoa
In this article, the Regional Bahá’í Councils of Te Waipounamu (South Island) and Te-Ika-a-Māui (North Island) share their reflections on the World Conferences held in Aotearoa at the beginning of 179 BE that launched the Nine Year Plan in Aotearoa. The National Assembly shares a short video presentation expressing thanks to all the institutions, agencies, communities and individuals who supported these historic endeavours.
The National Spiritual Assembly wholeheartedly endorses the thoughtful analysis carried out by the Councils and expresses deep appreciation for the significant effort made by the two Regional Councils in supporting and encouraging all of the wonderful efforts of Local Spiritual Assemblies, communities and individuals. Friends are urged to reflect deeply on how the learning and newly strengthened capacities of all three protagonists can be carried forward in an ongoing pattern of community-building to release in ever greater measure, the society-building powers of the Faith.
From the Bahá’í Council of Te Waipounamu (South Island):
The South Island Baha'i Council extends its love and appreciation to all who participated in the Worldwide conferences! They were a great burst of energy and capacity building for our region. Through feedback from participants and a reflection zoom held on the 30th of June, we heard many stories and learnings, all of which we have captured in a small document and share with you as a means of disseminating this learning and celebration for all that was achieved.
Click on the button below to view the report of conferences in Te Waipounamu (South Island).
From the Regional Bahá’í Council of Te-Ika-a-Māui (North Island):
With joy and admiration for the service of the believers in the North Island of Aotearoa, the Regional Bahá’í Council supported an incredible 34 local conferences. Successive lockdowns and uncertainties seem, in hindsight, to have been a blessing by encouraging a more localised focus for the conferences. This led to a great outpouring of love and spirit at a local level, greater diversity and larger numbers of participants (2583), demonstrating the outward focus of enkindled friends. 867 participants were friends of the Faith, and at least 211 were participating for the first time in a Báhá’i event. Capacities were built in reaching out, in engaging in meaningful conversations.
What an incredible outpouring of love and obedience to the call of the Universal House of Justice.
Many capacities were evident in the lead up to the conferences, and others emerged during the conferences and soon afterwards, We are confident that, with time, many more capacities will be seen in the weeks, and months to come. So many capacities have been built at an individual, community and institutional level, that have created a solid launching pad for accelerated growth in the Nine Year Plan.
Capacity of institutions:
to respond lovingly and wholeheartedly to a call from the Universal House of Justice
to be part of the growth process
to collaborate with other institutions
to have an outward focus - the conferences were always seen as being for the wider community, and not just the Bahá’í community
to work systematically
to begin reading the social, spiritual and material reality of its community
to organise, plan, delegate (task forces for logistics etc)
to engage with Kaumātua, tangata whenua and local marae, and integrate tikanga
Capacity of individuals:
to invite their friends, co-workers, neighbours, and new friends to the conference and into the community-building process
to involve the Māori community
to use tikanga, te reo, karakia, waiata
to have meaningful conversations about the vision of Bahá’u’lláh, the Person of Bahá’u’lláh, the Faith more generally, and about the training institute
to directly teach the Cause
to explain the community-building process and its society-building powers, and to invite others to join in this process
to work in a new team and to support their community quickly and effectively, and to develop effective materials that reflect their reality (facilitators)
Capacity of communities:
to focus, consult and mobilise to support the efforts of institutions and individuals
to build manaakitanga, whanaungatanga and relationships with marae
to engage all ages in one space - children, junior youth and adults in a parallel process
to show generosity
to mobilise the collective energies
to reach out to other clusters for support, and to support other clusters in their learning and practice
to tap into the skills of different community members - logistics, cooking, technical ability
to draw on skills and strengths of those in the wider community to support endeavours
to unify vision through reliance on God
to cook great food for large numbers of people!
growing confidence in the ability to study the Word of God with people who may not have been exposed to it previously
greater integration of various efforts in the community, and to reach different groups such as those connected through the Race Unity Speech Awards, interfaith groups or other community activities
to engage in meaningful and uplifting conversations with all segments of the population, particularly with youth and their families including direct teaching
to work together as one community with a common vision
to elevate and integrate programmes for children and youth with those for adults leading to a sense of cohesion and belonging
Capacity of the Regional Bahá’í Council:
to accompany a significant enterprise
to liaise with and accompany Local Assemblies in the preparation and running of the conferences
to collaborate closely with the National Spiritual Assembly and Auxiliary Board members
to study in depth the guidance from the Universal House of Justice
to accompany at the grassroots many nuclei around the region
to demonstrate leadership
to train and accompany facilitators during the conferences
to collect statistical data both qualitative and quantitative
How might this experience and newly strengthened capacities be carried forward in an ongoing pattern of community life?
New and deeper friendships
Starting new study circles
Starting new devotionals, children’s classes and junior youth groups
Greater confidence in the power of the Word of God
Greater audacity to invite others
Inviting friends to activities
Extending invitations further
Follow-up events to the conferences e.g. whānau days and other hui
Creating spaces for interfaith and other community groups
Integrating arts into all activities held in the community
Ensuring that there is a system for capacity building in each nuclei
Strengthening relationships with tangata whenua
Growing ability to see all as possible protagonists
Consciousness about using inclusive language
Incorporating aspects from the conferences into cluster reflection meetings
Heart of learning is the training institute, and it can be highly effective when it involves whole families, ideally in a marae-based wānanga-style environment
What was learned about the impact of the arts?
Arts have a way of empowering people, overcoming passivity, and building unity
Arts can be used to invite participation from the wider community
Arts can elevate a space, create joyful relationships
Can seamlessly incorporate indigenous arts
Arts foster inclusivity across all ages
Opened a window into exploring our reality in greater depth
Arts engaged people in participating in the organisation of the conferences
Artistic creations can have usefulness beyond the space where they are created
Arts can be used to express noble concepts
There is value in both the process and the product
Participants, through the arts, can take ownership of the space
Conferences gave tutors a glimpse into what can be achieved in terms of incorporating the arts in the study of institute courses
The National Spiritual Assembly derived great joy from the wide range of reflections, statistics, photographs and videos - much of which was shared with the Bahá’í World Centre. Those of you who have seen the series of BWNS articles about the conferences may have noticed that in each of the very vibrant articles with wonderful images there was a brief mention of some aspect of the conferences in New Zealand.
To express its appreciation to the friends, the National Assembly sent a short video to the community for the Feast of Asmá’, which can be viewed below.
In the brief statement below, the National Spiritual Assembly describes how the experience and learning from the conferences can help to generate growth during the Nine Year Plan.
Friends who engaged in various aspects of preparing for and organising the conferences will have observed that the spiritual energy was greater where emphasis was given to the process involved in making the conference happen - where the spirit of collaboration was strong, and close and loving consultation went into the thinking, planning, and implementing of the conferences.
Having built many capacities, as identified by the Regional Bahá’í Councils, we can now generate growth whether across the cluster or in centres of intense activity, utilising proven strategies such as groups of families/households who collaborate to rotate devotional gatherings amongst them, inviting friends and family members to participate in this and other core activities that inevitably arise in a natural, organic way from this initiative. More and more whānau days are being held around the country, whether at neighbourhood, sector, community or cluster levels, to stimulate an ever widening circle of participants in the core activities,
The National Assembly is very appreciative of all of the effort that went into the conferences. By all accounts, everybody who attended the conferences has enjoyed them. It has been a celebration, and now is the time to build on the strengths that have been developed and continue on with these areas of learning. The spiritual energies released when we come together and work lovingly and collaboratively, tapping into the spiritual forces that are at our disposal, have been evident. We must all now channel this energy into ensuring that those who are searching for answers in this ever darkening world can have their hope restored.
