National Convention 2023: list of delegates

… the principal purpose of a National Convention is to give an opportunity to the delegates to consult on the affairs of the Faith and to elect the members of the National Spiritual Assembly.

— From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly, 26 July 1982

The National Spiritual Assembly looks forward to welcoming the delegates, elected at the recent unit conventions, to the Bahá’í National Convention 180 B.E., the second National Convention of the Nine Year Plan. It will be held from 26-28 May in Auckland and the venue will be confirmed in due course.

Attached is a list of delegates in each unit. On the second page of the attachment is a list of the units and the localities they encompass. The friends may make suggestions to any delegate regarding ideas to raise during Convention consultation. Delegates are free to use their own judgement on whether to raise the suggestions offered, but they will welcome hearing a variety of thoughts from the friends as this will inform their reading of the reality in the community.

Functions of the National Convention

To generate those forces which must give birth to the body of their national administrators, and to confer, freely and fully and at fixed intervals, with both the incoming and outgoing National Assemblies, are the twofold functions, the supreme responsibility and sole prerogative of the delegates assembled in Convention. Nothing short of close and constant interaction between these various organs of Bahá’í administration can enable it to fulfill its high destiny.

— Postscript in the handwriting of Shoghi Effendi appended to a letter dated 18 November 1933 written on his behalf to a National Spiritual Assembly

One of the distinguishing features of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh is the Bahá’í Administrative Order, the nucleus and pattern of the future World Order He has promised. A fundamental aspect of the endeavours of the friends to upraise that Order is the election by believers in locations across the globe of their delegates to the National Convention, occasions which also allow for discussions regarding local and national affairs. These delegates, in turn, will “fulfil the functions of an enlightened, consultative and co-operative body that will enrich the experience, enhance the prestige, support the authority, and assist the deliberations of the National Spiritual Assembly.” In addition, it is they, as Shoghi Effendi explained, who have the great privilege and delicate task “to elect such national representatives as would by their record of service ennoble and enrich the annals of the Cause”.

— The Universal House of Justice, 4 August 2016

The purpose of consultation at the National Bahá’í Convention is threefold: to arrive at full and complete knowledge of the current conditions, problems and possibilities of the Faith in the country; to give the incoming National Assembly the benefit of the collective wisdom, guidance and constructive suggestions of the assembled delegates; and to contribute to the unity, in spirit and action, of the entire Bahá’í community.

— From a statement on the National Convention prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice