Foundations of the Future Civilization

Transcription

1 Baha i Society for Persian Arts and Letters Foundations of the Future Civilization Persian culture and the Baha i Faith 18th Annual Conference December 2014 Hilton Hotel, Terminal 5 London

2 Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch. Deal ye one with another with the utmost love and harmony, with friendliness and fellowship. He Who is the Day Star of Truth beareth Me witness! So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth. The one true God, He Who knoweth all things, Himself testifieth to the truth of these words. The first utterance of Him Who is the All-Wise is this: O children of dust! Turn your faces from the darkness of estrangement to the effulgent light of the daystar of unity. This is that which above all else will benefit the peoples of the earth. From the Writings of Baha u llah

3 Friday 26 December Registration Evolution of Human Thought Prayers and Music Opening Remarks and welcome Minou Foadi Opening of the conference Shapour Rassekh Message of the NSA of the Baha is of UK NSA Representative The Baha i Writings and the Global Perspective. Shapour Rassekh Break The Global Perspective from the Viewpoint of Science Steven Phelps programme of Persian music Parallel Event* *Parallel evening events will take place in a separate hall in English and will include one or more of the following speakers: Sovaida Ma ani Ewing, Wendi Momen, Vahid Rafati, Moojan Momen, Steven Phelps and Payam Akhavan

4 Saturday 27 December The Culture and Language of Iran Prayers and music Baha i Literature Vahid Rafati Break Message of committee for the Guardian s Resting Place Jaleh Alaei Role of Baha is in the development and future of the Persian language Behrouz Jabbari Round table discussion Vahid Rafati & Behrouz Jabbari Lunch Prayers and music The Babi & Baha i Faiths: Emergence of modern thought in Iran Fereydoun Vahman Break Ten Thousand years of Persian civilization: The mother of civilizations worldwide Mahmood Kavir Round table discussion FereydounVahman & Mahmood Kavir programme of Persian music Parallel evening event* *Parallel evening events will take place in a separate hall in English and will include one or more of the following speakers: Sovaida Ma ani Ewing, Wendi Momen, Vahid Rafati, Moojan Momen, Steven Phelps and Payam Akhavan

5 Sunday 28 December 08:00 - Visiting the Guardian s Resting Place Education and Nurture of the New Generation Prayers and music Education and training: The Baha i perspective Break The forgotten schools of Iran 12:00 - Musical interlude Dars-e-Akhlagh; introducing the book by Siavash Raastani The Seven Valleys and The Four Valleys (1) Lunch Polin Rafat Soli Shahvar Minou Foadi Vahid Rafati Prayers and music The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys: A Review (2) Vahid Rafati Break History & the changing face of music in Iran Sirus Malakooty Round table discussion Polin Rafat, Soli Shahvar Vahid Rafati & Sirus Malakooty programme of Persian music Parallel evening event* *Parallel evening events will take place in a separate hall in English and will include one or more of the following speakers: Sovaida Ma ani Ewing, Wendi Momen, Vahid Rafati, Moojan Momen, Steven Phelps and Payam Akhavan

6 Monday 29 December New Perspectives on Relations between the Individual, Family and Society Music and prayers New perspectives on the relationship between individuals Break New perspectives on relationships within the family New perspectives on relationships within society Lunch Noushin Sabeti Furugh Switzer Polin Rafat Prayers and music Building a world federation: Key to resolving our global crises Sovaida Ma ani Ewing Break Modernity and the Babi Movement Fereydoun Vahman Round table discussion Noushin Sabeti, Furugh Switzer, Polin Rafat, Fereydoun Vahman & Sovaida Ma ani Ewing programme of Persian music The Gate - Theatre performance Sarah Perceval

7 Tuesday 30 December Civilization Building - Powers, Instruments and Protagonists Prayers and music Power and the exalted station of women: Freeing mankind from violence against women Payam Akhavan Break Review of messages of the House of Justice to Baha is in 2014 Shirin Tahzib Round table discussion: Protagonists of tomorrow s Shirin Tahzib, Padideh civilization Sabeti & Homeyra Smith Lunch Review of the last 5 days Break Children s and junior youth presentations Shapour Rassekh Thank you, Farewell Parallel evening event* programme of Persian music *Parallel evening events will take place in a separate hall in English and will include one or more of the following speakers: Sovaida Ma ani Ewing, Wendi Momen, Vahid Rafati, Moojan Momen, Steven Phelps and Payam Akhavan End of conference of the Baha i Society for Persian Arts and Letters London, December 26-30, 2014

8 Conference Rules and Regulations 1) For purposes of security, it is requested that you kindly have your conference wristband on you at all times during the meetings. Those without wristbands will not be allowed to enter the sessions. 2) Sessions will start promptly according to the scheduled time on the programme! You are requested to arrive on time to avoid disruption and to be courteous to speakers. 3) Please turn off your mobile phones when entering the conference hall or make sure they are set to silent settings if you need phone access for emergency purposes. 4) Many dear friends have volunteered to help with the running of the sessions and your responsiveness to their directives will be the best way of showing your gratitude for their efforts 5) Tickets for lunch and dinner are colour coded by day and can only be used on the specified day. Tickets for previous or subsequent days cannot be used in lieu of the specified day. 6) The speakers and organizers have asked that images and video recordings of the programme not be taken for distribution on the internet. Professional recording of sessions has already been arranged, with prior consent of the speakers, and will be made available for purchase for those interested. Rules in relation to children 1) Roshangah Classes for reading and writing of the Persian language are available for children 5 years and older and for junior youth. These will be offered daily under the direction of Ms Vida Nezamabad. Please ensure that you collect your children from their classes on time at the end of lessons, to avoid distress to children and as courtesy to the adult volunteer tutors. 2) Children under 5 are to be looked after by their parents. 3) Parents are kindly requested to ensure their children maintain good conduct throughout the conference and not become disorderly or cause disturbance to other hotel guests. Please note that under no circumstances are children allowed to access the hotel computers in the business centre! 4) It is solely the parents responsibility to ensure the security and well being of their children. The organizers accept no responsibility in this respect. 5) Please bear in mind that the hotel has guests who are not participating in the conference, and we are not the sole users of the premises. Gallery The BSPAL conference committee is delighted and proud to announce that, once again, we shall have the privilege of exhibiting artists works on the ground floor in The Gallery for the duration of the conference. We invite you to enjoy and support the work of exhibiting artists as part of your conference experience. Some exhibited works may also be available for purchase. The gallery will be open during the break intervals and at other specially dedicated times. Please look out for signs! Book Sale Book purchase will be available on the first floor between the hours of 10 AM and 8 PM.

9 Visit to the Resting Place of Shoghi Effendi Visit to the Resting Place of the beloved Guardian will take place on the 28 th of December, the bus leaving hotel premises at 8am. The round trip cost per individual will be 15. Further details on the visit will be available at the conference help desk. For any further queries please consult friends at the conference help/registration desk.