Wilmette Institute

Can business become the solution instead of being the problem?

More resources: https://wilmetteinstitute.org/series/ebbf-building-the-future/#part_8

In this series, we examine the underlying assumptions that brought us to this current global crisis. Together, we explore potential solutions to the vital issues that have gained new urgency at this time. We also discuss our roles and the actions we can take to address these critical challenges and build better systems for the future of humankind. ABOUT EBBF: ebbf, Ethical Business Building the Future, is a Bahá’í inspired organization dedicated to building a prosperous, peaceful and sustainable global society. ebbf members are people of all faiths who are striving to apply Bahá’í principles in their businesses and workplaces.

In this series, we examine the underlying assumptions that brought us to this current global crisis. Together, we explore potential solutions to the vital issues that have gained new urgency at this time. We also discuss our roles and the actions we can take to address these critical challenges and build better systems for the future of humankind. ABOUT EBBF: ebbf, Ethical Business Building the Future, is a Bahá’í inspired organization dedicated to building a prosperous, peaceful and sustainable global society. ebbf members are people of all faiths who are striving to apply Bahá’í principles in their businesses and workplaces.

As the world goes through an unprecedented new phase of economic upheaval, a deeper analysis of materialism as the root cause of the extremes of wealth and poverty has taken on new urgency. Such an analysis involves two fundamental questions. First, what is the difference between “materialism,” which is hazardous, and “material prosperity,” which is a worthy individual and social goal? And, second, what is the most effective mode of leadership for moving society beyond materialism and facilitating the achievement of true material prosperity? It may be argued that the best mode of leadership in pursuit of shared material prosperity would be one that reflects compassion, caring, nurturing, communal behavior, and effective communication, all of which have traditionally been associated with the feminine aspects of the human society. The participants are invited to reimagine new leadership models in the context of the emerging consciousness of the need to balance the feminine and the masculine in all areas of human endeavor, including the creation of a more equitable economic system.

More resources: https://wilmetteinstitute.org/series/ebbf-building-the-future/#part_9

In this webinar, Sovaida Ma'ani Ewing will talk about the themes in her book The Alchemy of Peace: 6 Essential Shifts in Mindsets and Habits to Achieve World Peace

Book Description: "Humanity stands at a critical crossroads. Social, political, religious, economic, and environmental systems are unraveling with bewildering rapidity all around us. In the face of such disintegration many of us feel helpless, despondent, angry, and anxious. Such feelings pose the greatest danger of all, as they lead to a loss of hope and a paralysis of will at a time in our collective evolution when inaction can be catastrophic.

"The Alchemy of Peace" offers the gift of hope and a viable path out of the current chaos. It identifies a set of dysfunctional habits borne of tired old perspectives, false assumptions, limiting beliefs, and interpretations on the basis of which we make choices about how to behave. It posits that replacing these mindsets and habits with more constructive and empowering ones will open our eyes to new opportunities growing out of the ferment of our troubled times.

Sovaida Ma'ani Ewing is an author, speaker, international lawyer, life mastery coach, and founding director of The Center for Peace and Global Governance (cogg.org). a virtual think tank and online forum that pools and proposes principled solutions to pressing global challenges. Her latest book, available on Amazon, is "The Alchemy of Peace: 6 Essential Shifts in Mindsets and Habits to Achieve World Peace." She also hosts a live video podcast "Re Imagining Our World" on facebook and the CPGG YouTube channel. The program weekly program is dedicated to creating a vision of the world we want and infusing hope that we can make the choices necessary to attain it.

“History is a powerful instrument. At its best, it provides a perspective on the past and casts a light on the future. It populates human consciousness with heroes, saints and martyrs whose example awakens in everyone touched by it capacities they had not imagined they possessed.”

Century of Light (pages 65-83)

Based on The Secret of Divine Civilization, his Treatise on Politics (Risalih-yi Siyasiyyih) and unpublished letters of ‛Abdu’l-Bahá written in Ottoman Turkish, this talk discusses the contributions of ‛Abdu’l-Bahá to the reform discourse in Iran and the Ottoman Empire. His discourse will be dealt within the framework of Bahá’u’lláh’s own claim as “World Reformer” which He expounds in various Writings, especially those revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas.

All this Bahá’í perspective will be presented against the historical background of the development of reforms in the Ottoman Empire and Iran where generations of forward looking intellectuals and statesmen have discussed and applied their progressive ideas for the betterment and transformation of society. Within this context especially the relationship between ‛Abdu’l-Bahá and Ottoman reformers and His attempt to infuse Bahá’í thoughts into the Ottoman and Iranian reform movement shall be described.

Dr. Richard St. Barbe Baker OBE (1889-1982) was arguably the first global conservationist, blazing a trail for contemporary environmental leaders such as Jane Goodall. He began his mission to save the world’s forests in 1922, when he started the first international NGO, Men of the Trees, in Kenya.

Baker was a visionary pioneer of concepts/practices such as sustainable development, agroforestry, agroecology, desert reclamation, fair trade, and ecotourism. Starting in 1931, he wrote thirty books about these ideas. A great adventurer, he travelled the world continuously from 1929-1982, networking with conservationists and lecturing on the need to plant trees to save the planet. In addition to kings and presidents, his extraordinary networks of contacts included leaders of thought, visionaries, and eminent scientists and artists. Starting in 1929, he worked with the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, Shoghi Effendi, to promote public discourse and social action on conservation.

He has been recognized as one of the outstanding figures of the conservation movement by environmental leaders such as Prince Charles, Jane Goodall, Wanjira Maathai (Green Belt Movement), Philippe Cousteau (EarthEcho International), Richard Leaky (International Centre for Research in Agroforestry), Sir Ghillian Prance (International Tree Foundation), Elizabeth Dowdeswell (Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, UN Under Secretary General, UNEP), and Peter Wohlleben (forester, author The Hidden Life of Trees). In 1969, The World Wildlife Fund appointed Baker its first Member of Honour.

There is a lot of printed material in the Faith on our collective efforts to teach American Indians. We can still use much of it in our efforts today. The importance of documenting our activities comes to light when we realize that what we have is only some of the story. More writing needs to be encouraged and reports of activities need to be filed. We will celebrate what has made it to print and give ease to those who would like to know where to begin to tell the story more fully.

“Restorative justice promotes values and principles that use inclusive, collaborative approaches for being in community. These approaches validate the experiences and needs of everyone within the community, particularly those who have been marginalized, oppressed, or harmed. These approaches allow us to act and respond in ways that are healing rather than alienating or coercive.” –Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz and Judy H. Mullet, (2015)

In this panel discussion students, educators and a psychiatric social worker come together to explore the principles and practice of restorative justice. The discussion will move from the realities of the school to prison pipeline, contrasting views of “justice,” and the need for restorative justice and better accountability in schools, to the vision of a holistic approach including long term goals to transform how conflict is addressed in schools and in the broader community. Finally, opportunities for involvement in the restorative justice movement will be offered.

In the words of three of our panelists:

“We’re here to talk about a paradigm shift that needs to happen in our schools and communities in order to make sure that all of our students, especially the most vulnerable and historically marginalized, have what they need in order to thrive.”

–Ariane White

–Grethel Vega

–Shadi Seyedyousef

In the annals of human history the twentieth century could well be remembered as the “death of God,” foreseen in the writings of a German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), and manifested in world wars, totalitarian ideologies, concentration camps, and mass murder. At the center of cultural debates and political maneuverings of that century stood the Soviet Union – the unique atheist empire in world history. It may have seemed back then that organized religion will fade away and vanish altogether. However, it was the communist block that declined and collapsed, and on its ruins, humanity witnessed the resurgence of traditional religions.

The interview with Prof. Mikhail Epstein is conducted by Dr. Mikhail Sergeev, co-chair of the Department of Religion, Theology, and Philosophy at the Wilmette Institute.

As the lead researcher for the Bahá’í component of FACT, Mike has helped collect Bahá’í data on trends related to: community worship, social service programs, community mission and identity, programs for youth, demographic information about the members, community leadership, conflict in the community, and finances. These questions were asked in surveys in 2000, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2015 and 2020. The result is a one-of-a-kind Bahá’í dataset describing its members, growth, and community characteristics. He has just compiled the data for the FACT 2020 survey, and his Wilmette Institute talk will give an overview of these findings. The Bahá’í community provided FACT data in late January and early February 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.