Index for the April-June 2008 issue of ONE COUNTRY (Volume 19, Issue 3)
(Click here for a PDF file of the printed issue)
In Haifa, a global election showcases global diversity
More than 1,000 delegates from 153 countries, using a distinctive democratic electoral process, gather to elect the international governing body of the Bahá'í Faith
Perspective: Crossing the divide between science and religion: a view on evolution
Many people today question the place of religion in an age of science. This is especially true regarding the theory of evolution. Yet in the Bahá'í writings one finds a perspective that both embraces the scientific truth behind evolution and yet also upholds the Divine nature behind ultimate reality.
Women's equality can improve economic performance, economist tells the UN
UNITED NATIONS - Equality between the sexes can have a real world economic effect, potentially improving the economic performance of nations and corporations. That was among the ideas offered by noted economist Augusto Lopez-Claros, speaking in February at the United Nations on behalf of the Bahá'í International Community.
At the UN, a discussion of poverty, employment, and the meaning of work
UNITED NATIONS - The Bahá'í International Community issued two statements, one on poverty and one on employment and work, and helped to organize a panel discussion on youth and employment at the UN Commission on Social Development in February. The statement on poverty, "Eradicating Poverty: Moving Forward as One," calls for a coherent, principle-based approach to the eradication of global poverty.
In Iran, new anti-Bahá'í tactics come amidst surprising pockets of support
GENEVA - Last March, after being threatened twice, once by anti-Bahá'í graffiti at his workplace and then by a hate-filled letter, a 53-year-old Bahá'í businessman in Shiraz, Iran, was chained to a tree, doused with gasoline, and assaulted by an unknown assailants who threw lighted matches at him.
Fortuitously, none of the four matches that were tossed at the man ignited the deadly fuel. The first failed to light, the second went out immediately, a third hit his clothes but did not spark the gas, and a fourth fell harmless to the ground. At that point, the assailants - apparently nervous - jumped back in their car and fled, shortly before neighbors arrived and freed the victim.
The entire incident, from the extreme nature of its assault to the neighborly rescue, offers a striking glimpse of the general situation facing Iranian Bahá'ís today as they strive to practice their religious beliefs in the land where their religion was born.
In Egypt, the government decides not to appeal Bahá'í decision in religious freedom casesk
CAIRO, Egypt - The Egyptian government has decided not to appeal a lower administrative court ruling that cleared the way for Bahá'ís to obtain proper identification papers.
In Vietnam, a milestone for Bahá'ís
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam - The Bahá'ís of Vietnam have reached a historic milestone with the election - for the first time in many years - of a national Bahá'í administrative body.
With no nominations or campaigning, how does the Bahá'í electoral process work?
HAIFA, Israel - In a world where democratic elections are valued in principle but strained in practice, the electoral process used by the worldwide Bahá'í community suggests a distinctive alternative.
The "new Alexandria" and global change
Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything
By Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams
Portfolio
New York
We live in a period characterized by diversity, chaos and an intense search for solutions to increasingly complex and global problems.
Within that context, Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything explores what may well be one of the most profound changes in our time - a shift from hierarchical lines of creation and production to a model in which almost anyone, anywhere, can contribute ideas and innovation to a given economic or social project.