Index for the July-September 2008 issue of ONE COUNTRY (Volume 19, Issue 4)
(Click here for a PDF file of the printed issue)
Bahá'í holy places in Israel added to UN World Heritage list
The Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh and the Shrine of the Báb join the Vatican, the Old City of Jerusalem, and the Pyramids, among other places, as sites of "outstanding universal value."
Perspective: The future of food: balancing the local and global
In June this year, global food prices climbed to an all-time high. Although prices have declined, the crisis nevertheless highlighted an important fact: our global food supply is under pressure from multiple avenues, and the need for a coordinated global approach to food and agriculture is greater than ever.
Concerned about "quagmire" in human rights, Bahá'ís launch new discourse
NEW YORK - Concerned that the goal of establishing a universal standard for human rights has become mired in competing international agendas, the Bahá'í International Community has launched an initiative to explore how best to strengthen the promotion of human rights and ensure their central place in the governance of human affairs.
Iranian Bahá'ís face new attacks - and also gain increased support
NEW YORK - In recent months, Iranian Bahá'ís have continued to face increasing persecution from their government and its proxies. At the same time, however, they are receiving growing support and succor from both inside and outside Iran.
Rural development is the focus at UN Commission on Sustainable Development
UNITED NATIONS - Over the last 30 years, the Bahá'í-inspired SAT program has trained upwards of 100,000 people in Latin America in new methods of rural development, using a distinctive integrated approach that places knowledge and individual empowerment at its center.
In Ethiopia, an educational TV show for children wins an audience and more
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - "Tsehai," a young giraffe, born from the marriage of a local schoolteacher and an American software developer, is the star of her own Amharic-language television show. She has gone on to capture the imagination of children throughout Ethiopia - and two international awards juries as well.
"Tsehai Loves Learning" is the brainchild of Bruktawit Tigabu and Shane Etzenhouser of Addis Ababa, a married couple who are both Bahá'ís.
Vietnam recognizes its Bahá'ís as a religious community
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam - The government of Vietnam has given full recognition to the Bahá'í community as a religious organization. The 25 July 2008 ceremony means that "the Government's Committee for Religious Affairs has recognized the Bahá'í Community of Vietnam as a religious organization able to operate on an equal footing with other religions."
Bahá'í pilgrimage: "People can sense the presence of God"
HAIFA, Israel - In its decision to inscribe the two major Bahá'í holy places on the UN World Heritage list, the World Heritage Committee focused in large part on their significance as a place of pilgrimage.
Step by step, a recipe for world peace
Collective Security Within Reach
By Sovaida Ma'ani Ewing
George Ronald
Oxford
If ever there were a great idea that failed most regrettably in its implementation, it is that of international collective security. But the situation is not quite as hopeless as it seems, according to Sovaida Ma'ani Ewing, a lawyer from the United Kingdom who has thoroughly studied the concept and written a new book, Collective Security Within Reach.