The 21st Annual Conference of the Association for Bahá'í Studies, held in Washington, DC, 14-16 November 1997, focused on the theme of "Fostering Human Rights: Developing Pathways to Peace." Featuring more than 120 speakers and panelists, the event drew some 700 participants. Shown above are members of a panel discussion (left to right): Shulamith Koenig, Techeste Ahderom, Augusto Lopez, and Susie Clay. The keynote speech was delivered by Suheil Bushrui, holder of the Bahá'í Chair for World Peace, who said: "Only by establishing a universal system of human rights, embodying an understanding of the underlying truth and unity of all religions, can we hope to establish genuine and lasting peace."