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The following article is from bic.org. © 2020 Bahá’í International Community

The overarching objective of the Baha’i International Community is to contribute to the construction of a more peaceful and just global order.

We believe that the foundation for such an order is the principle of the oneness of humankind—a principle expressed in the interdependence of the members of the human family. This interdependence, the spirit of which gave rise to the creation of the United Nations, is now struggling to find expression in all arenas of human endeavor—social, intellectual, artistic, and moral, to name but a few.

At this time our work revolves around six themes: the equality of women and men, human rights and well-being of humankind, development and community building, youth as protagonists of constructive change, the role of religion in society, and the situation of the Baha’is in Iran. Below are six areas that constitute the focus of our work at this time. We see each of them as intimately connected to one another—progress in one supports progress in the others. And together, they advance the overarching goal of peace.

The following article is from bahai.org.

Today, the human race is passing through a period of turbulent adolescence, moving towards the next stage in its life—a stage of maturity characterized by the emergence of a united, global civilization. Our well-being, our peace and security are all dependent upon the firm establishment of unity.

To create this new world, many patterns of behaviour that characterized earlier phases of our existence must be put aside. “We must strive unceasingly and without rest to accomplish the development of the spiritual nature in man,” wrote ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “and endeavor with tireless energy to advance humanity toward the nobility of its true and intended station.”1

“[W]e must all strive with heart and soul until we have the reality of unity in our midst.”2

The fundamental principle of the oneness of humankind requires a profound development in our thinking: “If you desire with all your heart, friendship with every race on earth, your thought, spiritual and positive, will spread; it will become the desire of others, growing stronger and stronger, until it reaches the minds of all men.”3

Noble thoughts in themselves, however, are not enough. They must be translated into action. The truth that humanity is one must today be constantly asserted and taught to all.

The following article is from The Bahá’í World News Service. Photo copyright © Bahá’í World News Service

December 31, 2019

The Baha’i World News Service, reflecting on 2019, provides a brief overview of stories in the past year about developments in the global Baha’i community and a glimpse of the extraordinary worldwide celebrations that took place in honor of the second historic bicentenary.

200th anniversary of the birth of the Bab

October 2019 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Báb, as the forerunner and herald of the Baha’i Faith, whose dramatic ministry paved the way for the appearance of Baha’u’llah. The bicentenary was celebrated worldwide at every level, from the grassroots to the international.

In villages and neighborhoods across the globe, bicentenary preparations began months in advance, prompting an unprecedented intensification of community building activities and an outpouring of artistic works to mark the occasion, reflect on its significance, and recall the momentous life of the Bab. In the lead-up to the anniversary, the News Service reported on these preparations and celebrations in each continent: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australasia, and Europe. Based on what had been learned in 2017, the celebrations were much more broadly based on this occasion at the grassroots of society.

The following article is from bahai.org.Photo of Delegates to the first International Bahá’í Convention in Haifa, in front of the International Archives Building, May 1963 © 2019 Bahá’í International Community

In April 1963, the centenary of Bahá’u’lláh’s public declaration was marked by two auspicious events: the first election of the Universal House of Justice—the highest institution of Bahá’u’lláh’s Administrative Order; and, a few days afterward, the holding of the first Bahá’í World Congress in London, at which its 7,000 participants demonstrated by their very presence just how dramatically the Bahá’í world community had grown during the preceding decade.

The community that the Universal House of Justice inherited had expanded rapidly as a result of Shoghi Effendi’s first global plan for the growth and consolidation of the Bahá’í Faith. Bahá’ís now resided in more than 14,000 localities in some 259 sovereign states, dependencies and major islands. Some 56 countries had National Spiritual Assemblies. Though still relatively small, the Bahá’í Faith was assuming the characteristics of a world religion. The cultural adaptability of the Faith and its potential to attract a wide diversity of peoples were increasingly visible; its collective life was also beginning to manifest some of the society-building potentialities enshrined in Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation.