Association for Bahá’í Studies in Southern Africa (ABS-SA)

ANNUAL REPORT – Ridván 2004

To the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of South Africa

Members of the ABS

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

The ABS takes pleasure in submitting its 5^th Annual Report of the Association for Bahá’í Studies in Southern Africa (ABS). It contains highlights of events sponsored in the previous year.

ABS Annual Conference held in Johannesburg

The Fifth Annual Conference of the ABS was held in Johannesburg at the University of the Witwatersrand, 30 January – 1 February, 2004. This Conference represented a transition – it was the first Conference held on its own, independent from the International Summer Schools. This begins a process of establishing the annual ABS conference as an event that will attract non-Bahá’í presenters. The Theme of the Conference was: Creating a multi-religious discourse. The eleven presentations included drama, poetry, and a mother and son presentation on “How God chose His Manifestation.” The conference also included workshops discussions on the letter to religious leaders from the Universal House of Justice. A detailed Conference Report is being prepared.

ABS Annual Meeting

The Annual Conference included the Annual General Meeting of the ABS. Suggestions were given for the coming year, (reported separately). Highlights were:

o Suggestions for the next Conference;

o Ways to mentor youth;

o Attracting non-Bahá’ís at future events;

o Secret of Divine Civilisation to be offered as a new Distance Education Course.

o Collaboration between Institute Board, Education Board in developing scholarship.

Conference Proceedings Published

Conference Proceedings from 3 Annual Conferences (2000 – 2002) have been published. The ABS decided to publish the book even though many of the papers had not been submitted for inclusion. The book is available through the National Book Sales office.

Distance Education Course on Century of Light

The ABS conducted its second distance education course, Century of Light. The ABS was given permission by the Wilmette Institute in the United States to use and modify their materials. 60 participants from 6 countries enrolled for the course. It was conducted entirely through email, with interesting discussions and final projects. The ABS has agreed to continue working with the Wilmette Institute and will soon be offering a course on Secret of Divine Civilisation.

ABS Web Site

The ABS Web Site (www.bahaistudies.org.za) continues to be maintained and updated by Farzin Aghdasi. The site contains a comprehensive collection of papers, talks, compilations, and the Distance Education Courses conducted by the ABS. Your visit and comments will be appreciated.

Membership

Members of the ABS are from countries in Southern Africa, from all walks of life. The major goals of the ABS are:

Study of the Faith: history, teachings, beliefs and practices;

Scholarship: promote research and scholarship in subject areas of interest;

Teaching: promote teaching of the Bahá’í Faith;

Collaboration: cooperate with like-minded groups and societies.

A membership fee of R40 is encouraged to help defray costs; membership is open to all believers.

South African Academy of Religions

The ABS has become a member of the South African Academy of Religions. Robert Sarracino presented a paper on the Faith at an Academy Conference.

Youth Seminars

Plans are underway for a second youth seminar to be held in Cape Town. The first one sponsored by the ABS was held in Johannesburg in 2002.