Continuing its long-standing efforts to foster a rich intellectual life for the Bahá’í community, and now in light of fresh approaches to generating and applying knowledge inspired by Bahá’í teachings, the Association for Bahá’í Studies–North America will hold its 42nd Annual Conference on Aug. 9–12 at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia.
The conference is open to all who are interested in exploring the implications of the Bahá’í teachings for human society, as well as for various disciplines, professions and fields of inquiry. Participants are invited to consider how they can play a role in working with others “to earnestly strive to reflect on the implications that the truths found in the Revelation may hold for their work.” In addition to plenary sessions featuring speakers and panel discussions on thematic issues, breakout sessions are offered for more specialized presentations and discussion.
Proposals are invited for breakout sessions related to any discipline or profession; deadline is March 15. The format for these sessions lends itself to sharing works in progress as well as formal research findings. Proposals may be submitted for a single paper (60-minute session), or for an entire panel of up to four people (90-minute session). At least a third of the session must be devoted to discussion and questions from the audience. Proposals should be submitted online and more details may be found on the Association’s website (bahai-studies.ca/theme-statement-and-call-for-presentations/).
Proposals will be evaluated based on contribution to knowledge, suitability of the topic for the conference, relevant background of the speaker(s) to address the topic, clarity of the proposal, overall variety of the program, and overall diversity of the presenters. Youths, young adults and first-time presenters are particularly encouraged to apply.
Conference registration and hotel information are available on the ABS website (bahai-studies.ca/UpcomingConference). For inquiries on the conference, please contact the Association for Bahá’í Studies (abs-na@bahai-studies.ca or phone 613-233-1903), 34 Copernicus St., Ottawa, ON, Canada K1N 7K4. Hotel reservations must be made directly with the conference hotel; special conference rates are guaranteed only until July 14 or until the room block is filled, whichever is earlier.