Philosopher, Mystic, Social Reformer, Promulgator of Peace: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (1844–1921) in Biography and Three Short Stories
“About the greatness of this man and his power no one who met him could entertain a doubt”, Professor E.G. Browne, Cambridge, 1890.
The speaker, Sean Hinton studied ethnomusicology at Cambridge University, served as Mongolia’s first honorary Consul-General in Australia, and is CEO of the Soros Economic Development Fund. He is joined by story tellers Tebogo Khutsoane, Sarah Percival and Ismael Velasco.
Climate Change, Global Pollution, Biodiversity: Can we Turn the Corner?
To overcome our environmental crises, we need to rethink our human purpose, our economy and our systems of governance, with young people in the lead.
Dr Arthur Dahl studied at Stanford University and worked as a senior official of UNEP. He was involved in drafting Agenda21 for the Rio Earth Summit and coordinated UN Earthwatch. He is president of the Baha’i-inspired International Environment Forum.
To commemorate the centenary of the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Cambridge University Bahá’í Society has arranged online talks by eight international speakers. Each speaker will focus on one theme based on the teachings and life of this unique individual and its relevance to our world today.
Visit this page for further details of all the talks and registration links on Eventbrite.
Layli Miller-Muro explores the revolutionary Baha’i concept of justice as a means to unity and how we can achieve it. Layli Miller-Muro is CEO of the Tahirih Justice Center, which provides free legal and social services and engages in advocacy on behalf of immigrant women and girls fleeing human rights abuses. Layli founded the organization in 1997 following her involvement as a law student in a high-profile case that set national precedent and revolutionized asylum law in the US.
Since 2001, Layli has led the Tahirih Justice Centre in its service to more than 27,000 women and children (https://www.tahirih.org). Prior to joining Tahirih, she was an attorney-advisor at the U.S. Department of Justice, Board of Immigration Appeals. Tahirih gained recognition for innovative use of pro bono services in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. She was listed in the Newsweek/Daily Beast 150 most fearless women. She is a frequent lecturer and has appeared in numerous news outlets including CNN, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. The talk will be followed by discussion.
Date/Time: 7:30pm-8:30pm on Wednesday, 31 March 2021
Talk will take place online (book free tickets through Eventbrite to receive link)
By late-September 2020 the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center had tracked more than 33 million confirmed cases of the virus globally, causing close to 1 million deaths. The remarkable speed, global reach, and ease with which the virus crossed borders and is being transmitted between people has sent stock markets tumbling worldwide, with the World Bank projecting the deepest global recession since World War II. This excessive volatility, the sudden drop in confidence by consumers, and severe knock-on economic and social effects have resulted overnight in a swift contraction in cross-border finance, trade, air travel, and most other sectors of our interconnected global economy, as well as millions of job losses. This talk and discussion will examine measures to overhaul our system of global economic and social governance, both to respond to the immediate challenge of recovery from COVID-19 and to redouble efforts to advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The talk draws on the teachings of the Baha’i Faith.
Dr. Augusto Lopez-Claros is a Cambridge alumnus, and an international economist with over 30 years of experience in international organisations, including most recently the World Bank where he was director of the Global Indicators Group. Previously he was Chief Economist and Director of the Global Competitiveness Program at the World Economic Forum in Geneva, and Professor of Economics at the University of Chile. In May 2018, he was co-awarded the New Shape Prize for his work on Global Governance and has recently co-authored two books: ‘Equality for Women = Prosperity for All’ and ‘Global Governance and the Emergence of Global Institutions for the 21stCentury’ published by Cambridge University Press.
Date/Time: 8:00pm-9:00pm on Tuesday, 30 March 2021
Talk will take place online (book free tickets through Eventbrite to receive link)
Can positive impact and change at a local, national or even international level arise from our individual actions? Katina Jones challenges existing norms typically associated with our professional goals. Founder of the United Nations NGO Centre for Equality, and a group of organisations dedicated to health, education, philanthropy and human rights, she is in conversation with Jenifer Varzaly from the Cambridge University Baha’i Society. The discussion will explore topics related to meaningful work, personal drive and passion, and what each of us can do to make an impact in challenging times, whether large or small.
Date/Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm on Saturday, 27 March 2021
Talk will take place online (book free tickets through Eventbrite to receive link)
Hello and welcome from the Bahá’í Society! We are delighted to share with you our term card for this term. If you have any questions, please reach out to us by email at bahai@cusu.cam.ac.uk or on our Facebook page facebook.com/cambridgeuniversitybahaisociety.
The Cambridge University Bahá’í Society is delighted to host Dr. Lopez-Claros to talk about the elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty.
Income inequality has quickly emerged as a serious economic problem, with the potential to disrupt our social and political order. How to address widening income disparities is now an urgent challenge, for governments, the business community and civil society. In this talk Dr. Lopez-Claros will present a range of proposals currently being considered to alleviate the extremes of wealth and poverty. He will also explain why income inequality has an ethical and moral dimension and the contribution that the Bahá’í Faith makes to a deeper understanding of the problem and its solutions.
Augusto Lopez-Claros is an international economist with over 30 years of experience in international organisations, including most recently at the World Bank where he was director of the Global Indicators Group. Previously he was Chief Economist and Director of the Global Competitiveness Program at the World Economic Forum in Geneva. In May 2018 he was co-awarded the New Shape Prize for his work on “Global Governance and the Emergence of Global Institutions for the 21st Century” and has recently co-authored the book “Equality for Women = Prosperity for All”.
Hi everyone, here is the term card for the Michaelmas term. We have exciting events planned such as Spiritual Cinema and Firesides every week as well as some talks. Follow us on our Facebook page for more.
The Cambridge University Bahá’í society has organised two events this year as part of the University of Cambridge Festival of Ideas. Both events will take place on Saturday, 19 October 2019.
Educating for sustainable peace in a turbulent world
Saturday 19 October: 6:00pm – 7:00pm
University Centre, Granta Place Mill Lane, CB2 1RU
In a world increasingly destabilised by socio-political, economic and environmental conflict, is there hope for sustainable peace? A talk by Dr Sara Clarke-Habibi.
Dr Sara Clarke-Habibi has worked on peacebuilding in conflict-affected countries including Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia, Mexico and Cyprus. Drawing on education research, Dr Clarke-Habibi discusses how our understanding of the prerequisites of sustainable peace have changed over the last half-century in response to two global processes and links these insights to a Baha’i perspective on the future of the world.
Sara Clarke-Habibi researches on education in contexts of armed conflict, forced migration and mass violence. Sara holds a PhD in Education from the University of Cambridge (UK), an MA in Conflict Resolution from Landegg International University (Switzerland), and a BA in Ethics, Society and Law from the University of Toronto (Canada). She teaches on the intersection of education with issues of armed conflict, genocide, transitional justice, peacebuilding, social healing and reconciliation.
Organised by the Cambridge University Bahá’í Society for the University of Cambridge Festival of Ideas.
Change on the global stage: what makes an ‘International community’?
Saturday 19 October: 8:00pm – 9:00pm
University Centre, Granta Place Mill Lane, CB2 1RU
Global challenges call us to unprecedented new levels of international cooperation. Will we rise to the occasion?
Maja Groff is an international lawyer based in The Hague. She is a graduate of Harvard, Oxford and McGill Universities, and was a winner of the prestigious 2018 New Shape Prize for proposing global solutions to humanity’s problems. https://globalchallenges.org/our-work/the-new-shape-prize/awardees
Organised by the Cambridge University Bahá’í Society for the University of Cambridge Festival of Ideas.