IEF 29th Annual Conference

Building Capacity for Sustainability Discourse and Action

At the Baha’i Training Centre near Oxford, UK
26 - 29 June, 2025

The program will include study sessions, discussions, outdoor activities, and a hybrid panel.

The International Environment Forum appreciates its conference co-sponsors: ebbf-Ethical Business Building the Future and National Alliance of Women's Organisations (NAWO).

Conference Invitation in pdf for sharing

Link to Registration: https://www.bahaievents.org.uk/events/manage/cev39/rfe4.php?formId=1CB8D9YN

Registration deadline is 12 June because food is ordered two weeks before. 
The space at the Baha’i Training Centre is limited, first come first served. Therefore, please, register soon if you are serious about attending. 
After registering, you will receive an email “IEF Conference Supplemental Registration Form”. Please, fill out this form immediately – the information you provide there is essential for the planning of the programme! (Look out for it – it may be in your spam folder.)

Below you will find the conference programme outline, a concept note, information about conference cost and travel directions.
 

Concept Note

At a time when the forces of disintegration, including the triple environmental crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, are threatening people everywhere, the world-wide Bahá’í community is working at the grass roots to strengthen forces of integration, bringing people together for unity in diversity. The 29th annual conference of the International Environment Forum aims to contribute to these efforts toward building a world where we live in harmony with nature and with each other. The primary tools we will explore for this purpose are social action and public discourse.

The International Environment Forum is a Bahá’í-inspired professional organisation for the environment and sustainability that has, over many years, gathered knowledge and created materials to build capacity for taking part in both social action and public discourse, demonstrating the complementarity of scientific and spiritual approaches in addressing environmental issues. The 29th annual conference will be focused on sharing and further developing this knowledge together with participants in support of the goals of the present plan of the worldwide Bahá’í community.

In social action, communities read their local reality and needs, set their own priorities within the resources available, and initiate actions to improve life in their community. This could be a group of young people engaging in an environmental clean-up, or some neighbours starting a community garden. Public discourse might be sharing both scientific information and spiritual principles of justice and solidarity about climate change, presenting the Bahá’í approach to welcoming migrants and refugees, or organising an interfaith gathering to pray for peace.

There is a particular need to address the materialistic consumer society that has driven us far beyond the sustainable limits of the Earth’s resources. Advertising and social media cultivate addictions in the name of profits. Fake news, disinformation and conspiracy theories entrap people in distrust and fear. The conference will explore these issues and how to find positive ways forward, overcoming anxiety about the direction the world is taking and providing both scientific knowledge and spiritual principles that can motivate constructive action.

The conference will be participatory in its format and encourage joint learning. We welcome people of all ages but particularly welcome youth and those working with youth and junior youth groups as animators to explore how their activities relate to environmental issues as part of their local - and global - reality. Together we can learn how to build capacity for both public discourse and social action drawing on resources from Baha’i educational materials and beyond. The conference organisers are also welcoming young and old Bahá'ís who are engaged in environmental social action to share their experience. There will also be an opportunity for a hands-on environmental service project on the grounds of the Baha'i Training Centre.

After a series of virtual annual conferences, the International Environment Forum is excited to invite local friends as well as people from other countries to this in-person conference!

Conference Cost

Conference cost of £105 for adults and £75 for youth will cover lodging and meals from Thursday dinner to Sunday lunch. It will be possible to sign up for part time attendance. The property has no staff, so participants are expected to set up and clean their bedrooms and bathrooms. All information will be on the registration form.

Important Conference Information

UK Visa Requirement
Participants from other countries must apply for a visa. Go here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-an-electronic-travel-authorisation-eta  This link requires you download an app. 
However, if you cannot use the app, you can apply online: https://apply-for-an-eta.homeoffice.gov.uk/apply/electronic-travel-authorisation/how-to-apply  Note that if you use this way, you have to complete all the fields in one go - you cannot save part of it and return. The fee is £16.

Youth and Minors below 18 
The conference programme is designed for youth and adults. Junior youth (12 and up) are also welcome. There will not be any programme for children or special programme for junior youth. Junior youth are expected to participate in all the sessions. According to the UK NSA rules, parents and guardians must be with their child below 18 years of age at all times (in the same breakout room etc.)

Directions to the Baha'i Training Centre

Directions by car: Use google maps with the address: Bahá'í Training Centre, 45 Ploughley Rd, Lower Arncott, Bicester OX25 1NY 

Directions by train from London: Trains going toward Oxford leave from Marylebone (pronounced Marla-bone) and go to train stations Bicester (pronounced Biss-ter) Village or Bicester North on the way. Choose Bicester Village station if onward travel is by bus. 
Take bus no. 29 and walk about 1 minute to the BTC. Buses go only once an hour and take 12 minutes (Buses are not always reliable) 
Choose either train station if onward travel is by taxi. Taxis need to be booked in advance with Javud on +44 7456 953225. This method is preferred. 

Directions from Heathrow Airport 
By coach (bus): frequent coaches go to Oxford. See https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/destinations/oxford/heathrow-to-oxford for details and booking. Buses should be available from the Airport. By train: Take the free underground (Tube) train to terminal 5 and change there for the Elizabeth line towards London. Get off at Paddington station and take the train to Oxford. 
From Oxford train station, get the train to Bicester village, which is a 15 minute journey. 
At Bicester village if no bus 29 available, then taxi to Bahai Training Centre. best to prebook with Javud on +44 7456953225 You can also take the bus: The S5 bus goes from Oxford railway station to Bicester and takes around an hour.