Insights from Participants of the IEF Conference

Building Capacity for Sustainability Discourse and Action - 
Insights from Participants of the Conference of the International Environment Forum

“Many local communities are under pressure from seemingly unrelated phenomena such as the immediate impacts of climate change, financial strain from rising costs, and the lack of a safe and nurturing environments for their children, among others. Most, if not all, of these pressures can be traced—directly or indirectly—to the broader trend: Our excessive material lifestyle is driving the breakdown of both our ecosphere, which serves as our shared global life support system, and of the collective and individual human condition.”

These are the words of Amin Moghaddam from Germany who gained these insights at the conference of the Baha’i-inspired International Environment Forum which took place June 26-30 at the Baha’i Training Centre near Oxford, England, where about 60 participants came together to learn about how to engage in public discourse and social action for the health of the Earth and its inhabitants.

Britt Jacqueline Clavier from Norway shared Amin’s learning experience about the importance of connecting the spiritual and material dimensions: "The main point for me was the realization or confirmation that most important is the connection between the environmental situation of the world today and the spiritual development of the world.”

For Cedric Bagheri Åkermark from Sweden the realization of the lack of spirituality and ethics was also at the center of his learning: "The materials we studied at the IEF conference helped me reflect on the broad underlying spiritual causes of our environmental challenges, such as materialism and injustice - a concept that I can bring up in conversations in different spaces in my life.”

Britt similarly said how she gained capacity for public discourse: “The conference gave me inspiration and better understanding to how I can contribute in the discourse locally in the environmental organization I am a member of.”

Maria Pavlou-Marshall from London, UK, elaborated on some practical aspects of public discourse: “I learned a great deal about how to connect stories to concepts, not just to present a lovely narrative but how to extract deep learnings from examples. Presenting the core spiritual teachings of the Baha’i Faith in practical examples is not always easy but the conference gave me fresh insight into how to do this effectively.”

When asked how the conference may have contributed to public discourse in the UK, Maria wrote: “It definitely provided a venue for people to make connections across the thematic areas that they were interested in, meeting like-minded people who can help support emerging efforts or get new activities going. We also hosted a panel on behalf of the UK Office of Public Affairs which has helped strengthen collaboration with other UK organisations and individuals moving forward. Our talking points were also amended as an Office through the interactions at the conference to include the need for arts and culture to move the needle on climate change forward due to their unique position of touching the human heart and moving it to act.”

Antonio Jovanovski from Serbia was “reminded about the principle One people - One Planet”. He wrote that “a globally governed system that depends on exploitation (of labor) and extraction (of natural resources) demands local actions” for social change.

Katie Williams from the US was also struck by the injustice in the current system: “Most of our environmental problems start with deeply rooted social conditions and the imbalances of power and unfair distribution of resources. The Faith is an important catalyst for transformation because our teachings seek to change society at the level of culture to build communities and institutions based on trust, cooperation, and equity – the opposite of the one where we live based mostly on competition.”

The conference inspired many participants to actions in their personal lives and in their community. Cedric wrote: “The conference helped me to consider my own reality and the impacts I have on the environment and inspired me to make more sustainable decisions in my everyday life. I was inspired to increase my connection to nature and spend more of my free time outdoors and remember what a successful life really means, with more focus on learning, understanding and happiness."

Antonio was encouraged to engage in social action in his local community “using food and urban agriculture (joint cooking, gardening) for creating family-like bonds with the neighborhood.”

Amin Moghaddam shared his general impression of the conference: “It was my first time participating in an IEF annual conference, and it was truly an eye-opener for me. 
"The IEF and its members, operating at the intersection of understanding both the dynamics of a deteriorating global system and the Bahá’í principles of social and community development, are uniquely positioned to inspire community development initiatives that support resilience and self-subsistence tailored to the specific needs of these diverse communities. Integrated with these initiatives, they can help foster deeper insight into the systemic connections between the global sustainability crisis, the seemingly unrelated challenges facing local communities, and the root cause behind it all: Our materialism and excessive material lifestyle while denying our spiritual human nature.”

Katie was especially excited about stories of spiritual/environmental actions that were shared: “The conference was inspiring because it expanded my vision of what environmental action might look like. In my own life, I work as an environmental professional and have volunteered in different environmental activities. But the conference helped me see how actions big and small make a difference, as well as how the Faith and environmental actions can be intertwined. More importantly, we can build community through environmental and social action. It was inspiring to see the range of actions that the Friends are taking - from planting hedgerows and building community gardens to organizing whole sustainability groups. So much of the activities are being led by youth! Altogether, I think these experiences will help me to listen more in my own community to find the needs and where I can contribute, as well as to do more planning with my own community.”

Maria shared her enthusiasm for social action and her work with junior youth: “[The conference] helped strengthen my resolve in continuing with projects which were ongoing in my local community, giving me a sharp intake of energy from people from around the world engaged in similar topics. It also helped me think about how to make ongoing activities more green and sustainable e.g., our community cooking project with Junior Youth has become greener through the group’s conscious efforts to cook with local seasonal vegetables and fruit which was an idea that came out of the conference.”

You may enjoy watching a 1 min. video with glimpses from the conference here or reading a report here.

Source: Wilmette Institute August Newsletter https://wilmetteinstitute.org/building-capacity-for-sustainability-discourse-and-action/