December 13. On this date in 2008, four of the conferences among a series of 41 regional conferences of the Five Year Plan took place, one in Stamford, one in Dallas, and one in Los Angeles.
Universal House of Justice member Peter Khan would later give a talk on July 3, 2009, later published as "Reflections on the Ridvan 2009 Message," stating,
As you are, I am sure, aware, that series of conferences had a galvanizing effect on the Bahá'í Community throughout the world and ultimately on the larger society. It was a tangible demonstration of the global spread of the Faith and it created a most welcome surge toward the goal of 1500 Intensive Programs of Growth by the end of the present plan.
How does membership in the International Teaching Centre lead to election to the Universal House of Justice?
How is it that with its nine members elected every five years from the male membership in good standing of the worldwide Bahá'í community by an electoral college consisting of all the members of each Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly throughout the world, the membership of the Universal House of Justice consists exclusively of men who have previously been appointed to the International Teaching Centre by the Universal House of Justice?
With no overt campaigning or politicking permitted, upon what does the electoral college base its election of new members to the Universal House of Justice?
In the Bahá'í electoral system, the exposure of potential candidates to electors is a premium. Members of the International Teaching Centre routinely travel throughout the world, giving them vital face-time with members of the National Spiritual Assemblies who serve as electors for the Universal House of Justice.
Consider the cases of Stephen Birkland and Stephen Hall. Stephen Birkland was appointed to the International Teaching Centre in 2008 and elected to the Universal House of Justice in 2010. Stephen Hall was appointed to the International Teaching Centre in 2005 and elected to the Universal House of Justice in 2010.
In a letter dated October 20, 2008, the Universal House of Justice called for a series of 41 Regional Conferencesintended to mark the mid-point of the Five Year Planand motivate participants to re-dedicate themselves to the goals of the Plan upon returning home. The Regional Conferences were held from November 1, 2008 through March 1, 2009.
In that period, Stephen Birkland attended the following Bahá'í Regional Conferences...
| Date | Location of Bahá'í Regional Conference |
|---|---|
| November 1-2, 2008 | Lusaka, Zambia |
| November 8-9, 2008 | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| November 29-30, 2008 | Antofagasta, Chile |
| December 6-7, 2008 | Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America |
| January 17-18, 2009 | Vancouver, Canada |
| February 7-8, 2009 | Frankfurt, Germany |
| February 21-22, 2009 | Accra, Ghana |
Source: Bahá'í World News Service search for "Stephen Birkland"
In that period, Stephen Hall attended the following Bahá'í Regional Conferences...
| Date | Location of Bahá'í Regional Conference |
|---|---|
| November 15-16, 2008 | Bangui, Central African Republic |
| November 22-23, 2008 | Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| November 29-30, 2008 | Yaoundé, Cameroon |
| December 6-7, 2008 | Portland, Oregon, United States of America |
| December 13-14, 2008 | Stamford, Connecticut, United States of America |
| January 3-4, 2009 | Abidjan, Ivory Coast |
| January 17-18, 2009 | Lae, Papua New Guinea |
| January 24-25, 2009 | Sydney, Australia |
| January 31-February 1, 2009 | Auckland, New Zealand |
| February 7-8, 2009 | Frankfurt, Germany |
Source: Bahá'í World News Service search for "Stephen Hall"
No other Bahá'ís receive as much exposure to electors of the Universal House of Justice as do members of the International Teaching Centre.
With the turnover of the Universal House of Justice's nine members and with the International Teaching Centre's being composed of nine members, some of whom are women and therefore ineligible for election to the Universal House of Justice, a man's appointment to the International Teaching Centre serves as a presumption to eventual election to the Universal House of Justice.
When the Universal House of Justice appoints members to the International Teaching Centre, they are in fact selecting their own replacements.
In the Bahá'í electoral system, with no overt campaigning and politicking permitted, the exposure of potential candidates to electors is a premium. The nine members of the International Teaching Centre routinely travel throughout the world, giving them vital face-time with members of the National Spiritual Assemblies who serve as electors for the Universal House of Justice. In fact, every single one of the current members of the Universal House of Justice previously served as a Counsellor member of the International Teaching Centre.
With the turnover of the Universal House of Justice's nine members and with the International Teaching Centre's being composed of nine members, some of whom are women and therefore ineligible for election to the Universal House of Justice, a man's appointment to the International Teaching Centre serves as a presumption to eventual election to the Universal House of Justice.
To illustrate further, in a letter dated October 20, 2008, the Universal House of Justice called for a series of 41 Regional Conferencesintended to mark the mid-point of the Five Year Plan and motivate participants to re-dedicate themselves to the goals of the Plan upon returning home. The Regional Conferences were held from November 1, 2008 through March 1, 2009.
Each of the 41 Regional Conferences was attended by two Counsellor members of the International Teaching Centre with the exception of the Conference held at Uvira, the Democratic Republic of Congo, which had only one representative. The Counsellor members of the International Teaching Centre at the time of the Regional Conferences were Juan Francisco Mora, Ayman Rouhani, Stephen Hall, Stephen Birkland, Zenaida Ramirez, Joan Lincoln, Rachel Ndegwa, Uransaikhan Baatar, and Penelope Walker.
Of this cohort of Counsellors, the five lady members (Zenaida Ramirez, Joan Lincoln, Rachel Ndegwa, Uransaikhan Baatar, and Penelope Walker) were ineligible for election to the Universal House of Justice.
Of the four male members at the time of the 41 Regional Conferences (Juan Francisco Mora, Ayman Rouhani, Stephen Hall, and Stephen Birkland), all have been elected to the Universal House of Justice.
In practice, the Bahá’í electoral system most closely resembles council democracy as it still exists in Cuba, wherein individuals elect Local Spiritual Assemblies, who then elect National Spiritual Assemblies, who then elect the Universal House of Justice. With no politicking or partisanship allowed, there is little turnover in leadership and Universal House of Justice members almost invariably serve until retirement or death. In the people's democracies of the Eastern Bloc, these career bureaucrats were known as the nomenklatura.
The next member elected to the Universal House of Justice will be Andrej Donoval, who is the longest tenured male member of the International Teaching Centre, having been appointed to that body in 2013.
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