50th ABS Annual Conference

A world civilization founded on justice is at the core of a Baha'i vision of the future. The historical evolution of international law has been shaped by both the unprecedented violence and globalization of the modern age. Despite significant progress in the proliferation of global norms and international courts however, the prevailing order remains "lamentably defective," and the entrenchment of divisive ideologies and power politics has become a cause for alarm. Yet these past realities of interdependence have only intensified and will eventually force humankind to radically transform the prevailing order into one that is suited for our common survival.

This presentation explores how a Bahá’í perspective on human progress—grounded in the nobility of the individual, the development of virtues, service to humanity, and the interconnectedness of self, family, community, and land—can reframe our understanding of achievement and learning. In an educational landscape increasingly shaped by standardized outcomes and performance metrics, it has become essential to reconsider what we are truly educating young people for. Drawing on educational research, humanities education, and practical classroom experience, this session examines how inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, and the Virtues Project can foster meaningful dialogue, cultivate a sense of belonging, and empower learners as active agents of social, civic, and intellectual transformation.

This presentation explores social media awareness in the age of artificial intelligence through digital literacy, cognitive science, and Bahá’í ethical perspectives. Drawing on Bahá’í writings, it frames the internet and AI as tools for global connection that require moral responsibility. The discussion examines how algorithms and dopamine reward loops influence attention and behavior, while addressing embedded bias and inequity. Emphasizing accuracy, kindness, forbearance, and unity, the presentation encourages students, educators, and communities to engage social media and AI in ways that advance justice and collective well-being.

This presentation explores Bahá’í conceptions of law and justice as fundamentally ontological rather than merely normative or juridical. Tracing a trajectory from ancient Greek notions of nomos and dike as the discovery of being, through Abrahamic debates between legalism and mysticism, it shows how Bahá’í writings restore and deepen law’s relation to ontology, in contrast to both natural and positive law traditions in Western jurisprudence. Drawing especially on Bahá’u’lláh’s Garden of Justice Tablet and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Marriage Tablet, the presentation highlights how divine laws articulate the essential relationships that constitute reality itself, such that justice becomes the lawfulness of being and obedience a participation in cosmic harmony.