50th ABS Annual Conference

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT

202

Limited Capacity seats available

The Bahá’í teachings affirm the harmony of science and religion as essential to humanity’s progress. Experience increasingly suggests that art also functions as a system of knowledge, generating insight through perception, imagination, embodiment, and collective meaning-making. This session explores how artistic inquiry contributes to scholarly, professional, and community learning. Using...
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Speakers

Amalia Giebitz

Teacher, The International School at Mesa del Sol

Amalia Giebitz is a practitioner and facilitator designing arts-integrated approaches to learning and organizational development. Her work helps teams and communities use creativity as a practical way to generate insight, strengthen collaboration, and align values with action in complex... Read More →

Kat Gullahorn

Kat Gullahorn, MLS is co‑founder of SPARK Anew, a librarian, educator, and artist whose work explores art as a system of knowledge. Guided by care and connection, she cultivates arts‑integrated practices that recognize knowledge as service—fostering unity, shared inquiry, and... Read More →

Stephen Morris

Stephen W. Morris is President of Stellar Science and co-founder of SparkAnew. His work integrates creativity, community building, and systems thinking to advance human-centered organizations. He has co-devrloped Arts-Integrated Creativity Training (ACT) to explore how artistic practice... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
202

Arts, Breakout

9:00am EDT

Regenerative Agriculture and the Primacy of Farmers: A Bahá'í Perspective

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT

207

Limited Capacity seats available

Regenerative agriculture is a burgeoning global movement still taking shape. 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Adasíyyih pioneered what are now known as regenerative practices, while at the same time integrating Bahá'í spiritual principles demonstrating the full transformative potential of this approach. Today, several million smallholders in the Global South represent the majority of this movement’s...
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Speakers

Hugh Locke

Hugh is an international expert in smallholder regenerative agriculture. He is President of Futurra, an organization that orchestrates regenerative agriculture and agroforestry programs and research. He is and President of the Smallholder Farmers Alliance in Haiti, and a board member... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
207

about

9:00am EDT

Academic Discipline-specific session (Humanities)

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT

211

Limited Capacity seats available

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
211

Discipline-specific session, Breakout

9:00am EDT

Sexual Health Care and Education: Bridging the Gap between the Ideals of Baha’u’llah’s Revelation and Current Social Practices

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT

215

Limited Capacity seats available

This presentation explores how core Bahá'í principles—the nobility of the individual, justice, equality of the sexes, chastity as spiritual empowerment, consultation and non-judgement—can inform compassionate, evidence-based, high-quality sexual health conversations, education, and clinical care. In our hypersexualized materialistic society, it has become necessary to shed light on these...
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Speakers

Nisha Kansal

Nisha Kansal is a family physician and women’s healthcare provider in Toronto. She has a longstanding interest in the health of individuals and communities marginalized by social structures, with a particular interest in the health of racialized migrants and women. With a strong... Read More →

Melody Rowhani

Melody Rowhani is a Primary Healthcare Nurse Practitioner with a Masters in Public Health. She has experience in family health teams and community health in Ottawa. She currently practices at a children’s hospital in adolescent health and in a sexual health clinic. She helped launch... Read More →

Brooke Talisman

Brooke Talisman is a mother to two teens, a Birth and Postpartum Doula, Childbirth Educator, Parenting Program Facilitator and Trauma and Violence Informed Practitioner. She currently works at a not-for-profit outreach centre for young parents as the Perinatal Program Facilitator... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
215

Health, Breakout

9:00am EDT

Surfacing Assumptions in Public Health: A Concept Note Emerging from Collective Study, Writing, and Consultation

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT

208

Limited Capacity seats available

We present a draft Public Health Concept Note designed for early-year university students to help clarify foundational concepts, surface tacit assumptions in the field, and support principled participation in public health discourses. The concept note synthesizes learning from five years of a public health reading group and a recent qualitative study, alongside insights from and consultations with...
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Speakers

Yovania Dechtiar

Yovania Dechitiar is a public health professional whose research interests include exploring the intersection of religion and public health, emphasizing the application of spiritual principles like the oneness of humanity to health policies and practices.

Gavin Grant

Applied researcher and analyst at the accelerated Disease Control and Surveillance Branch, Global Immunization Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States

Andrew Hatala

Andrew R. Hatala, PhD., is an Associate Professor in the College of Community and Global Health, University of Manitoba. Dr. Hatala conducts qualitative and community-based research in the areas of Psychological Anthropology, Medical Anthropology, Indigenous Health, and Community... Read More →

Anish Arora

Dr. Anish K. Arora is an Assistant Professor in the Community Population Public Health stream within the Department of Health Sciences at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
208

Health, Breakout

about

9:00am EDT

How Trust Became Equated with Truth in Modern Media

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT

205

Limited Capacity seats available

Skepticism of mainstream media and uncertainty about which publications are reliable have reshaped how people understand government, society, and community in the modern age. As a result, the media itself is in the midst of a radical transformation in how journalists tell stories and how audiences consume them. The Bahá’í writings offer a variety of insights into the challenges facing the...
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Speakers

Jason Hiner

Jason Hiner is an award-winning journalist and editorial leader who has been running newsrooms for over two decades. He has been at the forefront of digital journalism at leading media organizations, including CBS Interactive and Ziff Davis.

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
205

Media, Breakout

9:00am EDT

The Power of Youth (Cast Aside the Clouds discussion)

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT

213

Limited Capacity seats available

This talk examines the film, Cast Aside the Clouds as a compelling portrayal of youth as agents of change. The film highlights how young people can challenge inherited assumptions, seek truth independently, and overcome entrenched prejudices. Through its depiction of the Bahá’í community in Iran, it reveals the damaging impact of religious persecution—one of the most destructive...
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Speakers

Mary Darling

Clark Donnelly

Shahin Sobhani

Sutherland Darling-Donnelly

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
213

Media, Breakout

9:00am EDT

International Law in a Divided World: Back to the Future?

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT

214

Limited Capacity seats available

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...
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Speakers

Payam Akhavan

Professor Payam Akhavan FRSC is the Human Rights Chair at Massey College, University of Toronto, Barrister at Twenty Essex in London, UK, and counsel and advocate before the International Court of Justice. He was previously a UN prosecutor at The Hague and Special Advisor to the International... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
214

Political science, Breakout

9:00am EDT

Mind-Body Interaction in Developmental Psychology

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT

210

Limited Capacity seats available

Developmental psychology lacks clear definitions of mind, spirit, and soul, leaving their relation to the body fragmented. While secular psychology examines cognition, meaning‑making, and moral development, materialist frameworks focus on measurable processes and offer little account of subjective or spiritual experience. This project traces the historical evolution of mind–body constructs in...
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Speakers

Nadia Khalili

Nadia Khalili is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity. She holds a PhD in Educational Psychology from McGill University, where her work examined Theory of Mind, empathy, spirituality, and prosocial development. She has taught widely, led cross‑cultural... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
210

Psychology, Breakout

9:00am EDT

Beyond Systems of Belief: Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation and the Reconfiguration of Human Knowledge

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT

209

Contemporary societies face fragmentation marked by political polarization, tribalism, and increasingly materialistic worldviews. This presentation explores religious revelation—particularly the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh—not as a system of beliefs, but as a transformation in how knowledge is generated, integrated, and disseminated. Drawing on insights from philosophy, literary theory, and...
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Speakers

Darius Amanat-Markazi

Darius Amanat-Markazi studies architecture at the University of Waterloo. He completed the Foundation Year Program at the University of King’s College where he studied the history of Western thought and received the Peggy Heller Memorial Prize, awarded annually to the top-performing... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
209

about

9:00am EDT

Exploring the History of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT

206

Limited Capacity seats available

Drawing on the research published in Exploring the Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Laws and Teachings of the Bahá’í Faith, this seminar investigates the at once fascinating and unprecedented history of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. It explores how Bahá’u’lláh foresaw the revelation of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, waited until the midpoint of His ministry to compose it, was deliberate in disseminating it, and...
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Speakers

Omid Ghaemmaghami

Omid Ghaemmaghami is Professor of Middle East Studies at Binghamton University, the State University of New York (SUNY). He has coauthored Exploring the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (with Shahin Vafai) (I.B. Tauris, 2025) and authored other works, including Encounters with the Hidden Imam in E... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
206

about

9:00am EDT

Artificial Intelligence and Human Progress: How We Learn, Create, and Build Together

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT

212

Limited Capacity seats available

Artificial intelligence is transforming how we learn, create, and collaborate, raising profound questions about human identity, truth, and our collective future. This panel explores how AI can be harnessed as a force for human progress, drawing on Bahá’í teachings to integrate scientific and spiritual principles in an era of rapid change. It considers how the tools we build, and how we use...
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Speakers

Duane Varan

Dr. Varan is CEO/Founder of MediaPET.ai, an AI video platform, and MediaScience, a leading provider of audience research counting almost every US TV network as a client. He ranks among the top 10 researchers in the advertising discipline, was recipient of the Australian Prime Minister's... Read More →

Sohail Bagheri

Sohail Bagheri is a Product Designer at Cisco building enterprise AI products in Security. He holds a Master's in Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University and is interested in the ethics of AI design and the responsibility designers have in building prosocial AI... Read More →

Berkeley Churchill

Berkeley is a computer scientist with a wide range of interests, including cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
212

Technology, Breakout

9:00am EDT

Youth Program

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 11:45am EDT

201

Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am - 11:45am EDT
201

10:30am EDT

Redefining the 'Fundamentals of Music Composition' for a Universal Cause

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

202

Limited Capacity seats available

When Shoghi Effendi provided guidance on music in the Baha’i community, he cautioned against the creation of any sort of aesthetically homogenous "Bahá’í music," and went on to say that “the further away the friends keep from any set forms, the better, for they must realize that the Cause is absolutely universal” (20 July 1946 to a National Spiritual Assembly). “What is music?” and...
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Speakers

Calla Paleczny

Calla Paleczny is a composer, musician and sound artist who explores the intersection of wilderness, mysticism, non-metered musical time and the materiality of sound. She builds richly textured multichannel sound installations and composes pieces for fixed media and ensembles using... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT
202

Arts, Breakout

10:30am EDT

The Elimination of Prejudice of all Kinds: Engaging with Social Discourse Related to Aging and Ageism

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

215

Limited Capacity seats available

Ageism is one of the most widespread and unacknowledged prejudices that permeates life in the 21st century. This presentation will look at how we can use the Baha’i Writings to address ageism using the lens of the oneness of humanity to understand how social institutions, such as nursing homes and segregated living environments, continue to reinforce prejudice against people based on their age....
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Speakers

Deborah van den Hoonaard

Deborah van den Hoonaard is professor emerita of Gerontology. Her research focuses on transitions associated with aging and the social meaning of being old. She has written books on widowhood, and published a number of papers, given numerous talks as well as media interviews on a... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT
215

Community, Breakout

10:30am EDT

Protagonists for Sustainability

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

207

Limited Capacity seats available

This session will focus on how we all can be protagonists for environmental sustainability, by learning, taking action and fostering meaningful conversations that relate Bahá’í principles to societal discourses around custodianship of the Earth and equitable development. Tackling the immense challenges of climate change requires understanding of the science, the need for tradeoffs in...
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Speakers

Darren Hedley

Darren Hedley (PhD) is Adjunct Professor of Global Development Studies at the University of Calgary, Canada, and a consultant to international development agencies in program and policy management, particularly in the areas of food and water security, resilience and climate adaptation... Read More →

Leslie Cole

Leslie Cole became a Bahá’í in the Yukon in 1981 and lived and worked in the North for eight years. Her M.A. was on cultural change on Baffin Island from the 1950s-1980s. Leslie’s book Under One Tent: A History of Bahá’ís in Northern Canada will be published in Spring 2026... Read More →

Nancy Dinnigan-Prashad

Writer/researcher/editor focused on environmental health and justice: heat, air quality, disaster prevention, contaminated communities. Many years of medical and legal advocacy/intervention for people with FASD. Serves on national justice committee (fasdjustice.ca). Currently works... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT
207

about

10:30am EDT

Reframing Achievement in Education

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

205

Limited Capacity seats available

This session explores how nurturing moral education can move students beyond seeing results as the main measure of learning and toward developing virtues, skills, and a sense of purpose. Grounded in a Bahá’í perspective on human progress, it highlights how educators can foster meaningful dialogue, build community, and empower learners through inquiry, project-based learning, and...
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Speakers

Nazli Ighani

I view education as transformative, empowering students to connect learning to real-world issues and meaningful social action. I center learner agency, cultural knowledge, belonging, and emotional safety, creating inquiry-driven, inclusive spaces grounded in justice. With an M.Ed... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT
205

Education, Breakout

10:30am EDT

Beyond Certification: Raising up New Human Resources in Health Promotion

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

209

Limited Capacity seats available

Shortages in primary health care providers have driven efforts to identify new resources to support healthy patterns of life. Physician extenders and health promoters have demonstrated efficacy in fostering behavior change, but consistent funding to hire people into these roles has been elusive. Participants in this workshop will reflect on how other countries have addressed this need, hear about...
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Speakers

Darius Loghmanee

I am a physician who works in pediatric sleep medicine. For the past eleven years I have been making efforts to build a population sleep health program drawing on elements of the framework for action described by the Universal House of Justice.

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT
209

Health, Breakout

10:30am EDT

Cultivating Virtues at Work: A Collaborative Approach to Strengthening Connection, Meaning, and Communication

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

208

Limited Capacity seats available

In response to rising workplace stress and disengagement, a virtue-centered initiative was launched in January 2025 in a large state health department of over 2,000 employees. Developed with university researchers, the project explored whether intentionally naming, practicing, and affirming virtues could strengthen communication and morale. Introduced through a Public Health Grand Rounds, a...
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Speakers

Namvar Zohoori

Namvar Zohoori, MD, MPH, PhD is a retired professor of epidemiology, and former Chief Science Officer and Deputy State Health Officer at Arkansas Department of Health (ADH). He currently serves as Senior Public Health Advisor to the ADH. His professional work has focused on public... Read More →

Julien Mirivel

Ryan Fuller

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT
208

Health, Breakout

10:30am EDT

1863: A Year of Social Unrest and the Dawn of Hope

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

211

Limited Capacity seats available

My presentation discusses the challenges involved in my new book project. The book features a large swath of events that occurred in that year, a year of social unrest and the dawn of hope, including Bahá’u’lláh’s public announcement. There are unique challenges in writing a world history for 1863, including how to connect the seemingly disconnected events and in their implications. The...
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Speakers

Will van den Hoonaard

Will van den Hoonaard is Professor Emeritus professor. He has written 15 books including The Origins of the Baha’i Community of Canada. He obtained a PhD in Sociology from the University of Manchester. The Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction awarded him the George Herbert Mead Award for Lifetime Achievement... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT
211

History, Breakout

10:30am EDT

When Activism Falters: Pathways to Social Change in an Era of Institutional Erosion

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

214

Limited Capacity seats available

Across political contexts, traditional modes of activism are losing traction. Mechanisms that once translated civic mobilization into institutional response—litigation, advocacy campaigns, and transnational leverage—have become unreliable or blocked. What forms of durable collective power persist amid this strategic exhaustion? This book examines 14 initiatives that thrive under institutional...
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Speakers

May Farid

Assistant Professor, University of San Diego

May Farid is an Assistant Professor at the University of San Diego. Her research explores how community groups shape state policies, with a focus on China and its overseas engagement. She also studies NGO interventions to empower citizens in the global South, such as fighting misinformation... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT
214

Political science, Breakout

10:30am EDT

Justice and Reciprocity as key principles of Parenting in a Baha’i Family: Integrating Psychological Science and Moral Education with Baha’i Teachings

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

210

Limited Capacity seats available

The message dated 19 March 2025 from the Universal House of Justice offers a vital framework for understanding the Baha’i perspective of family life. Notably, the House highlighted that “sound relationships that are to bind members of a Baha’i family are based on justice and reciprocity.” This session explores how these principles frame parenting and family dynamics, bridging Baha’i...
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Speakers

Hoda Ghadirian

Hoda Ghadirian is a high school educator with over 20 years of experience teaching science, math and ethics. Throughout her career, she has been involved in the collaborative development of curricula focused on social justice, ethics, and global citizenship, as well as in enhancing... Read More →

Victoria Talwar

Dr. Victoria Talwar is a Professor, Canada Research Chair (I), and Director of the Gold Centre for Early Childhood Development at McGill University. Her research is in the area of developmental psychology with an emphasis on social-cognitive development and moral development.

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT
210

Psychology, Breakout

10:30am EDT

The Kitáb-i-Aqdas’s Proclamation to the World’s Kings, Rulers, and Leaders: History, Purposes, and Themes

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

206

Limited Capacity seats available

Drawing on the research published in Exploring the Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Laws and Teachings of the Bahá’í Faith, this session analyzes why in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Bahá’u’lláh addressed the world’s political and religious leaders, why particular figures were addressed, how these addresses relate to His earlier proclamations, and the themes conveyed in these addresses.

Speakers

Shahin Vafai

Shahin Vafai is an attorney with over three decades of legal experience. He has coauthored Exploring the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (with Omid Ghaemmaghami) (I.B. Tauris 2025) and authored other works, including The Bahá’í Faith: Teachings, History, and Practices and The Essence of the C... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT
206

Study of the Writings, Breakout

10:30am EDT

Artificial Intelligence and Consciousness: A Cohesive Approach

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

212

Limited Capacity seats available

This presentation offers a cohesive framework for examining artificial intelligence and consciousness through scientific and Bahá’í perspectives. It addresses major societal questions: Can AI ever possess consciousness? Could it surpass human intelligence? Is Artificial General Intelligence achievable? By distinguishing functional intelligence from conscious experience and drawing on...
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Speakers

Baron Ntambwe

Senior Engineering Manager: Software, Walmart Global Tech

Baron is an independent researcher in Artificial Intelligence and Software Engineering with 15 years of industry experience in engineering mission-critical software and AI technologies. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Systems and a Master of Science in AI. He spends... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT
212

Technology, Breakout

2:00pm EDT

Building Unity in Action: A Bahá’í-Inspired Approach to Multifaith Collaboration on Global Challenges

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT

207

Limited Capacity seats available

The Ottawa Environment Forum will share its experience developing a Bahá’í-inspired multifaith initiative that applies spiritual principles to addressing humanity’s global issues. This presentation explores how shared values across faith traditions can awaken hope, nurture moral courage, and inspire collective action for the common good. Drawing on Bahá’í principles such as consultation,...
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Speakers

Aaron Kelly

A co-founder of the Ottawa Environment Forum, Aaron holds a Masters Degree in Energy Regulation and Law and a Juris Doctor from Vermont Law School. He is an attorney with expertise in solar energy, green building, and sustainable transportation. He is a founder of Tunbridge Solar... Read More →

Bill Kelly

Bill began his career in technology during the personal computer revolution, then transitioned to entrepreneurial ventures in sustainability. He founded green businesses including an online platform promoting device repair and reuse, and a solar energy company serving nonprofits... Read More →

Sherri Kelly

Sherri is a multilingual professional with an MBA and broad experience in corporate, academic, and small business settings. Inspired by a lifelong respect for nature, she is committed to environmental stewardship and advancing sustainable living through active service in community... Read More →

Stephen Thirlwall

Stephen is a retired geographer/geologist, remote sensing image interpreter, and sci/tech writer and editor. He is active in an ongoing community grassroots effort to audit the urban tree canopy in the downtown Ottawa area. Always interested in a wide range of music, Stephen is a... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT
207

about

2:00pm EDT

Implications of a Broader Perspective on the Concept of Power for Educational Research: Analysis of Two Dissertations

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT

213

Limited Capacity seats available

In this presentation, two emerging scholars reflect on their efforts to learn how to explicate a wider conception of power and attempt to articulate its implications in their respective dissertation contexts: Indigenous teacher education in Argentina and alternative education high schools in the United States. Each author will reflect on how a more nuanced conception of power informed their...
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Speakers

Sam Settelmeyer

Sam got married, completed his PhD in Social Work, and moved to an international pioneering post over a four-month period in 2024. He is still consolidating from these experiences, and is seeking opportunities to apply his research, evaluation, and practice experience in alternative... Read More →

Zaynab Gates

Zaynab is an educational researcher focused on teacher learning and social development, with two decades of experience working in Latin America and with Indigenous communities. She has studied Intercultural Bilingual Education policy and practice in Argentina, Bolivia, and Ecuador... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT
213

Education, Breakout

2:00pm EDT

Consultation in Clinical Practice: From Patient-Centred Care to Shared Moral Agency in Dentistry

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT

209

Limited Capacity seats available

Contemporary healthcare emphasizes patient-centred care, yet power imbalances and procedural communication often limit genuine partnership. This presentation proposes Bahá’í consultation as a framework that deepens patient-centred practice by reframing the clinician–patient relationship as a shared search for truth grounded in humility, dignity, and unity of purpose. Drawing on health...
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Speakers

Kion Hatam

Dr. Kion Hatam views his professional life as an avenue for contributing to collective well-being. His long-standing involvement in community service and mentorship reflects a commitment to social responsibility and accompaniment. In his work, he strives to foster growth in individuals... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT
209

Health, Breakout

2:00pm EDT

Historical Antecedents of an Advanced Cluster: the Example of Ottawa

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT

211

Limited Capacity seats available

Using extensive original, archival and newspaper research and interviews, Heather will discuss how, during the first decades of the Ottawa Baha’i community (1940 – 1970), a growing group of newly enrolled, dedicated Baha’is became protagonists in building a strong Baha’i community with an outward focus, as well as contributing to the wider society. As Ottawa is one of the most advanced...
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Speakers

Heather Harvey

Heather Harvey has lived in Ottawa since 1990. She has a special interest in Canadian and Bahá’í history and holds a B.A. and an M.Ed. from McGill University. After thirty-twoyears as an elementary school teacher, she served as manager of the busy Ottawa Bahá’í Centre. She... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT
211

History, Breakout

2:00pm EDT

Two-Eyed Seeing in Education: Reflections on Indigenous Wisdom and Holistic Practice at Roger White Academy

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT

202

Limited Capacity seats available

This joint presentation explores Two-Eyed Seeing as a framework for learning through dialogue between Indigenous wisdom in education and the experience of Roger White Academy as a Bahá’í-inspired holistic school. Drawing on Indigenous traditional knowledge and spiritual principles of intergenerational responsibility, harmony, and relationality, alongside Bahá’í-inspired approaches to moral...
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Speakers

Farzaneh Peterson

Farzaneh Peterson is an architect and educator with an MA. She worked with Arc Design International for Mr. Hossein Amanat and served three years at the Bahá’í World Centre site office in Haifa. Owner and director of Roger White Academy, a Bahá’í-inspired holistic school... Read More →

Michael Orona

Dr. Michael Orona has served in senior-level U.S. foreign policy positions, including the White House Director for Africa Affairs and Senior Advisor for International Indigenous Issues, co-leading the White House Committee on International Indigenous Rights. He holds a JD and MS... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT
202

Indigenous studies, Breakout

2:00pm EDT

Transcending Polarization in Social Discourse and Sociological Theory: Learning from the "Re-Uniting America" Movement

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT

214

Limited Capacity seats available

Dynamics of polarization in social discourse have become increasingly acute in many regions of the world. This presentation is a sociological study of the Re-Uniting America Project (2003-2011), a movement that sought to transcend and overcome ideological divisions. We use this case to illuminate the cultural sociology of both polarization and integration, identifying social practices and...
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Speakers

David Palmer

I am a Professor of Sociology at the University of Hong Kong. I am the author of several award-winning books on religion, spirituality, and civil society in Asia; as well as several articles on Baha'i perspectives on human rights, religious pluralism, civil society, business, and... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT
214

Political science, Breakout

2:00pm EDT

Fostering Resilience: Psychological, Social and Spiritual Implications

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT

215

Limited Capacity seats available

The concept of resilience has emerged as a way of characterizing improvement in individual psychological function and health. Resilience can be expanded to include the spiritual and social aspects of the individual and the community in which they serve. Groups such as nuclei of Baha'i activity, children's classes and the institute program strengthen not only the individuals involved but the...
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Speakers

Louis Soucy

With a background in Psychology, Psychiatry and Medicine my interest in resilience stems from extensive clinical work over forty years in practice. I have lectured at ABS in the past, and have an academic appointment as an Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa, providing... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT
215

Psychology, Breakout

2:00pm EDT

Covenant, Command, and Conscience: Rethinking Sin and Moral Obligation from a Bahá’í Perspective

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT

206

Limited Capacity seats available

This presentation explores a covenantal understanding of sin and moral obligation in Bahá’í thought, drawing on the writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and recent guidance of the Universal House of Justice. It examines how moral accountability arises within specific divine covenants rather than from a universalized moral code, offering a principled explanation for why Bahá’ís do not impose their...
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Speakers

Caleb Gilleland

Caleb is a PhD candidate in Christian–Muslim Relations, completing doctoral corrections. His broader research engages Pauline theology, covenantal and narrative approaches to scripture, and Bahá’í perspectives on religious difference. This work includes focused exploration of... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT
206

about

2:00pm EDT

Towards a Provisional Hermeneutics of the Qayyúm al-Asmáʾ: Reflections on a Systematic Study of the Qayyúm al-Asmáʾ

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT

208

Limited Capacity seats available

This presentation reflects on an eight-session seminar devoted to a systematic survey of the Báb's Qayyúm al-Asmá, described by Bahá’u’lláh as “the First, the Greatest and Mightiest of all books.” Through systematic study of a provisional compilation of all available English translations, participants engaged the historical and theological significance of this seminal text and the...
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Speakers

Aaron Ferguson

Aaron JR Ferguson is a lifelong Baha'i and avid student of history, philosophy, and religion. He has completed a Bachelor's in Anthropology and History and a Master of Science in Epidemiology. He has spent much of the last three years engaged in systematic study and compilation of... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT
208

about

2:00pm EDT

Dissemination of Knowledge: Insights from the Academic Discourse on Technology and Society within Communities of Professionals

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT

212

Limited Capacity seats available

In this breakout session, a panel will share several recent experiences introducing ideas from academic discourse on technology and society in professional settings. These modest experiences extend the ABS special interest group on technology’s learning about seminars for professionals into a variety of other contexts, including roundtable discussions, curriculum development, and professional...
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Speakers

Mark Dittmer

Mark is a professional software developer and Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo.

Quddus George

Ridvan

Quddús George is a software consultant and has supported the technological needs of individuals and businesses as well as various institutions and high minded organizations. His interest lies in grappling with the Baha’i conceptual framework as it relates to the advancement of... Read More →

Sami Joubert

Sami's background is in computer information systems, software development, and software support. His interest is in engaging in social action and discourse related to technology from a Baha’i perspective.

Niaz Khadem

Niaz Khadem serves as secretary for the Regional Baha’i Council of Appalachia. His research and action focus on promoting solidarity and protagonism among groups of families and individuals. He is interested in language education, capacity building, social action and transformative... Read More →

Janice Ndegwa

Janice Ndegwa is a PhD candidate researching the history of technology and the environment in 19th century East Africa. Her interest is in exploring how to contribute to technology discourse to the advancement of society.

Adib Shafipour

Adib Shafipour is a researcher at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, affiliated with the School of Biomedical Informatics. His research centers on the application of artificial intelligence for disease detection and image segmentation. He is particularly interested... Read More →

Shabnam Tashakour

Shabnam Tashakour has an M.A. in Child Studies and Education and is a Certified Teacher in Ontario. She has worked in the field of Education and community development both within and outside of the Baha’i community. She is currently teaching and coordinating the service-learning... Read More →

Naveen Tayyebi

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT
212

Technology, Breakout

2:00pm EDT

Social Media Awareness in the Age of AI

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT

205

Limited Capacity seats available

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,...
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Speakers

Timothy Conley

Timothy L. Conley is an educator, academic leader, filmmaker, and media professional with experience in Communication Studies, Film Studies, Africana Studies, and digital media. He has taught at colleges and universities across California and served in leadership roles advancing curriculum... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm EDT
205

Technology, Breakout

about

2:00pm EDT

Youth Program

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 4:45pm EDT

201

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
201

2:00pm EDT

The Forbidden University: Film screening and discussion

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 4:45pm EDT

210

Limited Capacity seats available

The Forbidden University is a feature documentary exploring the constructive resilience of the Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) in Iran. Produced by 1844 Studios with Companion Arts and Interdimensional VFX, and developed in consultation with Bahá’í Institutions at every phase, the film weaves interviews with BIHE alumni and scholars with dramatic recreations to illuminate a...
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Speakers

Nauzanin Knight

Producer, 1844 Studios Inc.

Nauzanin Knight is a Canadian writer, director, and producer of Afro-Caribbean and Middle Eastern descent whose work bridges social justice and cinematic storytelling. A former academic with an MSc from University College London, she transitioned from publishing State Terrorism i... Read More →

Mitra Knight

Producer, 1844 Studios

Mitra is an Iranian-Canadian Bahá’í and an international film producer with over 20 years of leadership experience across the Caribbean, Africa, and Canada. She brings strategic vision and operational execution to her work as Co-Director of 1844 Studios alongside Nauzanin Knight... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
210

Media, Breakout

3:30pm EDT

Learning as a Core Capability for Enduring Businesses

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT

209

Limited Capacity seats available

Why do some businesses rise spectacularly, only to collapse under the weight of their own success, while others endure? In an era defined by data and analytics, even the most information-rich enterprises struggle to respond when signals from society challenge their definitions of success. This interactive session explores how narrow definitions of value and the absence of effective learning...
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Speakers

Shadi Davari

Shadi Davari is a software engineer in the finance industry and a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering with a second major in Economics. Guided by Bahá’í values and her experience as the only woman in many... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
209

Business, Breakout

3:30pm EDT

Community Building: Striving for Synergies in Approaches and Outcomes

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT

211

Limited Capacity seats available

Bahá’ís are at the very beginning of the process of community building. While valuable experience has been gained over the past 30 years by drawing on the society-building power of the Revelation, there are also rich insights to be gleaned from community development thinking and practice in the wider society. The goal of this presentation is to correlate these insights with the guidance of the...
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Speakers

Payam Pakravan

Payam Pakravan has over twenty years of experience in strategy, policy, and program delivery across provincial and community-based healthcare organizations in Ontario, Canada. He holds graduate degrees in Economics from the University of Toronto and the University of Melbourne, and... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
211

Community, Breakout

3:30pm EDT

Diversity, Equity and Protagonism: Promoting a Discourse

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT

213

Limited Capacity seats available

Equity work in American schools is in crisis. Undue reliance on institutional support has left the field at the mercy of partisan interests. Beyond a mere critique of top down DEI, the presentation offers a path forward by introducing the concept of protagonism alongside insights from the field of organizational development. Emphasis is placed on recasting the relationships among the three...
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Speakers

Niaz Khadem

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
213

Community, Breakout

3:30pm EDT

A Paradigm Shift in Humanitarian Aid: From Victims to Protagonists

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT

207

Limited Capacity seats available

Amid escalating global crises, the traditional humanitarian model is proving unsustainable. This presentation, drawing on Bahá’í teachings, proposes a paradigm shift: moving from viewing survivors as passive victims to active protagonists of their own recovery. True resilience lies not just in material resources, but in a community’s spiritual capacity for consultation, unity, and collective...
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Speakers

Munirih Tahzib

Founder, HumanitarianMD

Dr. Munirih N. Tahzib is a practicing physician of thirty years. Originally from the Netherlands, she moved to the USA in 1996 and completed her subsequent specialty training at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in NYC. Dr. Tahzib organized and led countless volunteer medical-humanitarian... Read More →

Chris Ward

Chris is a serial entrepreneur with forty years of global IT leadership experience, bringing empathy, passion, service, and vision. Chris is currently serving as Secretary of the National Assembly of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. His latest ventures include Empathy North Botswana... Read More →

Inault Saint Jean

Inault is a pioneer from Haiti, a survivor of the 2010 earthquake, currently serving on the National Assembly of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands while studying Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Technology, Jamaica. He served at the Baha'i World Centre in security, statistics... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
207

about

3:30pm EDT

Spiritually Grounded Professionalism: Bahá’í Principles in Ethical Healthcare Practice and Policy

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT

208

Healthcare professionals shape clinical practice, policy, and public discourse on health. Applying Bahá’í principles requires a spiritual framework rooted in service, consultation, and humility, without personal or partisan bias. This talk presents a Bahá'í approach to constructive professional engagement in healthcare: morally and spiritually grounded application of scientific knowledge and...
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Speakers

Soha Sabeti

Soha Sabeti is an Epidemiologist, and is currently serving as the Manager of Health Surveillance at the First Nations Health Authority. Through her work, she has been able to marry her passions for public health, human rights, and the restoration of Indigenous health and wellness... Read More →

Saama Sabeti

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
208

Health, Breakout

about

3:30pm EDT

The Role of Indigenous Peoples in the Growth of Northern Canadian Bahá’í Communities

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT

202

Limited Capacity seats available

Drawing on unpublished memoirs and oral interviews, this presentation will relate how the growth of the Faith in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut from 1960-2000 was fostered by Indigenous believers who found parallels between their traditional spirituality and the Bahá’í teachings, and recognized in them the means to transcending differences and working towards a just and equitable...
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Speakers

Leslie Cole

Cheryl Fennell

Owner, Indigenous Fashion Design & Art & Indigenous Consulting, SNOWFLY

Cheryl Fennell is of Metis background and was born in Yellowknife. She has traveled all over the circumpolar world and has lived in Cambridge Bay, Inuvik, Fort Smith and Yellowknife, where she now resides. Cheryl is a sealskin artist who integrates traditional designs with contemporary... Read More →

Pat Parks

Patricia Parks is a retired school teacher who has lived in Pond Inlet for 48 years, loving and nurturing a spiritual family and vibrant community and curating the translation of the Bahá’í Holy Word into Inuktitut. She is currently developing a digital library for sharing this... Read More →

Maggie Crump

Maggie Crump was born in Whitehorse and has spent most of her career working in Indigenous governance, treaty implementation, and intergovernmental relations in Inuvik, Ottawa and Whitehorse. Maggie has lived in a number of cities across Canada, as well as in Denmark, Ghana, and Norway... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
202

Indigenous studies, Breakout

3:30pm EDT

The Crisis of Conversation: Reimagining Dialogue in a Disintegrating World

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT

214

Limited Capacity seats available

As processes of disintegration intensify around the globe, the prospect of peace increasingly resides in the world of fantasy. Dialogue, an instrument capable of fostering connection, harmonising diverse perspectives, and cultivating unity, is reduced to adversarial methods of debate not conducive to building a shared vision and a collective will to act. Integrating psychological studies with...
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Speakers

Shauya Ighani

Shauya Ighani graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia double majoring in Psychology and Social Justice. Since graduating she has been serving in Sydney, Australia at the Office of External Affairs of the Australian Baha'i Community supporting their... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
214

Political science, Breakout

3:30pm EDT

Depression: A Hunger for Spiritual Awakening

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT

215

Limited Capacity seats available

The number of people experiencing emotional health challenges is increasing alarmingly. The point of view that religion and spirituality are just a crutch is outdated. Depression is in fact a call for spiritual awakening; the point of pain being the portal of entry to connect with our higher self. This session will introduce the science of neuropsychoimmunoendocrinology and mind/body practices --...
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Speakers

Keyhan Ighanian

Keyhan Ighanian is a Norway-based psychotherapist, educator and author with over 30 years of experience in counselling, education, and group learning. His work is informed by a Bahá’í understanding of knowledge as a means of service, and by the principle that personal transformation... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
215

Psychology, Breakout

3:30pm EDT

Baha’i Perspectives on the Ontology of Law and Justice

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT

205

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...
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Speakers

Ali Rod Khadem

I am a tenured professor at Suffolk Law School in Boston, Massachusetts. I hold a PhD in Islamic intellectual history as well as a JD and MA. My research/publication history concerns law and religion, with a focus on Islamic intellectual history. I am also a regular consultant to... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
205

Study of the Writings, Breakout

3:30pm EDT

What Can Be Proven? Epistemology and the Bahá'í-Faith in Discussion on the Concept of Proof

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT

206

Limited Capacity seats available

This presentation examines the epistemological debate concerning what should count as proof. Positions range from skeptical views that deny the existence of proofs altogether, to restrictive accounts that limit proofs to formal domains, to broader perspectives that recognize proofs in everyday reasoning. These differences are reflected in divergent attitudes toward what counts as justification and...
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Speakers

Levin Zendeh

PhD in philosophy (Bonn, 2024) with a dissertation on emergence and reduction in Hegel's philosophy of nature. Member of the German ABS Committee, eager to learn from the experiences of ABS North America. Engaged in exploring how academic rigor and community building can mutually... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
206

about

3:30pm EDT

Unity and Justice in Transit and Transportation Systems