New National Bahá'í Centre in Malta. Pictured here (right) is the newly acquired National Bahá'í Centre in Valetta, the capital of Malta. Some of the Bahá'í community are gathered at the entrance. The building, which is being completely refurbished, has a wonderful tranquil atmosphere reminiscent of the Holy Shrines in Israel.

Prayers and money are needed to realise the vision as are travel teachers and pioneers to this beautiful island.

If you are interested in visiting Malta contact Edgar Boyett of the Committee for International Pioneering and Travel Teaching, Tel: 01483-568926.

Stories of Bahá'í youth in action and personal sacrifice around the world

The youth also served as volunteers during a nationwide polio vaccination campaign. The National Bahá'í Centre was the venue as hundreds of children were brought in for polio drops. The Bahá'í youth, some of whom were trained to administer the drops, carried it out in a most orderly manner. The local people were impressed with the courtesy and kindness shown by the Bahá'ís.

Report from the National Spiritual Assembly of Nepal

A variety of innovative activities were offered throughout the weekend, including a premiere of the "Happy Hippo Show" - an interactive theatre programme for moral education. Deepenings on the purpose of life, the role of youth in this era, and the significance of religion were held. Leisure and sports, a "wonderfully humorous" evening programme, and late night talks also took place.

The materials studied, performed and discussed all served the grand purpose of a systematic new campaign designed by the Youth committee, which consists of five elements - national youth conferences to deepen and strengthen Bahá'í identity; prayers to attract the divine glad tidings; firesides to attract new souls and build relationships; special events to support and expand firesides and to introduce a vision; and summer teaching projects to focus all efforts.

Report from the National Youth committee

The weekend began with a buffalo feast, followed by the round dance which had the involvement of seven drums. "Bahá'u'lláh, You're the one for me. Take me with You through all eternity!" was the chant echoing through the Kawacatoose school gym. The round dance song was composed by Michael Desjarlais and his drum group.

The Bahá'í youth embodied nobility, dignity and exuberance for the Faith, Bahá'u'lláh, their families and community. Members of the community were moved to tears to see such bright hope flourishing amongst them. The Regina Youth Dance Workshop performed two dances to the delight of the 300 gathered. One Kawacatoose youth commented, "There was so much unity here that I felt I could be myself. When there is no unity, you feel like you are being judged; here I felt unity."

The Kawacatoose youth delivered workshops themselves, which included sessions on "What is the Bahá'í Faith?" and, "Who is Baha'u'llah?" Drama and improvisation were used in a workshop on race unity.

Through their valiant, pure-hearted efforts, the vitality of the Faith has returned to Kawacatoose. Their song of Bahá'u'lláh is now being sung by other singers and drum groups in the community. Kawacatoose is a shining light on a cold prairie.

Report from the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada

"Blessed is he who in the prime of his youth and the heyday of his life will arise to serve the Cause of the Lord ... Blessed are the steadfast and well is it with those who are firm."

Bahá'u'lláh, cited by the Universal House of Justice, Message to the Bahá'ís of the World, Ridván 1982

This article is from the "Jerusalem Post" dated 7th June 1999.

Prof. Moshe Sharon, the first incumbent of the world's first academic chair in Bahá'í studies, said yesterday that the post was being set up at Hebrew University of Jerusalem with the aim of doing away with "tremendous ignorance" concerning the Bahá'í Faith.

The chair, funded by an anonymous donor, is to be dedicated today. "People think it is a Moslem sect. The truth is that it is a new world religion," Sharon said.

He added that before he began his research in the field, the last academic work on Bahá'í had been done 80 years ago. "It is a fascinating faith", he said, "with great intellectual wealth. There are over 100,000 documents, enough to provide work for researchers for a century", he added.

Noting that Bahá'í has spread rapidly throughout the world, including Asia and Africa, he described it as the perfect faith for the modern person, with its insistence upon complete equality between races and between sexes.

The Bahá'í faith's origins were in Persia, where, in 1844, a young man named Ali Muhammad Shirazi, known as the Báb, began to attract followers to a new religious idea. He was deemed a heretic by the Moslem religious authorities and a rebellious leader by the Persian government, which executed him in 1850.

Among the Bab's followers was Mirza Hussein Ali Nuri, later called Baha'u'llah, who in 1863 announced that he was the expected prophet whose coming had been foretold by the Báb. He developed the movement, which had been persecuted in Persia, and authored its holy writings. Bahá'u'llah was banished from Persia and later from Iraq and other places, arriving in 1868 in Acre as a prisoner of the Ottoman government. He died and was buried there in 1892.

Today the Bahá'í World Center is in Haifa and the faith has shrines in Haifa and Acre. There are an estimated six million followers around the world, only a handful of them in Israel.

By Haim Shapiro

Mount Carmel Projects: This view of the Arc buildings shows the marbled roof of the International Teaching Centre building in the foreground, the Seat of the Universal House of Justice in the middle, and the Centre for the Study of the Texts to the far right. Photo taken 21st February.

USA - Bahá'í Conference on Social and Economic Development, 17th - 20th December. Red Grammer and a group of children performed a song with sign language.