Joyful and focused institutional meeting
Representatives of three countries — Timor Leste, Australia and New Zealand — gathered online 27 - 30 January for a joint “national institutional meeting”. The purpose of the gathering was to begin laying the groundwork for the Nine Year Plan in each of these sister countries.
Two of Aotearoa’s participants in the gathering, Ella Whitley and Fia Sakopa from Manurewa.
The programme focused on study of the Universal House of Justice’s letter of 30 December 2021 to the Conference of the Counsellors, and how to begin implementing its vision. Plenary sessions with everyone present looked at main themes. Participants heard from members of the International Teaching Centre and Directors of the Bahá'í International Development Organisation, Australasian Counsellors, and representatives of various institutions in the three countries.
The themes were then consulted upon in breakout groups, of which the Aotearoa contingent formed one.
The main themes were:
The Plan’s Central Aim
The Movement of Clusters
Contributing to Social Transformation
Educational Endeavours and the Training Institute
Raising capacity for Administration at all Levels
The Teaching Work
A Historic Mission
The representatives from Aotearoa included all members of the National Assembly, all Auxiliary Board members, all Regional Council and Regional Institute Board members, and a large cohort of other individuals serving in various roles related to coordination of the training institute, external affairs, statistics, the Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity, third milestone cluster coordination, and neighbourhood community building.
The learning experienced by the participants in this gathering feeds into the planning work that is now being done by the National Assembly and the other bodies mentioned. It will contribute to the “dynamic thrust forward” that the Universal House of Justice has called for as we enter the new Plan.
Featured image: New Zealand participants alongside Aotearoa’s liaison Counsellor during one of the breakout sessions, deep in exploratory mode as together they examine key elements of this immense collective enterprise.
