Most of my travel in 2006 was related to the Baha'i Faith and activities
of Baha'i-inspired organizations.
ITALY -
NETHERLANDS
For example, the European Baha'i Business Forum (http://ebbf.org)
has an active partnership with AIESEC, the international organization of
students of business and commerce, so I often get invitations to speak at
AIESEC events. In 2006 one of the AIESEC themes was energy, and EBBF Italy
asked me to participate in the weekend institute that they organize each
year in February at the Baha'i study centre in Acuto, a hilltop village
south of Rome, for selected AIESEC representatives from universities all
over Italy. AIESECers are a very dynamic and stimulating group, so after my
presentations on the energy challenge and its implications for business and
society, they prepared various skits and artistic presentations aimed to
convince world leaders to take action on energy.
AIESEC/EBBF institute at Acuto
A skit
about energy
I also participated in the EBBF Annual Conference in de Poort, the
Netherlands, in September.
de Poort conference centre
With the nice weather, some of the activities were outside in the beautiful
gardens.
BULGARIA -
MACEDONIA
In the summer I visited my brother Greg and his family in Bulgaria, and we
went together to (the former Yugoslav Republic of) Macedonia to give classes
at the Baha'i Summer Gathering (as they call their summer school) on the
shores of Lake Ohrid. There was a wonderful diversity of participants,
including Macedonians, Albanians, Turks and a significant contingent of
Roms.
The school was held at a beachfront resort on Lake Ohrid in western
Macedonia, so there was always something to do after classes.
There
were lectures, workshops, and various artistic activities.
There
were songs and performances by the children, youth and adults. Everyone had
a lot of fun.
The beauty of the environment also added to the spirit of the summer
gathering.
Morning on Lake Ohrid
Since we had to cross all of Macedonia to get to Ohrid, we saw typical
Macedonian landscapes, with hills and forests, fields of tobacco, and drier
areas.
Later in the year we returned to Lake Ohrid in Macedonia to give workshops
at an AIESEC conference for national officers.
OXFORD, UNITED KINGDOM
In mid-September the International Environment Forum, the Baha'i-inspired
organization for the environment and sustainability of which I am president,
held its annual conference at Oxford University, in Balliol College where
the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, Shoghi Effendi, studied nearly 90 years
ago. For more information and photographs of the conference, see the IEF web
site at https://iefworld.org/conf10.htm.
Balliol College is one of the oldest in the university, with buildings
surrounding peaceful inner quadrangles and gardens.
Entrance to Balliol College
inside the college
Commons from outside
Inside the commons
IEF Conference dinner in the church basement