Bahá'í World Congress

The Bahá'í World Congress is a large gathering of Bahá'ís from across the world that is called irregularly by the Universal House of Justice, the governing body of the Bahá'ís. There have only been two conferences of this nature; in 1963 and 1992.

1963: First Bahá'í World Congress

The first Bahá'í World Congress was held in Royal Albert Hall in London, England and approximately 6,000 Bahá'ís attended. It was called to announce and present the election of the first Universal House of Justice, elected by the participation of over 50 National Spiritual Assemblies.

1992: Second Bahá'í World Congress

The Second Bahá'í World Congress from November 23rd -26th, 1992 took place in order to pay homage to the 100th anniversary of the passing of the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh. 30,000 Bahá'ís attended the event in the Jacob Javits Center in New York City for four days of commemoration in the form of music, speeches, artistic performances and social gathering.

The Congress participants represented the diversity of the Bahá'ís from over 180 different nations. The purpose of this World Congress was to "celebrate the Centenary of the inauguration of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and to proclaim its aims and unifying power."

Program

The main sessions of the World Congress took place two hours each day at the Jacob Javits Center.

*Day one concentrated on the recognition of Baha'u'llah as the Promise of All Ages.
*Day two celebrated `Abdu'l-Bahá as the Center of the Covenant. The program highlighted the nature of the Covenant, and New York as the City of the Covenant.
*Day three covered some achievements of the Bahá'í community.
*Day four explored humanity's encounter with Bahá'u'lláh as a prelude to the culmination of the congress, a message from the Universal House of Justice.

References

* [http://www.bahainyc.org/presentations/worldcongress/ Presentations from the Second Congress]
* [http://www.bahainyc.org/presentations/worldcongress/faq.html Frequently Asked Questions]