Chronology: Date 1996

Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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Date 1996, descending — sort earliest first

date	event	tags	firsts
1996 19 - 22 Sep 199-	The second European Bahá'í Conference on Law and International Order was held at the De Poort Conference Centre in Groesbeek, the Netherlands. The gathering featured Mohsen Enayat’s Dr. Aziz Navidi Memorial Lecture on “The Evolution of the World Order” and focused on the statement "Tuming Point for All Nations" and on the challenge of global governance. [BW25p86]
1996 1 Aug 199-	The Bahá'í International Community launched its first website. The site contained exclusively Baha'i International Community statements. Previously these statements had been hosted on an Internet Gopher server. [BIC History Launch of Official Website]	Bahá'í International Community; New York City, NY	first BIC website
1996 22 Jul 199-	The ECOSOC in resolution 1996/6 (see p. 20) expanded the mandate of the Commission of the Status of Women and decided that it should take a leading role in monitoring and reviewing progress and problems in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and in mainstreaming a gender perspective in UN activities.	United Nations; Commission on the Status of Women (CSW); New York, USA; United States (USA)
1996 1 Jul 199-	The Bahá'í International Community launched the site "The Bahá'í World". Its stated purpose was to present "a collection of essays and articles that explore themes of relevance to the progress and well-being of humanity, highlight advancements in the worldwide Bahá'í community at the levels of thought and action, and reflect on the dynamic history of the Bahá'í Faith." It is one of the websites that continues the tradition initiated by Shoghi Effendi in 1926 when he began the publication of what came to be called "The Bahá'í World". Thirty-six volumes were published over to cover the period from 1925 to 2006, providing a public record of the Bahá'í international community's activities and achievements. [Ridván 1997] See 2019-05-23.	Bahá'í International Community; - Bahá'í World volumes; bahai.org; Websites; Internet; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); - Bahá'í World Centre
1996 03 - 14 Jun 199-	The Bahá'í International Community and 150 Bahá'ís from many countries participated in the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) and the parallel Non-Governmental Organization Forum in Istanbul. [BINS365:5] The Bahá'í International Community presented a statement entitled Sustainable Communities in an Integrating World to the Plenary . [BIC History Habitat II]	United Nations; Migration; Bahá'í International Community; - BIC statements; Istanbul, Turkey; Turkey
1996 May 199-	The closing of the Bahá'í discussion list called Talisman. It had been in operation since October 1994 and at one time had over 100 subscribers. Talisman eventually evolved into Talisman9 for 'free and open discussion of issues in the Bahá'í faith from an intellectual point of view', but welcomed criticism of Bahá'í institutions. Bahá'í-Studies was created by a Bahá'í sociologist at an American university for scholarly discussion of Baha'i academic and other issues. H-Bahai was initiated for academic discussion of Bábi and Bahá'í topics; membership was generally restricted to individuals with advanced degrees in fields relevant to Bahá'í studies. Somewhat later, Bridges was created for similar discussions, but with membership by invitation and restricted to Bahá'ís. [Seeking for Truth: Plausibility Alignment on a Bahá'í Email List by David Piff and Margit Warburg] iiiii. The current incarnation of Talisman is Tarikh, established 2003. See as well 'The Baha'i Faith in America as Panopticon, 1963–1997', by J. Cole and 'Baha'i Leaders Vexed by On-line Critics', by K P Johnson	Talisman (email list); H-Bahá'í (email list)
1996 Ridván 199-	National Spiritual Assemblies of Burundi and Rwanda were not able to form due to political instability in the region. The number of National Spiritual Assemblies remained at 174. [Riḍván 153 – To the Bahá'ís of the World]	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Statistics; Burundi; Rwanda
1996 Ridván 199-	The National Spiritual Assembly of Moldova was formed. Moldova had been an independent republic following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and previously had been part of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Ukraine and Moldova. [BINS363:1–2; BW96-97p41] The National Convention was attended by Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Annemarie Kruger. At that time she was a pioneer in Bulgaria and was in a very advanced age. [Candle 9] See Candle9 28 July, 2008 for a history of the Faith. The National Spiritual Assembly of the Ukraine was now an independent Assembly.	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Moldova
1996 Ridván 199-	The National Spiritual Assembly of São Tomé and Príncipe was formed with its seat in São Tomé. [BINS363:1; BW96-97p41; Mess86-01p474] For picture see BINS366:9.	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Sao Tome and Principe; Principe
1996 Ridván (and after) 199-	The International Financial Collaboration programme was established by the Universal House of Justice to allow those national communities which are materially well endowed to assist other communities. Around 40 National Assemblies will be donors. The programme is "... used to meet a variety of needs: the acquisition of land and buildings for national and local Baha'i Centres and for future Temple sites; the construction and renovation of Bahá'í properties, including the repair of buildings that suffered storm or earthquake damage; and the purchase of such items as an electricity generator, an office computer, and a motorcycle." They add further: "[b]eyond that, the bonds of unity between geographically distant national communities have been strengthened and the worldwide solidarity of the believers enhanced." [Letter from the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United Kingdom dated 17 July 2011 quoted in the UK BAHA'I NEWS EMAIL SERVICE dated 11 August 2011] Update: In a message from the National Spiritual Assembly of the UK to all believers in the UK dated 20 January 2024, it was stated that their National Assembly of one of 57 donor National Spiritual Assemblies in this program. [GC-37891]	Funds; Property; Purchases and exchanges; NSA; Universal House of Justice; - Restoration and renovation; International Financial Collaboration programme; - Bahá'í World Centre
1996 Ridván 199-	The terraces below the Shrine of the Báb were completed and opened to pilgrims.	Báb, Shrine of (Haifa); Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb (Haifa); Arc project; - Bahá'í World Centre; - Bahá'í World Centre
1996 Ridván 199-	The Universal House of Justice made further clarifications on the subject of Training Institutes in the message addressed to the Bahá'ís of the World as well as in the regional messages. It placed the establishment and development of training institutes in the context of the far-reaching changes that would characterize the progress of the Faith in this period of Bahá'í history. "What the friends throughout the world are now being asked to do is to commit themselves, their material resources, their abilities and their time to the development of a network of training institutes on a scale never before attempted. These centers of Bahá'í learning will have as their goal one very practical outcome, namely, the raising up of large numbers of believers who are trained to foster and facilitate the process of entry by troops with efficiency and love." [Message from the Universal House of Justice Ridván 153, Training Institutes and Systematic Growth (Feb 2000), Mess86-01p489-490 para27-para30] Also see [Extracts from Messages re training institutes]	Training Institutes; - Institute process; - Bahá'í World Centre; Training Institutes, documents
1996 Ridván 199-	The Four Year Plan (1996-2000) was launched with its focus on a single aim: a significant advance in the process of entry by troops. This work would require the informed participation of a great many souls and in 1996, the Bahá'í world was summoned to take up the vast educational challenge this entailed. It was called to establish a network of training institutes focused on generating an increasing flow of individuals endowed with the necessary capacities to sustain the process of growth. [Ridván Message 2021] See message addressed To the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors dated 26 December 1995 concerning the Four Year Plan. See message to the Bahá'ís of the World dated 31 December 1995 announcing the new Plan. It was announced that Training Institutes would be established and they will be charged with developing human resources. The Counsellors and the Auxiliary Board members will be intimately involved in the establishment and operation of these institutes. The two arms of the Administrative Order will collaborate in the overseeing of the budget and planning program content, developing curricula and delivering courses. Should there be a board of directors then Auxiliary Board Members may serve on these bodies. The Universal House of Justice sent a Ridván message and Four Year Plan instructions to the Bahá'ís of the World and separate messages to eight regions. Riḍván 153 – To the Bahá'ís of the World Riḍván 153 – To the Followers of Bahá'u'lláh in North America: Alaska, Canada, Greenland and the United States Riḍván 153 – To the Followers of Bahá'u'lláh in Australia, the Cook Islands, the Eastern Caroline Islands, the Fiji Islands, French Polynesia, the Hawaiian Islands, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, the Mariana Islands, the Marshall Islands, New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and the Western Caroline Islands Riḍván 153 – To the Followers of Bahá'u'lláh in Africa Riḍván 153 – To the Followers of Bahá'u'lláh in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka Riḍván 153 – To the Followers of Bahá'u'lláh in Cambodia, Hong Kong, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam Riḍván 153 – To the Followers of Bahá'u'lláh in Western and Central Asia Riḍván 153 – To the Followers of Bahá'u'lláh in Europe Riḍván 153 – To the Followers of Bahá'u'lláh in Latin America and the Caribbean See The Significance of the Four Year Plan (PDF)by Andrew Alexander. For the definitive report see The Four Year Plan and the Twelve Month Plan, 1996-2001 Summary of Achievements prepared under the supervision of the International Teaching Centre. See Training Institutes, a document prepared for and approved by the Universal House of Justice, April 1998. The training institutes focused on generating an increasing flow of individuals endowed with the necessary capacities to sustain the process of growth. It was recognized that certain activities were a natural response to the spiritual needs of a population. Study circles, children's classes, devotional meetings, and later junior youth groups stood out as being of central importance in this regard, and when woven together with related activities, the dynamics generated could give rise to a vibrant pattern of community life. [Ridván Message 2021] See as well the publication The Four Year Plan: Messages of the Universal House of Justice	Four Year Plan (1996-2000); - Teaching Plans; Training Institutes; - Bahá'í World Centre
1996 20 Apr 199-	The Three Year Plan is successfully completed.
1996 23 – 24 Mar 199-	The first National Women's Seminar of Bulgaria was held in Sofia, organized by the European Task Force for Women. [BINS365:8]	Conferences, Bahá'í; Conferences, Women; Women; - First conferences; Sofia, Bulgaria; Bulgaria	The first National Women's Seminar of Bulgaria
1996 3 Mar 199-	The establishment of the Ocean of Light School in Tonga. [OoL Website, BWNS195; Bahaipedia]	- Bahá'í inspired schools; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Tonga
1996 9 - 11 Feb 199-	The first National Bahá'í Winter School of Belarus was held near Minsk. [BINS358:3]	Winter schools; First summer and winter schools; Minsk, Belarus; Belarus	first National Bahá'í Winter School of Belarus
1996 Feb 199-	By this date, approximately 1,250 people had enrolled in the Bahá'í Faith in Guinea-Bissau as a result of the Luz Local Teaching Project and the William Sears project. [BINS356:8]	Teaching campaigns; Guinea Bissau
1996 15 Jan 199-	A Chair for Bahá'í Studies was inaugurated at the University of Lucknow. [BINS354:3]	Chair in Bahá'í Studies; Universities; Firsts, other; Lucknow, India; India	First Chair for Bahá'í Studies in Lucknow.


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