- 1969-10-29 — A mechanism of world inter-communication will be devised, embracing the whole planet, freed from national hindrances and restrictions, and functioning with marvellous swiftness and perfect regularity. WOB203
1844 May 24 Samuel F.B. Morse sent the first telegraphic message over an experimental line from Washington D.C. to Baltimore; the message said: "What hath God wrought?" which is a verse from The Book of Numbers 23:23. Also see The Book of Job 38:35 where it says Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go and say unto thee, Here we are?
1858 Aug 16 the first transatlantic telegraph cable was an undersea cable running under the Atlantic Ocean used for telegraph communications was laid across the floor of the Atlantic from Telegraph Field, Foilhommerum Bay, Valentia Island in western Ireland to Heart's Content in eastern Newfoundland. The first communications occurred August 16, 1858, reducing the communication time between North America and Europe from ten days.
1894 May 10 Marconi sent a radio wave 3/4 mile, the first "wireless" transmission.
1897 Marconi Co sent the first ship-to-shore message 12 miles. 1899 Mar 3 the ship "East Goodwin" was saved after sending the distress signal "HELP". This system of HF radio for safety at sea communications as replaced globally by geostationary satellites with the launch of the INMARSAT system (International Marine Satellite) on the 1st of February 1982. [International Journal of Maritime History]
1969 October 29 The birth of the Internet. First message from computer to computer in different locations. UCLA student Charley Kline attempts to transmit the text "login" to a computer at the Stanford Research Institute over the first link on the ARPANET, which was the precursor to the modern Internet. After the letters "l" and "o" are sent the system crashed, making the first message ever sent on the Internet "lo" and the first crash of the system. - 1994-01-30 — The first worldwide fireside on the Internet, 'Pioneering in Cyberspace the Bahá'í Faith and the Internet', was held, with a live audience in the Bahá'í Centre in New York City communicating electronically with people all over the United States and in two other countries.
- 1996-07-01 — 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. - 1997-00-00 — In 1997 One Country launched its website that contained all the English issues of the newsletter published over the previous three years. [One Country Vol 23 Issue3, BW'86-92p539]
- 2000-10-00 —
The Bahá'í World News Service began publishing online, picking up the reins of the former Bahá'í International News Service which was a biweekly printed newsletter. [One Country Vol 12 Issue 3 October-December 2000; Ridván Message 2001]
- In 2018 the BWNS began providing podcasts and in subsequent months, in addition to English and Persian, stories were be made available in Spanish and French. [BWNS1289]
- By September 2023 the site was publishing in English, French, Russian, Spanish and Farsi. [BWNS1695]
- 2004-05-31 — The launch of the Web site The Bahá'í Reference Library by the Bahá'í International Community. It marked the first time that a voluminous authoritative library of Bahá'í scripture and other Bahá'í publications had been available on the Internet. [reference.bahai.org, BWNS302]
- 2005-04-20 —
The launch of the new official website, titled The Bahá'ís to replace the previous site, "The Bahá'í World," at the same address. The site is also a portal to the family of official web sites of the Bahá'í International Community.
- The content of "The Bahá'í World" continued to be available as Bahá'í Topics: An Information Resource (archived, now redirects to bahai.org).
[BWNS368]
- 2007-03-05 — The start of Bahaipedia - The Bahá'í collaborative encyclopedia. The name Bahaikipedia is a portmanteau of Bahá'í, wiki and encyclopedia. It was later changed to [Bahaipedia]
- 2007-11-07 — The launch of a new website by the Bahá'í International Community, The Life of Bahá'u'lláh to provide illustration of Bahá'u'lláh's life through photographs of places and artifacts and relics associated directly with Him. [BWNS586]
- 2011-03-21 —
The launch of "Half Light Media". The mandate of this not-for-profit entity was to serve the Bahá'í Faith through the arts and various avenues of media. Founder Naysan Naraqi was assisted by fellow board members Collis Ta'eed and Fuad Ta'eed and scores of collaborators. -
Their flagship project was called "Bahá'í Blog" but it was more than a blog. It was a knowledge repository with almost 1,500 articles by more than 100 contributors.
It was also a Video Bank with its own YouTube Channel. Through "Studio Sessions", they invited Bahá'ís and their friends to film and record themselves singing/playing something based on the Bahá'í Writings.
-
Baha'i Blogcast with host Rainn Wilson was a collection of interviews with Bahá'ís and their friends. They established a presence on Sound Cloud where one could listen or download talks and music that appeared on the site.
-
There was a page where they showcased photography, design and imagery from around the web that focused on the Bahá'í Faith and Spirituality themes and another called Personal Reflections, a project that captured portraits of people coupled with excerpts from interviews with them about how the Bahá'í Faith had touched their lives.
-
There was a calendar page and and another for quizzes where one could challenge oneself on a variety of topics.
-
Another service they provided was a directory with links to Official Bahá'í Sites, Non-Government Organizations, Education and Training sites, Blogs, Publications and Communities as well as other Bahá'í resources.
- 2015-01-20 — The website of the worldwide Bahá'í community at www.bahai.org was launched in a new version, representing the latest stage in the development of an official presence on the Web that extended back to 1996. [BWNS1037]
- 2017-02-15 —
The Bahá'í International Community announced the launch of a website for the Bahá'ís of Iran at Bahaisofiran.org. "Although the official website of the worldwide Bahá'í community had recently been made available in Persian and a number of other languages, the new "Baha'is of Iran" website was the first website of the Bahá'í community of Iran. This development was especially important at a time when a large volume of anti-Bahá'í propaganda had proliferated in that country. Since 2013 alone, more than 20,000 such pieces had been disseminated in Iran's media." [BWNS1152, The Baha'i Question Revisited]
- Web sites for other national communities can be found at A Global Community.
- 2017-09-28 —
The Universal House of Justice announced the launch of a new website, created in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, and Persian. This portal will be used to share news of the commemoration of the Twin Holy Days throughout the world.-
Included on that portal was the Message from the Universal House of Justice date October 2017 regarding the celebration of the Bicentenary of the Birth of Bahá'u'lláh.
- 2017-10-20 —
Bicentenary of the Birth of Bahá'u'lláh
From the time of the setting of the sun on October 21st in Kiribati, an island republic in the Central Pacific just west of the International Date Line, until sunset in Hawaii on the 22nd of October, 72 hours later, celebrations were held in thousands of localities throughout the world commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh.
Coverage on the bicentenary website began soon after 8:00 GMT on 20 October and concluded at 4:00 GMT on 23 October documenting some of the thousands of celebrations.
[BWNS1201,
BWNS1203,
BWNS1205,
BWNS1206,
BWNS1207,
BWNS1208,
BWNS1209,
BWNS1210,
BWNS1211,
BWNS1221,
BWNS1213,
BWNS1214,
BWNS1216,
BWNS1218]
- A number of countries issue commemorative stamps to mark the occasion of the bicentenary of Bahá'u'lláh's birth.
- 2018-02-18 — In an open letter, twenty-five prominent international lawyers and human right activists appealed to Mohammad Javad Larijani, the Secretary-General of the High Council for Human Rights in Iran, to take steps to end the persecution of the Bahá'ís in Iran. In the letter they made reference to the new website, "Archives of the Bahá'í Persecution in Iran", stating that it "vividly demonstrates the depth and breadth of unjust, relentless, and systematic oppression against a religious minority". [BICNews10Feb2018]
- 2019-05-23 —
The Baha'i World publication website was launched online this date.
- The website made available a selection of thoughtful essays and long-form articles on a range of subjects of interest to the wider public, conveying advancements in Bahá'í thought and action and reflecting the Faith's purpose in the world. [BWNS1329]
See 1996-07-01 - 2019-07-26 — In a message from the secretariat of the Universal House of Justice to selected National Assemblies it was announced that a new portal had been opened on the pilgrimage website (pilgrimage.bahai.org) that would allow Bahá'ís to submit, track and update pilgrimage and visit requests directly. [CBN Vol 32 No 3 Fall 2019 p6]
- 2019-09-06 — The Universal House of Justice announced the launch of a new website to provide information about the events held to commemorate the Twin Holy Days. The site was revealed over an eight week period and was made available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Hindi, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swahili. It provided live streaming during the hours that the Bahá'í communities around the world commemorated the Birth of the Báb and the Birth of Bahá'u'lláh on the 29th and 30th of October. [BWNS1350]
- 2019-10-29 —
Bicentenary of the Birth of the Báb
The Bahá'í world commemorated the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Báb. The bicentenary website chronicled just some of the thousands of celebrations.
- In early October the Universal House of Justice sent a message to all who have come to honour the Herald of a new Dawn.
- A film called Dawn of the Light was commissioned. It was made available in 10 languages in a variety of formats. The film portrayed several individuals from different continents as they related their own personal search after truth and meaning. They shared their discovery that God had sent two Divine Manifestations Whose teachings were revolutionizing human thought and behaviour, changing darkness into light. The film showed glimpses of how this same discovery was inspiring the efforts of many across the globe to serve humanity and to contribute to building a new pattern of life.
- The site also featured four articles The Mission of the Báb by former Universal House of Justice member Douglas Martin, Religion Renewed, Divine Revelation, and Bahá'í Teachings in Action...
- ...and small sample from among the countless artistic expressions created by individuals and communities around the world for the occasion of the bicentenary.
- During the celebrations there was live streaming of the services held the Bahá'í Houses of Worship.
- In addition there was an official Facebook page and an Instagram account.
- Some national communities had their own Facebook page such as the Bahá'ís of the United Kingdom and the Bahá'ís of the United States.
- On the 8th of November the Universal House of Justice sent a message to the Bahá'ís of the World commenting on the celebrations and activities held by the worldwide Bahá'í community to commemorate the bicentenary of the Birth of the Báb.
- See the English translation of the message of the Universal House of Justice dated the 24th of October addressed to the followers of Bahá'u'lláh in the sacred land of Iran.
- 2020-04-20 — A new section, featuring images, videos, and music from commemorations of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Báb, was added to the two bicentenary websites. These websites stand as a permanent testament to how Bahá'ís and many of their compatriots throughout the world—from major urban centres to remote rural locations—commemorated the bicentennial anniversaries of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh and the Báb in 2017 and 2019, respectively. The final additions made to the bicentenary websites included country pages illustrating the diversity of celebrations that these historic occasions inspired in over 150 countries and territories.
[BWNS1717]
- 2020-12-05 — The Austrian Bahá'í Office of External Affairs launched a new vlog that will explore issues of national concern in Austria. It was titled "Themes that move Austria," and such topics as environmental protection, migration, social cohesion, and the role of youth in social transformation will be the subject of discussion. See the video featuring Dr Leyla Tavernaro of the Office of External Affairs in the referenced link.
[BWNS1471]
|
Site Map
