Wilmette Institute Course on Sustainable Development
The next Wilmette Institute course on Sustainable Development and the Prosperity of Humankind will take place on line from 10 September to 28 October 2016. The course will address the urgent need to make a fundamental transition away from a society and economy that are threatening our planetary security. From a Baha’i perspective, we will start with a general introduction to sustainable development and seek to understand its profound implications in achieving the prosperity of humankind. Our objectives include teaching ourselves how to think about sustainability by integrating both the material and spiritual dimensions of life into a long-term systems perspective; how to apply that thinking to questions of everyday life and lifestyle; how to use it to start meaningful and distinctive conversations; and how to incorporate it into our community action, reflection, and consultation. After studying the origins and definition of sustainable development endorsed by world leaders, we will review the economic, social, and environmental issues that humanity faces in achieving sustainability and discuss the spiritual principles that can help us find solutions.
We will then examine perspectives for the future, both those that show the unsustainability of the present system, including the constraints that have limited women's contribution, and those that show the need for fundamental change--all contrasted with the Baha’i vision of a new world order leading to the prosperity of humankind. We will explore the implications of the new Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda being adopted at the United Nations.
Finally, we will look at the importance, for sustainable development, of education reinforced with spiritual values as the basis for helping each of us detach ourselves from Western materialistic civilization; reexamine our present lifestyles; and begin to live more sustainably in accordance with the Baha’i teachings. The faculty of Arthur Lyon Dahl, Gary Colliver, Carole Flood, Christine Muller are all IEF members. For more information and to register, go to http://www.cvent.com/events/sustainable-development-and-the-prosperity-….