Organising a Bahá'í Society is a very daunting task. How often do we find that although eager to serve and take advantage of the opportunities presented to us, we find it all too easy to convince ourselves that we cannot manage on our own. But the Universal House of Justice has addressed this very point in its message of Riván 1995:
It does not matter if there are a hundred Bahá'ís at a university or only one, if official society and club structures exist in a university or not, because some sort of Bahá'í activity can be carried out at any university where a Bahá'í is studying. If you are the only Bahá'í at a university, there are institutions at a local, national and international level that can help. These are described below, as are the possibilities for networking with other societies in other universities. Networking can provide a source of inspiration, encouragement and good ideas. The infra-structure for a network of this kind already exists in Europe and North America in the form of a European Bahá'í Student e-mail network (EBSAN) and Bahá'í Campus Forum e-mail network respectively, and Bahá'í student conferences organised by the Association for Bahá'í Studies and the European Bahá'í Youth Council.
European Institutions
The European Bahá'í Youth Council (EBYC)
The European Bahá'í Youth Council is a continental institution appointed by the Universal House of Justice to promote and co-ordinate the activities of Bahá'í youth in Europe. In the past, the Council has sponsored a range of university related activities, including two European Bahá'í Student conferences. Similar activities may be convened again in the future, and there are various activities, including bi-annual European Discourse Seminars and summer activities, in which Bahá'í students and their friends could participate. The Council's focus is on the general need for Bahá'í students, like all Bahá'í youth, to find ways of effectively sharing the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh in the context of the opportunities afforded by their immediate environment, in this case universities.
The European Bahá'í Youth Council also engages in external affairs work on an international level, and therefore has links with a number of organisations which may have affiliates in some European universities. An introductory brochure about the European Bahá'í Youth Council, intended for distribution to other youth organisations, is available, as are statements on a range of issues on which the Council has offered the Bahá'í perspective at various international conferences.
The Council produces a Year of Service directory, updated twice yearly, and a quarterly newsletter, Shaping Europe, which includes information about Bahá'í youth activities and opportunities throughout Europe. Student submissions are gratefully received.
The Association for Bahá'í Studies (ABS)
One of the aims of the Bahá'í Society is to help its members deepen their knowledge of the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh, and correlate them to current trends of thought. The ABS and its publications (e.g. The Bahá'í Studies Review) are a valuable resource in this area. It also provides forums to develop new ideas and opportunities to network with individuals doing related Bahá'í studies. Many ABS annual conferences hold consultation sessions on Bahá'í Societies.
The European Bahá'í Students Conference
The first European Bahá'í students conference was held in January 1992 in Brno, Czechoslovakia. There were only 25 participants representing 12 countries. Three years passed until the second conference took place in September 1995 in Budapest, Hungary. This conference boasted around 100 participants, representing almost 30 countries in both Eastern and Western Europe. The main aim of this conference was to initiate student activities all over Europe and link up the work done by Bahá'í students all over Europe. Both these conferences were organised by committees of the EBYC. Such a conference will, hopefully, be held every other year in order to enable Bahá'í students from all over Europe to share and learn new ideas about teaching the Faith at universities and Bahá'í scholarship. The conference offers an opportunity to meet other students undergoing the same tests and challenges, and to make plans for collaboration on a regional and European level. So look out for publicity about the next conference and try to send at least one representative from each country.
National Institutions
The National Youth Committee (NYC) and the Association for Bahá'í Studies (ABS)
In many countries in Europe, Bahá'í Societies are under the jurisdiction of the NYC, since most of the students at university are youth. In such a case, the NYC or its Bahá'í Societies committee is the body to turn to for information about setting up a society, and the activities of other societies in the region and nationally. In a few countries Bahá'í Societies are under the jurisdiction of the ABS which then has the responsibility of organising the Bahá'í Society activities on a national level. In the UK, for example, there is an active Bahá'í Society Taskforce of the ABS.
Local Institutions
The Local Spiritual Assembly (LSA)
Bahá'í societies are directly responsible to the LSA. According to the instructions of the Universal House of Justice, the LSA has the authority to disband the society. The LSA is also the most direct source of help to the society. Collaborations on a national or European scale do not occur every day, but the LSA can help with the day to day running of the society. The LSA may benefit from seeing a copy of this manual so that it can become familiar with the type of issues that face a Bahá'í Society. Try to meet with the LSA before the beginning of the academic year in order to plan activities, including jointly sponsored events. Joint events with the local Bahá'í community help to boost the number of people at meetings, and assist with food and drinks. The LSA may sometimes be able to offer some financial assistance to the Society, in which case a budget proposal should be prepared and presented to it. One of the greatest contributions the LSA can offer is the element of continuity. Students come to university for a course that lasts about 3-5 years and then leave. This means that a great wealth of knowledge and experience is lost after each generation of students leaves. The LSA and the local community as a whole can provide a bridge between these generations of students to ensure that each group of students is not starting from the beginning when they arrive at the university. The Bahá'í Society can also keep their archive in the LSA's hands. Local Bahá'ís may also aid the Bahá'í students by hosting firesides and social gatherings.
The Student Union and the University
The organisation of societies or clubs at university (if they exist at all) will vary greatly from country to country, so it is difficult to generalise in this section. Often the Bahá'í Society is part of the Student Union and/or the University. The Student Union/University can be a good source of information about cheap publicity (such as a university newspaper, or facilities for printing posters) and about other societies at the university with whom you might wish to collaborate. The Union is also the first place you should turn for financial support.
EBSAN: The European Bahá'í Student E-mail Network
The first conference on Bahá'í activities in universities decided to set up an e-mail network for Bahá'í students. This would serve as a discussion forum, enable the co-ordination of resources for university activities, promote academic study of the Faith and form a communication link between the Bahá'í students of Europe. The advantages of e-mailing are numerous: it is instantaneous, free of charge, and accessible in most universities in Western Europe. Eastern Europe is gradually opening up to e-mail as well.
The purpose of the network is to provide a forum for frank and loving consultation. Avoid sarcasm and an unfriendly tone. Keep in mind that other people may catch your mail, so do not include any information that would be harmful to us in others' hands. Small is beautiful when it comes to email messages.
Make sure you end your letter with a clear address to which people can respond.
Experience so far has demonstrated that if societies share ideas, report on meetings and problems they encountered, they can serve other student groups, and together consult on ways to develop more effective activities. This may be particularly beneficial to smaller student groups. Poster ideas can be shared as can experience of using different speakers.
Joining the Network
The network is called EBSAN which stands for European Bahá'í Student Association Network, and you can apply to join it if you send your name, place of study or work, and home address to the following e-mail address (on Internet):
ebsan-request@cc.joensuu.fi
This is also the address to write to if you wish to inform the network administrator of a change of e-mail address.
This network or listserve enables users to send a letter to a special e-mail address (ebsan@cc.joensuu.fi) which will automatically send this letter to everyone who has joined the network (including the sender who can then discover whether their letter was successfully sent). The system is already operational and when there are a sufficient number of users in the network, maximum benefit can be derived from its users. However, it is imperative that to protect this network from junk and nonsense mail, and thus no one apart from users should obtain this address.
In North America, a similar facility exists called Bahá'í Campus Forum. To join, send an email to: bahai-campus-forum-request@bcca.org.