Five Year Plans

Divine Plan

Shoghi Effendi

First Epoch (1937-1963)

1st Seven Year Plan (1937-1944) Indian Six Year Plan (1938-1944) British Six Year Plan (1944-1950) 2nd Seven Year Plan (1946-1953) Indian 4½ Year Plan (1946-1950) Persian 45 Month Plan (1946-1950) Persian Women's Four Year Plan (1946-1950) Australian Six Year Plan (1947-1953) Canadian Five Year Plan (1948-1953) Egyptian Five Year Plan (1948-1953) German Five Year Plan (1948-1953) African Campaign (1950-1953) Iraqi Three Year Plan (1950-1953) British Two Year Plan (1951-1953) Indian Nineteen Month Plan (1951-1953) South American Two Year Plan (1951-1953) Central American One Year Plan (1952-1953) Ten Year Crusade (1953-1963) Northeast Asian Six Year Plan (1957-1963)

Universal House of Justice

Second Epoch (1964-2021)

Nine Year Plan (1964-1973) Five Year Plan (1974-1979) Seven Year Plan (1979-1986) Six Year Plan (1986-1992) Three Year Plan (1993-1996) Four Year Plan (1996-2000) Twelve Month Plan (2000-2001) Five Year Plan (2001-2006) Five Year Plan (2006-2011) Five Year Plan (2011-2016) Five Year Plan (2016-2021)

Third Epoch (2021-)

Twelve Month Plan (2021-2022) Nine Year Plan (2022-2031)

The Five Year Plans were a series of plans that took place from 2001 until 2021 under the leadership of the Universal House of Justice, involving the Bahá’ís of the world in an organized effort to carry out the provisions of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan. The end of these plans coincided with the centenary of the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. During this series of plans, the Bahá'ís of the world increased their capacity for service, in the form of instituting, consolidating and providing the core activities which are expected to help to shape future society at the local level. The Bahá'í world was divided into around 17,000 clusters, each of which worked towards the same set of goals, although actual implementation was unique to each cluster. During the series of plans, devotional meetings involved more individuals in worship and channelled more people into organised (yet flexible) study circles; more children were enrolled in children's classes and moved up into junior youth groups. Other meetings, such as firesides, as well as individual conversations, also drew people into this process.

Action initiated at world level

The above paragraph refers largely to action initiated in accordance with the Plans, but at a more local level. Another aspect of every plan was whatever initiatives were taken directly by the Universal House of Justice itself or by its agencies. A clear example would be the multiplication of Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs. Chile was chosen to be the site of the first House of Worship for South America. This was followed by steps to bring this decision into reality. Building a House of Worship in Chile meant that each continent had a "continental" House of Worship. Once building work in Chile had been launched, the announcement was made that two further countries (Papua New Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo) were to have Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs for national use, and, further, that five lesser ones would be built for local cluster use. These were to be built in Vanuatu, Cambodia, Kenya, India and Colombia.

See also

• Five Year Plan (2001-2006)
• Five Year Plan (2006-2011)
• Five Year Plan (2011-2016)
• Five Year Plan (2016-2021)