Office of Public Information
The Office of Public Information is based at the World Centre in Haifa, Israel, with a branch office in Paris. The Bahá’í International Community's Office of Public Information (OPI) oversees and organizes public information activities throughout the worldwide Bahá’í community in conjunction with a network of National Public Information Officers (NPIOS) who carry out the external affairs and public information work of National Spiritual Assemblies.
Activities[edit]
The Haifa Office receives dignitaries and other important visitors to the World Centre. From April 21, 2004 to April 20, 2005, the office arranged 298 special visits for some 2,561 dignitaries, leaders of thought, and prominent people from 70 countries. Visitors included diplomats, religious leaders, physicians, professors, parliamentarians, researchers, military officials, educators, students, journalists, tour guides, business people, and members of civil society and nongovernmental organizations.
The Office received 26 ambassadors from 20 countries as well as other government ministers and officials, including those from Australia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Finland, India, Latvia, Nigeria, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan.
The Office also received film crews, reporters, journalists, producers, and photographers from local and international television and radio stations. Much of the media coverage centered on the gardens and the Shrine of the Báb as popular tourist attractions in Haifa.
The Office of Public Information's Paris branch contributes to the work of the Bahá’í International Community by assisting with public information initiatives and training in Europe and the francophone world and through continued involvement with the European Union, UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization), and Eastern Europe's Stability Pact (formerly the Royaumont Process)[1]. This year, the Office supported the implementation of a new Happy Hippo Show project in Bulgaria, titled "Roma and Juliet," which promoted interethnic, interreligious, and intercultural dialogue. The project included 20 performances in 11 different towns and involved about 1,100 youths.
The Office's ongoing efforts to support national Bahá’í communities in their public information efforts included organizing the 11th annual European Public Information Management Seminar, in Budapest, Hungary, in July 2004. The seminar focused on different aspects of work with the media and on interfaith dialogue. A total of 60 participants from 28 European countries representing 26 National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies in Europe participated in the seminar.
As part of its partnership with UNESCO for the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence against the Children of the World, the Paris Office continued assisting European National Spiritual Assemblies and Bahá’í-inspired associations to post their respective projects on the UNESCO Website dedicated to the International Decade.
The Office offered support to various Bahá’í-inspired nonprofit organizations in Europe and also oversaw the production and publication of the French edition of One Country magazine, as well as the European Public Information Bulletin. During the past year (2004-2005), the Office collaborated with the National Spiritual Assembly of France in the production of a video in English and French, entitled Promoting Unity in Diversity, about the two Bahá’í exhibitions held at the European Parliament in 2004[2].
The Office of Public Information's publications, both print and Web-based, are intended to provide news and information about the activities of the Bahá’í International Community. The official Website of the Bahá’í International Community is the flagship site of the Bahá’í presence on the Web and receives an average of 50,000 visitors monthly[3]. The Bahá’í World News Service continued its fourth year of publication via its Website, receiving more then 60,000 visits per month[4].
Directors[edit]
| Name | Served |
|---|---|
| Douglas Martin | 1985 - 1993 |
| Douglas Samimi-Moore[5][6] | ???? - 2009[7] |
| Robert Weinberg | 2009 - 2013 |
Notes[edit]
- ↑ For more information on the BIC's involvement in this initiative, see The Bahá’í World 1998-99 (Haifa: World Centre Publications, 2000) pp. 145-150.
- ↑ For more information, see The Bahá’í World 2003-2004 (Haifa: World Centre Publications, 2005), pp. 113-118.
- ↑ http://bahai.org
- ↑ http://news.bahai.org
- ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/368/
- ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/79/
- ↑ https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/spiritofthings/bahai-shrine-in-haifa/3160414
References[edit]
- The Universal House of Justice. The Bahá’í World - An Internationl Record 2004-2005. Baha'i World Centre, Haifa: World Centre Publications. ISBN 0-85398-970-2.
