49th ABS Annual Conference: Full Schedule

9:00am MDT

Dust Shaped Hearts - The Shape of Dust

Saturday August 2, 2025 9:00am - 10:15am MDT

In 1994 popular media was documenting the “Black American male” as a species that was headed for extinction. The words “O SON OF DUST!” became the foundation of the photographic project “Dust Shaped Hearts.” Photographer Donald Camp devised a photographic process that used dust (earth pigment) and light sensitized casein to make portraits of Black American men that would be much more archival than standard photographic materials. Working with the newspaper headshots in mind, Mr. Camp created a body of work that uses dust and milk to speaks of the unity of humanity.

Speakers

Donald Camp

Donald E. Camp is a professor emeritus at Ursinus College. He is a recipient of fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Pew Foundation for the Arts. His work is in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Delaware... Read More →

Saturday August 2, 2025 9:00am - 10:15am MDT
Glen 208 South building - 2nd level

Race Unity, Breakout

10:30am MDT

Beyond Cellphone Bans: Young People Learning to Interact Meaningfully with Media

Saturday August 2, 2025 10:30am - 11:45am MDT

Glen 208

Banning cell phones may be a good first step, but we can’t stop there. Join this interactive workshop to explore and apply practical strategies for empowering young people to self-regulate their use of media technology. Discover the transformative power of virtues like patience, moderation, and responsibility as guiding principles for navigating media such as video games, AI, social media, news, and movies. Drawing on their experience as media practitioners and their work implementing these concepts in schools and junior youth groups, the presenters will introduce participants to an emerging media literacy curriculum and invite them to share their insights.

Speakers

Nwandi Lawson

As the Curriculum Designer for Shiny Gems (shinygems.org), Nwandi is an educator and consultant specializing in media production and communications, with experience creating programming, strategies, and campaigns for broadcasters, nonprofits, schools, and government agencies.

Daniel Rinaldi

As the Executive Director for Shiny Gems (shinygems.org), Daniel has over 10 years of experience in multimedia production and education across the Americas, including his native Colombia. With a background in journalism, he’s led media literacy workshops for middle schoolers and... Read More →

Saturday August 2, 2025 10:30am - 11:45am MDT
Glen 208 South building - 2nd level

Media, Breakout

2:00pm MDT

Consultation: A Spiritual Technology for Transformative Times: A Hands-on Interactive Journey

Saturday August 2, 2025 2:00pm - 3:15pm MDT

Glen 208

The spiritual technology, consultation, stands alongside ubuntu and other indigenous circle methods that mute competition, dominance and hierarchy while fostering just, collective decisionmaking. Welcomed by comrades in Baltimore’s Black community, at work and in the field of service, it's one of the last tools Baha’is tend to share outwardly. After briefly reviewing key elements aligned between Bahá'í Writings, indigenous practices, some practical adaptations from John Kolstoe’s “Developing Genius” and the facilitators' work, we’ll collectively create guidelines to share for introducing consultation in our circles of action using interactive and computer assisted social research tools.

Speakers

Eliza Cooper

Eliza centers Black community to uplift all of mankind. She is versed in African-centered communal practices, e.g. ubuntu, and certified in several facilitation techniques hosting regular workshops and events, like Black Love Day. A friend of the Faith, she learned about consultation... Read More →

Geri Peak

Geri brings a liberatory lens to social transformation through evaluation, applied research, facilitation and coaching, integrating spiritual principles and methods into her efforts. Balancing Bahá'í service, family life, artmaking, cat fancying, food production, work and promoting... Read More →

Saturday August 2, 2025 2:00pm - 3:15pm MDT
Glen 208 South building - 2nd level

Community, Breakout

3:30pm MDT

Bringing Those Who Have Been Excluded into the Circle of Intimate Friends

Saturday August 2, 2025 3:30pm - 4:45pm MDT

Glen 208

As a family and addictions doctor with 30 years of experience working in Alberta, I would like to share experiences of helping people improve their health through consultation with patients, and creating the environment where a healing community can form amongst clinic patients and beyond. This presentation will include sharing by a member of an oft-ignored minority, and how the lack of consultation about health lead to a tragedy, and the moving beyond this to create better health for all.

Speakers

Tania Nordli

I became a Baha'i during my first year of medical school, and remain excited to this day of the power of unity and consultation for healing. I trained in family medicine and addiction medicine, and mostly worked from a solutions-focussed framework. I have worked in jails, psychiatric... Read More →

Saturday August 2, 2025 3:30pm - 4:45pm MDT
Glen 208 South building - 2nd level

Community, Breakout