Delegates of the Baha’i International Community (BIC) joined wide-ranging consultations last week on links between decent employment, social inequalities, and ecological sustainability, at the 61st session of the United Nations’ Commission for Social Development.

“The themes of this Commission raise vital questions around how to promote flourishing societies that draw effectively on the capacities of all their members,” said Liliane Nkunzimana, Representative of the BIC and head of the Baha’i delegation. “What is the purpose of employment? What kind of lives conduce to human fulfillment? What kind of societies do we seek to create together?”

Among the BIC’s contributions to the Commission was a formal statement entitled “Employment and Beyond: Drawing on the Capacities of All to Contribute to Society,” which explored various models of how society can benefit from individuals’ innate talents and abilities.

“A much fuller conception is needed of the many kinds of contributions that promote a flourishing society, along with practical means to support them,” the statement noted. “The aim must be societies that draw effectively on the capacities of all their members.”

Partnering with the United Nations NGO Committee on Ageing, the BIC hosted a side event to the Commission, focused on reimagining the future of work to meet the needs of humanity. 

Among the side event’s speakers was BIC delegate Arash Fazli, Head of the Baha’i Chair for Studies in Development at Devi Ahilya University in Indore, India. Fazli highlighted the need for an understanding of development that builds on the strengths of local communities and involves the masses of humanity owning their own development. 

“Development has to meet people at the level where they are, build their capacity to reflect on their local realities, and innovate on the basis of their own reading of those realities,” Fazli said, “rather than having an expert come and tell people what their future is.”  

BIC delegates Alphonsine Sefu and Elizabeth Moshirian spoke on a civil-society organized panel on youth employment, exploring how work might be structured to benefit from the full contributions of young people. 

“Work is one of the many elements of life and … the capabilities and skills that can be developed outside of the workplace have the potential to enhance both one’s well-being and the very work one does,” Sefu noted. 

“Every human being has inherent dignity and the capacity to make a meaningful contribution to society,” Moshirian added. “The fact that this is not always recognized … reflects some of the fragmented values of society today, such as those that justify selfishness, reward exploitation, excuse indifference, and glorify consumption.”

BIC delegates Fazli and Nkunzimana also participated in a Civil Society Forum session focused on the need to reshape economic and labor paradigms, as a means to achieving social development objectives.