With the 63rd session of the Commission for Social Development fast approaching, the Baha’i International Community (BIC) released a statement exploring key elements of “strengthening solidarity, social inclusion and social cohesion” that are highlighted in the Commission’s priority theme. 

Titled “Strengthening Solidarity: Social Cohesion as a Driver of Development,” the statement explores how and why the roots of numerous global challenges lie in how human beings view, value, respond to, and relate to one another.

“At the heart of addressing these challenges is the recognition of humanity’s growing interdependence and a sense of responsibility for the collective well-being” said BIC Representative Cecilia Schirmeister, who helped develop the statement and will lead the BIC’s delegation to the Commission this year.

Drawing on experiences of Baha’i communities worldwide, the statement explores how qualities such as trustworthiness, honesty, generosity, and cooperation serve as building blocks for creating more cohesive and prosperous communities.

“An essential need before the international community…is to deepen understanding of the process by which the relationships underlying the social fabric can be strengthened—and how such strengthening can assist a community to measurably improve its material and economic circumstances,” the statement reads. 

Such themes will be explored at a panel discussion organized by the BIC in parallel to the Commission. Along with other speakers, the event will feature two BIC delegates to the Commission, who will share local-level social development efforts from neighborhoods in Belgium and the Canary Islands. 

UN functional commissions of this kind provide an opportunity for Member States, UN agencies, and civil society organizations to take stock of progress made in areas of concern, assess lessons being learned, and consult on recommendations and next steps. Priority themes help shape those deliberations, and outcome documents capture points of consensus. 

The BIC’s event and statement both seek to contribute to the discourse and preparatory processes leading up to the Second World Summit on Social Development, taking place in Doha, Qatar, this November.