You will no doubt be familiar with the guidance provided by the Universal House of Justice in its Riḍván 2010 message concerning “certain fundamental concepts” that pertain to instances of social action pursued by Bahá’ís, which would include social and economic development projects. Among these are the principles that “while social action may involve the provision of goods and services in some form, its primary concern must be to build capacity within a given population to participate in creating a better world” and that “social change is not a project that one group of people carries out for the benefit of another.” Indeed, such endeavours are best initiated from within the communities they are intended to benefit, and great care must be exercised so as to ensure that the resources available from outside the community do not define the nature of the projects undertaken. In places around the world where the process of growth is advancing well, the enhanced capabilities fostered within individuals by the training institute process are naturally giving rise to sustainable programmes of social action at the grassroots, as it is the members of a given community who are in the best position to understand their social reality, assess their needs, and trace their own path of progress. For this reason, Bahá’ís are discouraged from designing and implementing development projects in countries other than their own.
- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 22 October 2012 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; compilation: ‘Social Action’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, August 2020, online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)
