The Representatives of the Baháʼís of the UAE participated and helped to organize an Arabic language seminar entitled: “The Role of Equality and Coexistence in Enhancing Social Prosperity in a World Driven by Innovation and Digital Transformation,”. The event was held at the BIC’s New York Office, in conjunction with the 67th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. It was organized by BIC delegates from Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates, along with the Representative of the BIC to the Arab region in Cairo.
With a participation of over 100 people from various parts of the world - some had joined virtually - more than one paper was presented at this seminar and it was in conjunction with the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) of the United Nations from 6th to 17th March, 2023, it is considered the largest annual gathering for the equality and empowerment of women. This year, the Commission focused on innovation, digital transformation and education in the age of digitalization in order to close the gap between the sexes in the fields of technology and digitalization.
The paper prepared by the representative of the Baháʼís of the UAE and presented by Dr. Roeia Thabet, presented some of the values and fundamental concepts of equality between men and women that are the principle requirement for social development in this age of technology. She said: ‘The increased acceptance of unity and equality between men and women is a distinguishing feature of the age we live in. It is a marker that bears the glad tidings of a gradual progress towards a world civilization that is based on justice, tolerance and prosperity for all members of human society. In order to enhance the values of equality and social prosperity there must be a unified awareness that human diversity is the cause of enrichment and the cornerstone of an ever-advancing society.’ She added that: ‘Progress in achieving gender equality on every level of social life is in itself a measure of success of any program that works for the development of society.’ She also presented questions in order to read the reality more closely, such as: ‘What are the beliefs, standards and practices that must be adopted by society over the coming years in order to establish purposeful and wholehearted equality between men and women? Not equality as a result of compassion or selflessness, but a genuine belief in the need for the contribution of women to bring about progress in society.’ She added: ‘If we look at humanity as a bird with two wings, one is the woman and the other is the man, this bird can only fly and soar high if both wings are equally strong and equally developed. And so, the progress of women is essential to the progress of man as a whole.’
The participation of the Baháʼí International Community is based on how the values and virtues that go beyond basic human nature, such as; honesty and integrity, searching for truth and sense of responsibility can be expressed further in digital technology and also, how local communities can participate in discussions of the effect of technology in their communities.
