The Association of Bahá'í Women (NI) held their annual conference in the Tara Centre in Omagh on 29 October. Elizabeth Palin reports.
A car load of us set off for Omagh and the ABW autumn conference. It was held in the Tara Centre, a lovely venue off a main street in the town. After registration we had lovely tea/coffee with scones, very welcome after the drive!
The conference was divided into short sections using a variety of speakers, presenters and activities and all based round the main theme Education and the Arts.
We were welcomed by Vida Lake and also by Christine Rogers from Omagh District Council. Rustam Jamshidi then said a prayer and that led into an audio-visual devotional prepared by Edwina and Arjang Agahi. Next up was John O’Mahony who read a poem from Roger White “Always it is Women” and then he introduced guest speaker Her Grace the Duchess of Abercorn. The Duchess, who is a descendant of the Russian poet Pushkin, talked about her establishment of a writing competition within the schools in Ireland and the work she does with the children, teachers and parents releasing the artistic power that is within us all.
After this we were all invited to have a go at circle dancing led by Eileen McElhatton. The circle just about filled the room. Then before lunch we had the pleasure of having Mary Ward sing for us.
We had a lovely lunch even though some had to wait for extra food to arrive as there were more people than were expected, always a pleasant surprise. At that time we had the chance to chat to old friends and meet new ones and also to examine the various pieces of art that were displayed round the room.
The afternoon session kicked of with a very energetic and moving display by Lights of Unity. One in particular is very apt for here in Northern Ireland – two families from different sides trying to keep their children away from each other. We then had an interesting talk from Dr Collette Ma’ani about how all five senses are used in learning and by not using them all education is lop sided and people do not develop as well as they should. Next came an inspirational AV presentation on Education and the Arts from Colin Palin.
The last presentation was a singing group called Mosaiq. They sang a variety of songs in various languages a capella - a lovely way to end an enjoyable day.
The Duchess of Abercorn (centre) and some of the speakers and others involved in making the day a success
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