Sixty people recently gathered at the home of Aghdas Javid in Dundas to celebrate UN Day. People from Hamilton, Six Nations, Saudi Arabia and Israel crowded into her living room to listen to Graeme MacQueen speak on the relevance of the UN in world affairs today and Anne Pearson talk about the roles of the Baha'i international community and her grandfather, Lester B. Pearson, at the UN.

Dr. MacQueen, retired professor of religious studies at McMaster, said, "We have to awaken from the chaos of world conflict and co-operate through the agency of the United Nations. Humanity does its best when its intelligence is pooled and directed.

"It takes intelligence to develop weapons and wage war, and it takes a different kind of intelligence to solve problems. All of us, great and small, need to develop this different kind of intelligence with a common morality."

Dr. Pearson, who teaches religious studies at McMaster University, said Baha'is have long believed in the need for the establishment of international institutions and laws that can implement universal standards of justice and human rights for the peace and security of all peoples.

Accordingly, Baha'is have continuously supported the work of the UN since its inception in 1948, she said.

Consultative status

Today, the Baha'i international community at the United Nations is accredited with consultative status at the UN Economic and Social Council, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and many other UN agencies.

"While that humanity has been going through its most tumultuous period in its history, we stand at the threshold of our collective maturity," said Dr. Pearson.

One barrier to peace building at the UN has been nations focusing on their self-interest at the expense of the interests of the whole. She said that her grandfather, Lester B. Pearson, often observed that although a certain amount of patriotism is normal, unbridled nationalism must be set aside for the well being of the planet.

Entertainment was provided by Hamilton opera singer Margaret Bardos and classical Persian drummer Rouzbeth Rahimpour. The evening closed with a cutting of a UN cake.