The Council of Wisdom

According to its website, The Council of Wisdom " is an international, interfaith community of broad-minded, forward-thinking people sharing ideas and working together to create a better world.Founded in March 2009 and legally incorporated as a nonprofit organization in the state of Virginia, USA, the Council of Wisdom already has members from 13 countries including the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Tanzania, Nigeria, England, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and Poland. Our members come from a wide diversity of spiritual backgrounds including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Baha'i (see Baha'i Faith), and Unitarian Universalism."

In elaborating upon its wider aims, the organization's official website states that "The Council of Wisdom envisions itself becoming a major global institution connecting leaders, thinkers, and creative workers from diverse fields such as religion, science, the arts and humanities. We intend to become a vast, all-embracing, nongovernmental parliament of progressive intellectuals from all over the world, using online forums and local meeting groups to facilitate constructive dialogue and develop collaborative projects and plans of action on important issues." Amongst the organizations proposals is the creation of an integrated list containing what it terms "the best options for giving to charity, the best ways to invest your activist time and energy, and the best of progressive and forward-thinking culture".

In promoting this proposal, the Council's website states: "Imagine the convenience and the power of such a list — especially if its contents were determined by thousands of broad-minded, curious, intelligent people sharing their ideas, discussing and voting. The Council of Wisdom is a special place on the internet where you can be an active part of making such a list come into being, and then use it constructively along with many other people to help change the world."

On a technical level, the organization suggests that "the Council of Wisdom works on some similar principles as Wikipedia, Digg, Facebook, and other revolutionary web-based organizations. It is a carefully planned yet organic system for bringing people together, sharing ideas and opinions, and causing the best and most popular ideas and their creators to gain attention and support — as a natural result of the decisions and actions of many people combining to reveal collective wisdom.Full members of the Council of Wisdom are called Councilors. Any Councilor may propose an idea for an organization, individual, or project that people should donate money to; a petition or resolution that people should sign; a statement of support for a book, work of art, invention, and the person who created it, etc. These proposals, called bills, are debated in forums moderated by leaders of the Council. The most popular ideas are studied by researchers and committees and referred back to the body of members if viable and worthy of consideration. Final decisions are made by a democratic vote of all Councilors."

"The Council of Wisdom and the Vision of the Baha'i Faith"
In explaining his perception of the relationship between the Council and the Baha'i Faith (see A Vast, All-Embracing Assembly:The Council of Wisdom and the Vision of the Baha'i Faith, the organization's founder Eric Stetson states that the "Council of Wisdom aims to become a "vast, all-embracing assemblage" such as Baha'u'llah prophesied would come into being -- an assembly of people from all nations, all races, all religions, cultures and backgrounds -- sharing their ideas, discussing and deciding upon the best ways to promote the "peace and tranquility of the world and the advancement of its peoples."

As a former member and critic of the Baha'i Faith, Stetson has suggested that the essential concept behind the formation of the Council of Wisdom was "at least in theory, [an idea that] would resonate with many Baha'is and former Baha'is. There are numerous people -- either members of the Baha'i Faith or ex-members -- who are disillusioned with the direction the Baha'i Faith has taken. They yearn for something more broad-minded, democratic, and service-oriented; not a sectarian religious organization with an increasingly entrenched leadership, top-down mentality, and focus on making converts. The Council of Wisdom is designed to fill a void that the Baha'i Faith organization itself is, for whatever reasons, unable or unwilling to fill.

Board of Directors

 * Rev. Eric Stetson
 * Heba Albeity
 * Samira Sharif
 * Dr. Zahid Rana
 * Marianne Julian Rushaigo
 * Justin Pickering
 * Tarek Nahabet
 * Maki Linda Kiswar
 * Logan Geen
 * Eliserena Kimolo

Committees
The Council of Wisdom states that it currently has 16 Standing Committees for "specific fields and purposes", as follows


 * Membership Committee — Considers membership applications, restoration of rights to members on probation, and impeachment bills. Also deals with moderating the forums.
 * Poverty & Disaster Relief Committee— Deals with bills about providing general relief and assistance to the impoverished, and helping people and communities recover from disasters, both natural and human-caused.
 * Economics, Commerce & Labor Committee— Deals with bills about economics, business, employment and unions, including ethical issues and concerns about products and services, business practices, and treatment of workers.
 * Education Committee — Deals with bills about education of all types and levels.
 * Health Committee — Deals with bills about physical and mental health care, medicine, epidemiology, family planning, etc.
 * Environment Committee — Deals with bills about the natural environment and interactions between humans and their surroundings, which may include agriculture, urban planning, etc.
 * Human Rights Committee — Deals with bills about freedom and justice for individuals and communities, including women's rights, rights of minorities, children, the mentally and physically disabled, criminals and the accused, etc.
 * Peace & Conflict Resolution Committee — Deals with bills about conflicts in the world, including war, terrorism, genocide, and disputes between nations and groups.
 * History, Anthropology & Sociology Committee — Deals with bills about history and the structure and development of human societies and cultures.
 * Philosophy, Spirituality & Religion Committee — Deals with bills about philosophical and spiritual/religious groups, beliefs, movements, thinkers and leaders, their statements and activities, and related programs and issues.
 * Science & Technology Committee — Deals with bills about scientific research and discoveries, technological development, and related issues.
 * Journalism Committee — Deals with bills about journalism, news media, film documentaries, much factual non-fiction writing, and other similar phenomena and products.
 * Literature Committee — Deals with bills about fiction and literary books, poetry, short stories, some essays and articles, and other forms of literature.
 * Music Committee — Deals with bills about all forms of music, and may also include mixed media productions that heavily involve music.
 * Visual Arts Committee — Deals with bills about visual arts, such as painting, sculpture, architecture, landscaping and various forms of design, and some film.
 * Performing Arts Committee — Deals with bills about performing arts, such as theater, dance, and most film.

Articles and Resources

 * Official Website of the Council of Wisdom
 * The Council of Wisdom Documents
 * How It Works
 * Toward the World We Dream Of: Globalization, Cultural Renaissance and the Urgent Need for Visionary Thinking and Action, by Eric Stetson, founding Executive Director of the Council of Wisdom.
 * A Vast, All-Embracing Assembly: The Council of Wisdom and the Vision of the Baha'i Faith, by Eric Stetson, accessed November 3, 2009.
 * FAQ
 * Bill Templates- Shows the appropriate format of bills and the required language to include in each one.
 * Bylaws of the Council of Wisdom-(.doc File)
 * Policy of the Council of Wisdom-(.doc File)

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Eric Stetson
 * Baha'i Faith