A Brief Introduction

The institute is an educational system centered on the moral and social progress of the individual, community and society.

It is implemented internationally and operates primarily at the local level—such as in neighborhoods and villages—gradually transforming people’s lives and building vibrant communities.

The institute’s programs have a socio-educational character of lifelong learning. They achieve this by coherently strengthening the scientific, social, and ethical aspects of the lives of participants in the programs, through the following “tools”: consultation (as the primary platform for communication), arts (as a primary means of reflection and expression on concepts), and social action (as a means of bringing about practical social change).

Historically, the training institute was established in the 1970s in Colombia. The national Bahá’í community there supported the efforts of local citizens and populations to help improve their own lives and their society—in brief, to become protagonists of social change, taking charge of their own collective development. Through continuous consultation, effort, and analysis of their efforts over decades, a series of courses was developed, known as “institute courses”. Over the following decades, these materials have been utilized by people all over the planet.

One driving force behind the training institute, then, is that as an educational system it belongs first and foremost to society, since it is the accumulated experiences of the world’s citizens themselves that determine the final form of the materials. Consequently, the programs take on different forms from place to place, according to the needs and preferences of the citizens. At the same time, any citizen aged 15 and above can be trained to offer these educational programs to their fellow citizens.

The programs are inspired by the values of the Bahá’í writings—such as the significance and impact of our actions, truthfulness, and kindness—and are open to everyone, so that citizens can share their thoughts on how these concepts can improve their lives.

The institute constitutes a unified educational system comprising three educational stages, as follows:

Children’s Program, ages 5–11

Junior Youth Program, ages 11–15

Program for Youth and Adults, ages 15+