Special Edition Newsletter: On Ayyam-i-Ha and Meaningful Media

The following is our newsletter. You can get a copy sent directly to your inbox!

Happy Ayyam-i-Ha friends! 

We wish you and your family joyful celebrations for this holy period! This year we launched a new project called the Great Big Ayyam-i-Ha Bake Off! Thank you to everyone who shared their tasty creations with us! We’re working on creating something special with all the delicious submissions that we hope to share soon. In the meantime, feel free to explore all the videos, music, articles and more related to this joyous time of year!

This year Diana Pakzamir sent us a wonderful video of a great craft you can involve your children in for this season of service! Check out the description for more great ideas!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Baha’i Blog (@bahaiblog)

If you have any videos of your community’s Ayyam-i-Ha activities, please email them to [email protected] We’re always looking to share how Baha’is and their friends in Australia, and around the world, are celebrating! If you’re not sure how to capture your community activities, check out the resources in our Creator Hub or, if you’re interested in studying content creation in more depth, say, in a workshop, we have some great news!

Last Saturday, in Western Sydney, we held our first ever Meaningful Media workshop. The workshop’s goal is to build capacity and skills for individuals looking to use media to inspire people to participate in the transformation of society. 

The day began with friends arriving and mingling over some wonderful food. Then we settled into our seats and set the spirit of the day with some prayers and musical devotions. To get the creative juices flowing, we had a fun ice-breaker and shared a little about ourselves. Then we got into the meat of the content of the workshop. We studied a few documents from various Baha’i Institutions about the role and purpose of media. We explored its responsibility to further social cohesion and promote themes such as the honour of serving humankind and unity in diversity. 

We explored video as a medium after analyzing some example videos and delving into what content is appropriate to capture and share as well as the tone and wisdom we should strive to possess when capturing, sharing, or interacting with online content. Videos can assist with storytelling and supplement written reports, and it’s a great resource to inform and educate as well as entertain! We also learned some basic skills and techniques for filming and editing videos for social media.

Some reflections about the day included participants feeling empowered to capture videos and share them online. Others spoke about how we are all part of ‘media’ today and that the role and responsibility of upholding morals and principles online are relevant for everyone with access to the internet, both in terms of sharing and interacting with existing online content as well as contributing to this sphere positively and constructively with our own unique content. Many also felt clearer on what the purpose of creating media can be and enjoyed deepening on the subject with friends. And I think everyone enjoyed the goodie bags we shared as a thank you for coming along to our workshop! 

If you are interested in attending a Meaningful Media workshop in the future, please register your interest here: Future Meaningful Media Workshops

We hope to provide spaces like this to more areas around Australia in the coming months! And, as you may expect, a video overview of the day is underway, so keep an eye on TikTok and Instagram for when that comes out!

Posted by

Cherie Heggie

Hello, I’m Cherie! I grew up in Sydney, Australia, and currently live just west in the Blue Mountains, where my heart has always belonged. I’m a graphic designer, photographer, and general artist, having basic skills in a wide range of mediums and performing arts. I love learning new ways to live sustainably and sharing these ideas with my friends, family, and the local community.