By Arthur Lyon Dahl, President of the International Environment Forum
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With all the crises in the world today, hope is in short supply, yet this is something in which faith communities have a comparative advantage. A recent example is the 36th annual conference of ebbf – Ethical Business Building the Future, a Bahá’í-inspired professional organization addressing ethics in business. Its conference on the Greek coast near Athens on 16-19 April 2026 brought together 155 participants to discuss “Reorienting towards hope”.
As the ebbf board put it:
To reorient towards hope is to turn consciously toward what builds, integrates, and uplifts even while disintegration is visible around us. It is to understand that history is not moving toward inevitable collapse, but through a process in which a new and more just order is gradually emerging. Gradual change, as we know, often appears invisible until suddenly it becomes undeniable.
When survival feels threatened, hope disappears, paralysis sets in. But we are not paralyzed, we are hopeful, we are strong, we are determined. We foster a spiritual love-in-action level of hope that allows a community that is the sum of the actions of individuals who share the ability to see both the importance of their actions and the potential of others when hope is present.
In times of difficulty, it is often not the grand institutions that hold society together, it is communities. It is small businesses that provide employment when insecurity rises. It is local entrepreneurs who create financial stability for women, who support families, who offer dignity through work. It is organizations that ensure people are not left alone when fear and uncertainty increase.
True prosperity is not merely economic growth. It is the welfare of people. It is the well-being of communities. It is the cultivation of dignity. It is the alignment of material systems with spiritual values.
Economic life is not separate from spiritual life. Our workplaces are not neutral territories. They are arenas where trust can be strengthened or eroded; where unity can be fostered or undermined; where dignity can be honored or neglected. In competitive, short-term-mindset, stressed workplaces, how can we cultivate environments of safety? When people feel unsafe, there is no room for hope. But when even one colleague experiences respect, kindness, and genuine connection, something shifts. Reorienting towards hope may begin with a simple act: reconnecting with one person. Deciding to listen deeply, expressing sympathy, choosing integrity, even creating a micro-community of trust inside a larger system.
We strive to see humanity as one. We are detached from divisive narratives and seek the common good beyond borders. In a time when people are afraid even of what the next three weeks may bring, when trust in the nobility of human beings is at risk of erosion, our task is to demonstrate another perspective: that humanity is capable of integration as well as disintegration; that civilization is not destined for destruction but is moving through turbulence toward its betterment.
The conference programme started by asking “ What does it mean to consciously reorient towards hope?” Seeing reality clearly, recognising sources of hope, reorienting internally, learning about practices that translate hope into action, and building communities that sustain hope. Participants moved from reflection to understanding, leading to action and responsibility. Much of the time was spent in workshops, artistic activities and group discussion so that everyone could participate and contribute actively. By the end of the conference, a collective positive spirit radiated hope as the participants from over twenty-five countries across all continents returned to share their renewed optimism founded on spiritual values in their communities and workplaces.
With hope being the theme of the coming IF20 Conference, this is something that all of our faith communities can bring to a world suffering from so many negative influences, whether individually, in our communities, at work, and in the framework of G20 negotiations and debates.
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Dr. Arthur Lyon Dahl is the President of the International Environment Forum and a retired senior official of UN Environment. He has over 50 years of experience in sustainability and more than 20 years with intergovernmental organizations. He has consulted sustainability projects and conducted environmental assessments for the World Bank, World Economic Forum, UNESCO and UNEP. He received his education from Stanford and University of California, Santa Barbara.