331. Translation and Dissemination of Dawn of the Light

331

**Translation and Dissemination of Dawn of the Light **

21 June 2019

To all National Spiritual Assemblies

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

331.1 As you know from the letter dated 1 June 2018 concerning the bicentenary of the Birth of the Báb, the Universal House of Justice has commissioned the production of a film for that occasion. We have been asked to share the following information to assist you in making the necessary preparations for the wide dissemination of the film and its use during the bicentenary celebrations being organized across your communities. Naturally, the exact manner in which it is utilized by the friends will largely depend on local circumstances.

331.2 The film, titled Dawn of the Light, will be approximately 45 minutes in duration. It portrays several friends from different continents as they relate their own personal search after truth and meaning. These individuals share their discovery that God has sent two Divine Manifestations—the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh—Whose Teachings are revolutionizing human thought and behaviour. It is a discovery that is inspiring the efforts of many across the globe to serve humanity and to contribute to the movement of populations towards a new pattern of life.

331.3 It is expected that by mid-August 2019 a low resolution version of the film, together with the full transcript in English and relevant technical information, will be made available to National Assemblies to enable the preparation of subtitles and voice-overs in local languages. It would be advisable for you to determine in advance, in consultation with the Counsellors, the languages into which you will translate the film and to appoint a team of translators who can undertake this work immediately after you receive the transcript.

331.4 The completed film, including the subtitled and voice-over versions prepared at the Bahá’í World Centre in Arabic, English, French, Persian, Russian, Spanish and Swahili, will be made available to view or download on the Bahai.org website before the end of September 2019. However, in order to allow sufficient time for the finalization of local-language versions of the film as well as for other preparations, the completed film and associated files will be made available to National Assemblies by mid-September. The House of Justice is aware that unreliable Internet access may prevent some Assemblies from downloading the film. Thus, arrangements will be made for these Assemblies to receive a copy of the film, and related files, on a flash drive….

331.5 It is the hope of the House of Justice that copies of the completed film will reach the friends and local communities in all parts of the world in a timely manner. You are thus encouraged to create, early on, plans for the widespread distribution of the film. Where technical

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or other obstacles limit viewing or screening of the film, you are asked to consider creative means through which it can be made available to as wide an audience as possible….

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

Department of the Secretariat