Passing the Torch—Change Is in the Air at Urantia Book International School
Passing the Torch—Change Is in the Air at Urantia Book International School
By Georges Michelson-Dupont, international vice president, manager of translations, and former trustee-liaison to UBIS, Urantia Foundation, Recloses, France
Editor’s Note: In mid-1998, Georges shared his ideas of harnessing the outreach potential of the nascent World Wide Web with Dorothy Elder. As a retired educator, Dorothy immediately embraced Georges’s vision to offer options to isolated Urantia Book readers around the world, and proceeded to found the Urantia Book Internet School. After a solid twelve years of steady growth, Dorothy retired and handed the reins to Georges. Under his benevolent guidance and a strategic ten-year expansion plan, UBIS continued to grow and thrive. Trained volunteers now span the globe, offering free online courses to fellow readers in seven languages, with more to come. Twenty-five years later, UBIS (now called Urantia Book International School) is recognized as an efficient, effective, and far-reaching educational outreach service to students of The Urantia Book around the world!
After 14 years at the head of Urantia Book International School (UBIS), it pleases me to pass the torch to my dear friend and sister in spirit, Olga López of Barcelona, Spain, to succeed me as the UBIS liaison to the trustees of Urantia Foundation. Olga will oversee the continued development of our online school, seeking out the highest quality courses which offer students around the world an opportunity to study The Urantia Book in their own language, within a culturally diverse environment.
Decades of Leadership
Olga has been a reader since 1995. She learned about The Urantia Book through the novels of J. J. Benítez, and eagerly searched for the source of such extraordinary information about the organization of the universes and the life of Jesus. Since that time, spreading the teachings has been her passion.
In 1998 Olga attended her first conference in Spain. From 2004 to 2012 she was the president of Urantia Association of Spain. She also served as an associate trustee of Urantia Foundation from 2008 to 2012.
Olga joined the UBIS board in 2011 and committed to organize a Spanish branch. Starting as the sole Spanish-speaking teacher-facilitator, Olga trained and mentored a loyal and enthusiastic group of volunteers who formed committees tasked with preparing, reviewing, and scheduling the courses for each term. Today the Spanish branch offers five courses of varying levels and topics each trimester, as well as a monthly UBIS Spotlight Series for Spanish speakers.
A Bit of History
The long and varied history of UBIS spans 25 years since its inception in 1999 by founder Dorothy Elder. It was the first online school devoted exclusively to facilitate study of The Urantia Book. By the time I replaced Dorothy at the helm in 2010, UBIS was firmly rooted in a solid foundation, thus enabling us to evolve into the more decentralized and international school of today.
Many articles have been written about the school. I hope you will take a few minutes to read some highlights of our history.
• Celebrating the first ten years
• Dorothy Elder passes the torch to Georges
• Guiding principles and educational approach
A Look to the Future
I retire from my job as director of UBIS with a sense of accomplishment, but also a twinge of sadness. UBIS has been my “baby!” But at the age of 78, it is time to pass the torch and let other creative and talented individuals continue the adventure. I have greatly enjoyed working for UBIS, both as a leader and as a teacher-facilitator.
I take this opportunity to thank the dedicated UBIS team from the bottom of my heart. There are far too many members to name, but they know who they are!
Never have I witnessed so many volunteers from all parts of the world working together with such team spirit, responsibility, and self-sacrifice. As in any growing human enterprise, we've been through crises, but we've reaped many victories. Differences of opinion come second to the long-term interests of the school and its students. This is what has made UBIS what it is today—a vehicle of wholehearted service, dedicated to the dissemination of revealed truth to an ever-increasing number of readers worldwide. It comforts me to know that Urantia Foundation will continue to be a center of education for generations to come.