History was made at the International URANTIA Association (IUA) conference in Helsinki in 1998 with the inauguration of the IUA Council of National Presidents and Vice Presidents. This council facilitates the interaction and cross-fertilization of reader ideas and activities across the globe.
The IUA was founded on the following principles:
- The respect for URANTIA Foundation's right to perpetually preserve inviolate the text of The URANTIA Book and its right to own the copyright and registered marks.
- The acknowledgment of, and loyalty to, the Declaration of Trust Creating URANTIA Foundation, which assigns the Trustees the responsibility to disseminate the teachings of The URANTIA Book and to devise, develop, and effectuate means and methods for such dissemination.
- The interdependence with URANTIA Foundation to foster the indepth study of The URANTIA Book and the orderly dissemination of its teachings.
In five years the IUA has grown to include National Associations in AustralialNew Zealand, Colombia, Finland, France, Peru, United States, and soon Canada and Estonia. There are twentyone Local Associations in the United States and three in Canada. Groundwork has been completed for the inauguration of an Internet University with a worldwide teacherleadertraining program. Here are a few highlights of global activities:
Russia—study groups are being formed. The difficulties caused by the unstable political situation there and the economic crisis that have troubled the distribution of the Russian translation will soon be resolved.
Norway—the Oslo study group, which was formed only two years ago, is gaining strength. A Norwegian translation effort is beginning. Talks are underway to form a multinational Association of the IUA to serve Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. A considerable number of Swedish and Norwegian participants attended the 1998 international conference in Helsinki.
Greece and Cyprus—the number of reader inquiries from the Greekspeaking world is increasing. There seems to be much interest in having the Revelation translated into Greek.
France—the French study groups are getting stronger. The French Association of the IUA, Association Francophone des Lecteurs du Le Livre d'Urantia (A.F.L.L.U), is volunteering to host the 2002 International Conference for the International URANTIA Association.
Belgium and Spain—talks are underway with Belgian and Spanish readers who wish to form National Associations of the IUA in their countries.
The Netherlands—study groups are gaining strength since the recent publication of the Dutch translation. A large number of Dutch readers participated for the first time in the 1998 IUA Conference in Helsinki.
Estonia—the Estonian translation effort is progressing steadily. An Estonian National Association of the IUA will be forming in the near future. Estonian readers are sponsoring a fiveday conference in August 1999. The English, Finnish, and Russian translations of The URANTIA Book are being sold in increasing numbers in Estonia.
Lithuania—there is an increasing interest in the Revelation as hundreds of people have been exposed to it through the activities of readers there.
Finland—the 1999 "Winter Days" Conference was held in January. A summer conference will be held in midJune. The 1998 IUA Conference held in Helsinki indicates that the Finnish readers are skilled at presenting meaningful and valuable study conferences. Study groups are doing well and gaining strength. More copies of The URANTIA Book are being sold per capita in Finland than in any other country. Since 1985 the Finnish Association has published a quarterly journal, and seminars and public discourses are regularly sponsored.
United Kingdom—regular study groups and an annual summer conference have been held for many years. A library placement project has been recently completed during which every major library was given a copy of The URANTIA Book.
Korea—as was seen at last year's Seoul Book Fair, Korea has a great interest in the Revelation. A reader group has already been established and is eagerly awaiting the completed translation, which will be published later this year.
Canada—three Local Associations of the IUA have been chartered, and a National Association is forming. Foundation offices are being established to serve both English and Frenchspeaking provinces.
Australia/New Zealand—our friends from "down under" have a long history of accomplishments. Their Library Placement Program is very successful, and their goal is to place books in libraries worldwide. They established a reference library of URANTIA Book related material and secondary works; have held an annual national conference since 1983; publish a quarterly newsletter; have study groups throughout the country; and have a semiannual day when study groups around both nations meet and study the same topic simultaneously.
USA—twenty-one Local Associations affiliated under the National Association of USUA are organizing local and regional conferences, publishing newsletters, creating and marketing calendars, and hosting study functions. One Local Association has coordinated a successful Prison Project whereby a URANTIA Book was placed in every Federal prison library in the United States. Another has blanketed its entire state library system with books. Still another group is disseminating the teachings with a "Thought Gems" Calendar of inspiring quotes from The URANTIA Book. It will soon be available in Spanish.
Since January 1998 new Local Associations of the USUA were formed in Puerto Rico, Colorado, KansaslMissouri, and Nevada. The United States is hosting "URANTIA 2000," the next IUA Conference, in New York City. It will be another opportunity for readers from all over the world to meet and share with one another.
Central and South America—The Peru and Colombian National Associations of the IUA held a joint conference last year. There are thousands of Spanishspeaking readers and many study groups throughout Mexico, Central and South America.
Israel—has a wellestablished study group of about 20 Russianspeaking readers.
India—books are being placed in libraries throughout India
Ghana—readers have formed a group there and have been requesting books.
Senegal—a long standing study group has exposed hundreds of new Frenchspeaking readers to Le Livre d'Urantia.
German, Portuguese, Italian, Lithuanian, and Swedish translations are progressing steadily, and we are receiving more inquiries from readers interested in those translations. We hope a Farsi (Persian) translation will soon be launched. URANTIA Foundation encourages all major language translations.
In addition to all of the above, the Foundation's Reader Service Department receives hundreds of phone calls and letters every month from readers all over the world who have found this Revelation and claim that their lives are being transformed by its teachings.
All Urantia is waiting for the proclamation of the ennobling message of Michael,. . . The hour is striking for presenting to Buddhism, to Christianity, to Hinduism, even to the peoples of all faiths, not the gospel about Jesus, but the living, spiritual reality of the gospel of Jesus. (The URANTIA Book, page 1041, par. 5)