The Bahá'í community offers an open and welcoming environment for youth who want to strive for high ideals. They will be able to enjoy learning and working together with other like minded youth, and indeed people of all ages, since there is a great deal of mixing between different age groups in the community.

To those who are in the stage of life of emerging into adulthood, the Bahá'í Faith offers goals that are inspiring and principles that will endure.

The Bahá'í teachings encourage youth in their idealism and their hope for the future, boosting their confidence during the period when they are forming their personal values, and making many decisions that will set the course of their lives.

It is in youth that the mind is most questing and the spiritual values that will guide the person's future behaviour are adopted.

Involvement in the Bahá'í community supports youth in three arenas of their development.

First, the foundation of a person's achievements is the formation of a good character. This is fostered by having a spiritual outlook on life, in contrast to the materialism that pervades society. Through study of the Bahá'í sacred writings, individually and in study groups with others, youth have the opportunity to learn concepts that enable them to make sense of life, and live it to the full.

The second arena is participation in the work of the Bahá'í community to promote the betterment of the world. This gives youth an outlet for their tremendous energy and vitality, in the form of service to others. Combined with a positive vision of the future, such service is a great antidote to worries about dangers to the wellbeing and security of the human race, which naturally arise in the minds of youth who who witness the many major crises that the civilisation is facing.

Third, the Bahá'í teachings encourage people to dedicate themselves to their trades or professions and to achieve excellence in their skills. Work done in the spirit of service is seen as a form of worship. Therefore, the work ethic of the Bahá'í community promotes among youth a desire to succeed in their studies, training and professional development. With such an attitude, youth prepare themselves well for their responsibilities later in life, when they in turn will need to earn a living and support their own families.

Youth who are looking for a way of life that is spiritually satisfying, and parents who want to encourage their children to develop a strong sense of purpose, may well find that joining in some of the activities of the Bahá'í community offers excellent opportunities for personal growth.