The Universal House of Justice convened a Counsellors' Conference at the Bahá'í World Centre. [AWH39; BW19:29; VV122]
• The Universal House of Justice announcing that for the first time the Counselors would be helping National Spiritual Assemblies to form their own goals, rather than goals being assigned to communities from the World Centre, at the close of the conference. [2 January 1986]
• The gathering, held in the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, consulted on the opportunities and challenges facing the Bahá'í world community. It was attended by 64 Counsellors from the five continents. [BW19:29]
• See BW19:494, 504 for pictures.

The Universal House of Justice ended the Counsellors' Conference at the Bahá'í World Centre by announcing in a letter that the Bahá'í world has entered the fourth epoch in the Formative Age of the Cause. [AWH39–42; BBD79, 85; BW19:29; VV91]
• The seven major objectives of the Six Year Plan, to begin at Ridván 1986, were outlined. [AWH40]
• On the closing day of the Counsellors' Conference, the Universal House of Justice announced certain features of the Six Year Plan and the methods by which the national goals were to be worked out in consultation between the Counsellors and National Spiritual Assemblies. [Mess63-86p717]
• The year from Ridván 1992 was designated a Holy Year. [AWH40–1]

Start of the Institute Process

In its message of 26 December 1995 to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors the Universal House of Justice announced that a Four Year Plan would be rolled out at Ridván.

• See as well the Ridván Message 153

  As the term "institute" has assumed various uses in the Bahá'í community, a word of clarification is needed. The next four years will represent an extraordinary period in the history of our Faith, a turning point of epochal magnitude. What the friends throughout the world are now being asked to do is to commit themselves, their material resources, their abilities and their time to the development of a network of training institutes on a scale never before attempted. These centres of Bahá'í learning will have as their goal one very practical outcome, namely, the raising up of large numbers of believers who are trained to foster and facilitate the process of entry by troops with efficiency and love.

The inauguration of the International Teaching Centre Building at the World Centre with the meeting of the Institution of the Counsellors. Board members from 172 countries attended.
• Message from the Universal House of Justice date 14 January, 2001 addressed To the Conference Marking the Inauguration of the International Teaching Centre Building.
• This occasion was marked as "one of the historic happenings of the Formative Age". From the Ridván Message of 2000]
• Construction of the International Teaching Centre Building began in 1987 and was completed in October 2000. [BWNS131]
• For a full account of the event see BWNS131 and BW00-01p4148.

The Administrative Order was further developed by the Universal House of Justice in its message to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counselors of 9 January 2001 in which the concept of the "cluster" was first introduced. The cluster, a subdivision of the region, is to be formed on the basis of cultural, language, pattern of transport, infrastructure or the social life of the inhabitants.
• In its message of 12 December 2011 the Universal House of Justice stated that the cluster should have three coordinators appointed by the Training Institute, one concerned with study circles, junior youth groups and a third for children's classes.
• National Assemblies worldwide divided their countries into clusters on the basis of demographic, geographic, and socio-economic factors. A third of the resulting 15,000 clusters were in Africa.
• TP176 says that there are now (17 January 2003) close to 17,000 clusters worldwide, excluding those countries where, for one reason or another, the operation of the Faith is restricted. The number of clusters per country varies widely—from India with its 1,580 to Singapore, which necessarily sees itself as one cluster. Some of the groupings are sparsely populated areas with only a few thousand inhabitants, while the boundaries of others encompass several million people. For the most part, large urban centers under the jurisdiction of one Local Spiritual Assembly have been designated single clusters, these in turn being divided into sectors, so as to facilitate planning and implementation.

The conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors was held at the World Centre attended by 79 of the world's 81 Counsellors, from some 58 countries. [BWNS804]
• See the message from the Universal House of Justice to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors dated 28 December, 2010.
  • As of this date there were 170 Regional Bahá'í Councils in 45 countries.

Some 80 members of the Continental Boards of Counsellors met for a conference at the Bahá'í World Centre following the 12th International Bahá'í Convention. On that occasion, the Counsellors were able to reflect on major developments in Bahá'í communities around the world. In order to share their experiences some of their stories were recorded and made available via podcasts. The Counsellors discussed the impact of spiritual and moral education programs offered by the Bahá'í community on youth and the communities in which they live, drawing on experiences in Cambodia, Kiribati, India, Norway, Spain, and Timor Leste (or East Timor). [BWNS1264]
• Counsellors in Africa, Alain Pierre Djoulde, Clément Thyrrell Feizouré, Maina Mkandawire, and Judicaël Mokolédiscuss discussed endeavours in the field of education in that continent. [BWNS1269]
• The podcasts can be found here or on SoundCloud.

The Counsellors in all continents will be called to the Bahá'í World Centre in December 2021 to take part in deliberations on the general features of the Plan to be launched the following Riḍván. At the conclusion of that gathering, they are to be joined by members of the Auxiliary Boards for Protection and Propagation to consult on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead and on the decisive role that the Counsellors and their auxiliaries are to play in meeting them. [From a message from the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá'ís of the World dated 29 October 2020]