Humanist Groups Newsletter no. 7 April May 2009

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1 Humanist Groups Newsletter no. 7 April May 2009 Dear Group Secretary & Group Members, Humanism here, Humanism there: it all comes together in Uganda Students perform at the Mustard Seed school The East African Humanist Leadership Conference was held on 23 rd -24 th February hosted jointly by IHEU (International Humanist and Ethical Union) and UHASSO (Ugandan Humanist Association) in Kampala. In attendance from the UK were North East Humanists Roger McAdam and Jack Jeffery (also Vice-President of IHEU), Hampstead and Central London Humanists Josh Kutchinsky (also a BHA trustee and representing Betsy with her mother and siblings, who receives a bursary via NEH funding the BHA at the conference) and South Cheshire and North Staffordshire s Steve Hurd who is also Chair of the Uganda Humanist Schools Trust in the UK. Josh Kutchinsky tells us why the 2009 conference was formed: The results of an earlier UHASSO conference and IHEU General Assembly in Kampala in 2004 had such a galvanising effect on Humanism in Uganda that this Leadership conference was in part intended to showcase some of the achievements to invited interested parties from other East African countries; Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda and Congo.... The three schools have now formed a Humanist Schools Association and the Uganda Humanist Schools Trust in the UK is providing an efficient vehicle for raising and transferring funds to the schools as well as working in partnership with them to help bring about model secular community schools. The schools provide education to local children aged who otherwise would probably have no education. Many are orphans as a result of HIV/AIDS. North East Humanists have raised 11,500 for the Isaac Newton High School in Masak, Uganda, since This February Jack and Roger saw first-hand the benefits that Ugandan Humanism has set an example of what it means to be a Humanist accrued as a result, not only of North East Humanists fundraising but also of humanist activities more widely. Roger writes in the NEH Spring newsletter: Two days at the Conference revealed many Humanist projects in East Africa and particularly in Uganda. There have been committed Ugandan Humanists since the 1990s but it was the IHEU Conference in Kampala in 2004 which acted as the catalyst for activity on several fronts with a perceived need for practical projects. Contd. pg 2 DOWNLOAD EVERY GROUPS NEWSLETTER SINCE JAN 2008 FROM: Humanist Groups Newsletter: Apr/May 2009 Page 1 of 6

2 Deo Sseekitooleko, East African Representative for IHEU, referred to the aspirations of Humanists to promote human rights and oppose all superstitions, and the decisions they took to be involved specifically in education and social welfare. Superstition of course is no mere nuisance in East Africa; one of the primary aims of the Uganda Humanist Association is to counter witchcraft and other irrational beliefs which can result in unnecessary suffering, social exclusion, or worse. North East Humanists contributions have enabled numerous children from poor families to attend the Isaac Newton school which otherwise would have been impossible. Donations generated through the New Humanist magazine have likewise supported students at A class debate at the Humanist Academy, Mpigi EMITOS young women s football team the Mustard Seed School, and donations now made through the Humanist Schools Trust < org> will also help pupils to attend the Humanist Academy in Mpigi. IHEU have funded a science laboratory and South Cheshire and North Staffs Humanists have provided text books and other resources. The Humanist schools are not just nominally supported by humanists, but offer a distinct education that is different in kind. Roger writes: Travelling in Uganda brings awareness of the very many secondary schools many of them boarding and nearly all established by religious organisations including Catholic and Fundamentalist Protestant. They re continuing expressions of a transfer of European beliefs and superstitions into Africa. The three Humanist schools are remarkable and express a distinctive Ugandan education grounded, in Deo s words, In a belief in humanity. They espouse critical thinking, scepticism, creativity and self respect. Other projects include two training centres in Kampala for disadvantaged women, and support group for university students, a further humanist women s organisation WOFEWO, opposing oppression and superstitions which women in particular can suffer at the hands of and which is also running workshops on HIV and sexual health and with support from Jean and Barrie Berkley also of North East Humanists, a football club for young women, to build confidence and raise self esteem. In just a few years Ugandan Humanism has set an example of what it means to be a Humanist, writes Roger McAdam. Humanism is about belief in humanity and being involved. Humanism in Uganda is liberating. He then quotes Peter Kisirinya (Isaac Newton school): Even in one of the most superstitious countries in the world, on the most superstitious continent, people are starting to turn to Humanism, a secular human rights oriented and rational scientific world movement. Barrie Berkley from North East Humanists was also meant to attend the conference, but due to family medical reasons was unable to do so. He was sorely missed, Josh Kutchinsky tells us, he has been one of the stalwart champions for Humanism in Uganda over many years. Our congratulations to all the stalwart champions involved at every stage! Humanist Groups Newsletter: Apr/May 2009 Page 2 of 6

3 A trip to the BHA equalities conference Mark and Alison Rawlinson of Coventry & Warwickshire Humanists attended the BHA s conference on religion or belief in equalities work in Birmingham. Writing in their March/April group newsletter, Alison says: Andrew Copson opened by pointing out that schools are perceived as being at the forefront of teaching about toleration and equality, even though in reality schools probably carry out more institutionalised discrimination than any other public organisation. Aside from the obvious bugbear of daily compulsory religious worship, he cited examples of children being told that they will believe when they get older, and one case where the teacher of a child whose parents were of the Baha i Faith flatly refused to believe that the child wasn t making it up.... He made a very interesting point that schools can apply to their local authority for determination which allows them to opt out of daily worship, and that some councils actively encourage this. Alison goes on to recount the contribution of Tony Pearce expressing the teachers unions concerns about faith schools, particularly City Academies and the erosion of staff s employment rights (the nonreligious and minority religious teachers being less likely to find a compatible school). He further explored the way in which religious selection contributes to the social and economic disparity which privileges faith schools. Alison discussed A C Grayling s lecture at length, calling it fascinating. Grayling used the example of Christians persecuted in Rome, and then Christians persecuting others once Constantine established Christianity as Rome s official religion, to demonstrate how quickly and decisively discrimination can come from all angles. For details on the project see: Essex satellites Essex Humanists satellite discussion groups, as mentioned at last year s GRAM (Group Representatives Annual Meeting) are still going strong, expanding the reach of Essex Humanists and offering more local alternatives to their main monthly meetings. In the next few months, the North, South and Southend Discussion Groups are looking at Humanism and Animal Rights, What it means to be British, and an opportunity to Stand on your Humanist Soapbox. Are additional, smaller discussion groups something that would benefit other groups and individuals? Cambridge questions The Cambridge Humanist Group committee is compiling a questionnaire to try to make the group more inclusive, responsive and effective and will be included in their summer newsletter. Questions range from what you expect as a member, whether your needs are being met, what issues are important to you and also a section on interests so we could try to match up members with similar pursuits. Spotted! Greater Manchester Humanists on BBC Manchester: Humanism Ireland takes Reverend to task Humanism Ireland, the joint magazine of the Humanist Associations of Ireland and of Northern Ireland, profiles Reverend David McIlveen and his curious comments on the Atheist Bus Campaign in its March-April edition. Complaints were upheld against a 540-word advert, placed by McIlveen s Sandown Free Presbyterian Church the day before last August s Pride events, which had described sodomy as a grave offence to every Bible believer who, in accepting the pure message of God s precious The Reverend s liberal attitude seemed to change when it came to the Atheist Bus Campaign word, express the mind of God by declaring it to be an abomination. The ASA described the ad as offensive and McIlveen retorted that no authority should take away our democratic freedom of speech. Regardless of whether one agrees or not in this case, the Reverend s liberal attitude seemed to change when it came to the Atheist Bus Campaign, which he described according to the Belfast Telegraph as an affront to those who hold their faith so dear. Humanism Ireland points out that: for many years, [bus drivers who are] atheists, agnostics and Humanists have not uttered a single word of protest about driving buses with the slogan: The fool hath said in his heart there is no God. Now, there s a real insult for you. Whereas the BHA slogan there s probably no God is merely expressing an impersonal opinion. Humanist Groups Newsletter: Apr/May 2009 Page 3 of 6

4 From Humanist Group Newsletters and Blogs Snippets of news, opinion and select upcoming events from affiliated Groups newsletters and blogs Cumbria: Wed 20 May Rev. Ben Phillips, Vicar of Stanwix, talks on Existentialism, Humanism and Christianity following from the group s correspondence via the Cumberland News. Feed us your news! We re always hungry. If your Group doesn t forward a newsletter to the BHA, why not start? We can t include your news, events or original opinion pieces unless we know about them. Dip into Humanism The North East Humanists will shortly be launching a new venture, Dip into Humanism. Those new to Humanism will be able to attend three sessions on the deeds, ideas and people of Humanism. The programme is under preparation and sessions will take place at monthly intervals with participants over two hours, 2 costs covering only the hire of the room. Lancashire (Blackburn): Wed 20 May Outreach event in Blackburn entitled Humanism: Any questions? at the Hornby Theatre, Blackburn Central Library. Hampstead: Tue 12 May Evening at the Unitarian chapel, Rosslyn Hill. A joint panel discussion with the Unitarians. Essex: Sun 21 Jun Maryam Namazie of One Law For All talks on Sharia Law in the UK, women s rights, and whether we should have one law for all? Reigate & District: Sun 17 May Richard Shepperton on a humanist response to the economic situation Cornwall: Tue 19 May Civilisation Crunch : Is it all coming to an end? A talk by Alan Hassell. South Dorset Somerset: and South Sat Somerset 25 : Sat 25 Apr Apr A joint meeting between the two Joint groups, meeting at the with Sun Inn, Dorset Burton. East Kent: Sun 21 Jun Patti Whaley, former Deputy Secretary of Amnesty International, currently working at Forum For the Future, talks on The Basis of Human Rights. Where do they come from? Details and websites of all affiliated Groups can be found at Click Humanist Groups in the main menu. Lancashire invites Blackburn aboard Lancashire Secular Humanists are running an innovative outreach event to Blackburn (the other side of the county from their usual venue) with a view to prompting independent activity in the town. The event called Any questions? has borrowed Atheist Bus imagery as a way of positioning the event and giving it relevance and wider appeal. The LSH newsletter congratulates: Ken, Julie and Dave [who] have worked extremely hard over the past months to organise this... not only conceiving & finalising the format & content but finding the venue, designing & distributing posters, along with the 1001 other things that have to be done before an event such as this can go ahead. Now - all we have to do is support it... We all have people who ask us time & again Just what is Humanism then? Work colleagues, friends & neighbours: well now you can bring them along to this meeting in Blackburn and they ll get to find out and ask questions. In another great idea, the group used their April meeting for a dry run of the Q&A session. Their members are also encouraged to follow up on their local press releases. By writing letters to these newspapers, referring to the event, you will keep the news fresh and relevant... the important thing is to keep the story live for as long as possible so as to encourage as many people as we can to attend. Humanist Groups Newsletter: Apr/May 2009 Page 4 of 6

5 Group with the youngest committee is open to all Meet the Committee of Leeds Atheist Society, left to right: Nicola Jackson, Rosie Price, Zoltan Connell, Laura Glendinning, Tom Leadbeather, Sophie Stringfellow, John Salter, Jonni Lomax, Norman Ralph, Chris Worfolk. Though it grew from a student society the Leeds Atheists are, in the words of outgoing president Norman Ralph, open to everyone. On the LAS blog he writes: Many of our new committee are just finishing their first years of study at university. In fact, this is by far the youngest committee we have ever had, yet strangely also one of the most experienced! Though they don t have humanist in the name Leeds is affiliated to the BHA, and so we reckon this makes them the youngest committee not just for Leeds but of any Local (as opposed to Student) humanist group in the country, ever. New president, Sophie Stringfellow, is inheriting an active and flourishing society with nearly 100 members. Spotted! Leeds in the Yorkshire Evening Post: South West London in at the start of the Richmond Inter-faith Forum Terry Rollinson, a South West London Humanist Group member and a BHA Local Development Project representative, attended a kick-off workshop on 18 March for Richmond Council s new Inter-Faith Forum. The SWLHG April newsletter explains: There was an inconclusive debate about the purpose of the forum: should it be a place for regular dialogue or a focal point in the case of inter-faith conflict? But it s clear that the Council is committed to making it work. We know that the whole idea of inter-faith dialogue is of little or no interest to some members. But many others support the idea and we had a successful joint Question Time We know that the whole idea of inter-faith dialogue is of little or no interest to some members meeting with the Kingston Inter- Faith Forum last year. The BHA has recently made representations to the Government in which... Sadiq Khan, agreed that Humanist representatives should be involved in relevant discussions on public service delivery and cohesion initiatives. The Committee s view is therefore that, if these forums exist, we should aim to make a constructive contribution if we can. Conference organiser Pepper Harow adds, The BHA values the importance of dialogue between religious and nonreligious people and champions the rights of all to practice their religion and belief as defined in international and national human rights law. The BHA campaigns to stop religious groups getting preferential treatment because of their faith, which does not stop us having constructive and meaningful dialogue with them. Humanist Groups Newsletter: Apr/May 2009 Page 5 of 6

6 Who s hosted? The BHA now provides the hosting for the home websites of a number of affiliated groups: Chester: chester.humanist.org.uk Humanists4Science: h4s.humanist.org.uk Hampstead: hampstead.humanist.org.uk Harrow: harrow.humanist.org.uk The HGN site: humgroups.humanist.org.uk Northern Ireland: nireland.humanist.org.uk North Yorkshire: nyhg.humanist.org.uk Promotion and Marketing: pmg.humanist.org.uk Sheffield: sheffiled.humanist.org.uk Watford: watford.humanist.org.uk Contact groups@humanism.org.uk at any time if your group needs a new web host. Hull and East Riding Grant Tim Stephenson of Hull and East Riding Humanists applied recently for a starter grant from the Sir James Reckitt Charity (a grant-making foundation specialising in community groups local to the Hull and East Riding area) to help with funds for the group. A referee was required and Hanne Stinson (BHA Chief Exec) was able to provide a letter giving evidence of the group s affiliation and the good standing of its organisers! Within just a few weeks Tim wrote back to let us know that the Hull and East Riding Humanist Group had been awarded a 150 starter grant and may also be eligible for a larger grant in the future. Local grant-making foundations like this are a good potential source of income for small community groups. It s what they are there for and may be able to cover the costs of new ventures which would otherwise represent financial risks. West goes West The BHA s volunteer photographer for the year, Andrew West, visited Cardiff Humanists March meeting and took photographs and notes on what makes humanists happy for his Happy Humanists project, the end result of which may be a book briefly profiling numerous individual humanists. If your group is interested in taking part, contact: andrew@happyhumanists.co.uk. AHS progress The executive members and trustees of the Federation of Atheist, Humanist and Secular Student Societies (AHS) came together from across the country to meet in Conway Hall on Saturday 2nd May. The planning meeting, also attended by Pepper Harow and Clare Huxley from the BHA, discussed the organisation s vision and mission and the details for their first AGM since the federation was formed last year and launched this February. The AGM is scheduled for June. Old swimmers never die Hampstead Humanist Society s March newsletter features the obituary of Peter Saunders, a member of the group since Peter was previously a long-time member of the Serpentine Swimming Club where he swam regularly for over fifty years, even in the depths of winter ( he had a theory that cold water removed static electricity ). His involvement was such that he became Lido Supervisor in the 1960s. He had been in the RAF during the war and afterward lived in Australia for some years. Reflecting the spirit of his largely secular funeral, Hampstead newsletter cites one quotation delivered at the ceremony: Old swimmers never die, they only wade away. Erratum Our apologies that in the printed version of the last issue we incorrectly named Norman Ralph, the President of the AHS, as Ralph Norman. Groups mentioned by name in this issue: Hampstead, Central London, South Cheshire & North Staffordshire, Coventry & Warwickshire, Essex, Cambridge, Greater Manchester, HUMANI, Cumbria, Essex, Lancashire, Reigate & District, Cornwall, Dorset, South Somerset, East Kent, Leeds, South West London, Chester, Humanists4Science, Harrow, HGN, PMG, Sheffield, Watford, Hull and East Riding, Cardiff, AHS. Produced by Bob Churchill, Membership and Web Manager <bob@humanism.org.uk> Additional content by Pepper Harow, Local Campaigns Officer <pepper@humanism.org.uk> Thanks to Ste ve Hurd and Roge r M cadam fo r pho to graphs from Uganda Submit news, ideas, or letters to Bob at: 1 Gower Street, London, WC1E 6HD or groups@humanism.org.uk or call Humanists do not agree about everything and some readers will disagree with some views expressed. The opinions of individual humanists are always interesting but are not, of course, necessarily BHA policy. Permission is obtained when using lengthier extracts from Groups newsletters, blogs, or similar published material. Thank you to all those who provide content either via publications or as produced specifically for inclusion. Humanist Groups Newsletter: Apr/May 2009 Page 6 of 6