Young Humanists International

As the Young Humanists International Coordinator,  Javan works closely with young humanists worldwide, focusing on their development and growth as humanists.

Before joining Humanists International, Javan has been active in community work zeroing on environmental conservation, climate justice, human rights, and civic engagement advocacies since 2012. He is currently the Chief Executive of Humanists Alliance Philippines International. The co-founder and former pioneer president of the Association of Young Environmental Journalists, a youth-led environmental media organization. He is also the former Director for Design and Creatives of ATO-ClimatEducate Project, scholar alumni of Temasek Foundation International – Specialists Community Action and Leadership Exchange program in Singapore, and represented the Philippines during the ASEAN Plus Three Youth Environment Forum 2019 in Thailand.

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Ana Raquel Aquino is a Guatemalan lawyer specialized in public policies, good governance, and Human Rights by the Autonomous University of Madrid. She is the president and member of the board in Humanistas Guatemala. She has worked in the public sector and for several Non-Governmental/International Organizations advocating the topics of the right to health for indigenous communities in Guatemala, gender equality, legal empowerment, accountability, and social justice.

For her, humanism is not just a philosophy but a way of living with empathy with others. She does not believe you have to be religious in order to be a good-ethical person. Her ultimate goal and wishes for the whole American Continent: the separation between church and state in order to defend democracy.

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An organic chemist by training, DJ now works in a bioprocessing laboratory investigating cultured meat. He also founded Starter Culture, a Singapore-based food biotechnology start-up, which crafts novel fermented food products and upcycles food waste to create alternative sources of protein.

He currently serves as Vice President of the Humanist Society (Singapore), where he champions interfaith harmony, advocates for civil discourse, and defends secular spaces.

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Justice is a humanist and the current Communications Officer of the Humanist Association of Ghana (HAG). Justice’s role in HAG is to coordinate all communications of his organization in both online and offline media. As someone who believes in socialism, he wants to see a fair world and everyone having equal opportunities.

Aside from his work at the Humanist Association of Ghana, he is also an ardent Wikipedia volunteer and engages in volunteer activities around human rights, mental health, digital rights, and climate action. When he is not volunteering, Justice works as a Digital strategist and a Communications person.

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Andrea is an activist involved in many fields, all linked by the life experiences encountered. Andrea was born in Palermo, Italy, in 1992; when they were very young, they felt the humanist push and the need for a commitment in this direction. After freeing himself from the religious sect in which the family raised them, Andrea declared himself an atheist and approached the Italian Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics (UAAR).

Today Andrea lives in Bologna, Italy, and they’re a freelancer, working for non-profit projects and events as a fundraising consultant and partnerships developer. Andrea also sits on the Board of Gruppo Trans, a large empowerment group of trans* people, Centro Risorse LGBTI, a thematic research group, and NaKa, a youth center they helped found in a tough neighborhood in their hometown. Since May 2021, they have taken on the role of Regional Coordinator for Europe for Young Humanists International.

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Anthony Cruz Pantojas, MATS, MALS, BCC, (they/them) is the Humanist Chaplain and Coordinator of Africana Spirituality at Tufts University. In this capacity, Anthony supports the exploration and development of ethical inquiry through co-constructed projects with the campus community.

Anthony has worked to increase the visibility and impact of the Humanist Chaplaincy, and Humanism at large. They have garnered multiple grants, including from Interfaith America, to support student programming at the interstices of meaningful identity development, ethical leadership, and civic engagement. In 2022, the Humanist Chaplaincy was recognized with the prestigious University Award for Philosophical Diversity from the American Humanist Association.

Cruz Pantojasis a board member of the Secular Coalition for America, The Humanist Society, as well as the International Association of Chaplains in Higher Education. Additionally, they were selected to be part of the inaugural Interfaith Leaders in Higher Education Council.

As an endorsed Humanist Celebrant and Chaplain by The Humanist Society, as well as a Board Certified Chaplain, Cruz Pantojas’s praxis centers Afro-Caribbean humanist and freethought philosophies, promotes critical thinking and self-discovery, and inspires individuals to question and reimagine their inner/outer worlds.

As a scholar-practitioner, Anthony publishes widely in venues including , Essays In The Philosophy of Humanism: A Journal of the American Humanist Association and The Institute for Humanist Studies, and With the Best of Intentions: Missteps and Mistakes (Or Rose, Ellie Pierce, and Lucinda Mosher, Eds).

Anthony is a sought-after speaker and frequently travels domestically and internationally to teach about ethico-political practices centering perspectives from the Global South. With Atheists United, Cruz Pantojas developed and launched the inaugural Kindling the Humanist Spark Summit at Tufts University in the Summer of 2024. This forum seeks to convene emerging Humanist leaders and provide networking opportunities, as well as nurture activist sensibilities.

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Peter Nyarko Dankwa is a member of the Humanist Association of Ghana. He is outspoken about spreading humanism and critical thinking. He uses his blog, Peter’s Box, to promote humanism and critical thinking. At a Toastmasters meeting in 2019, Peter delivered a speech titled ‘No Monkey Games,’ which was inspired by humanist values. He has held several leadership positions in Toastmasters International, from the club to the district level.
Peter holds a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering.

Banji is a humanist, entrepreneur, and artist hailing from Zambia in Southern Africa. With a passion for artistic expression and a love of computer technology. He is a custom shoe artist and pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Network Engineering. He always had a desire to further the right to basic human freedoms and access to basic human needs. He’s also currently serving as the deputy chairperson of the Humanists and Atheists Association of Zambia.