Two training sessions for humanist activists and professionals
On 2 June Humanists International will hold its yearly General Assembly in Reykjavik, Iceland. This year, after the General Assembly, Humanists International decided to organise two free parallel training sessions for humanist activists and professionals: one will be on humanist ceremonies and counselling, the other on humanist campaigns and communications.
The goal of the training sessions is to provide concrete advice and practical examples to small/middle organisations around the world.
All presentations will be recorded and then made available on our website for all members and supporters of Humanists International.
The venue of the training sessions is the same of the General Assembly: Askja, University of Iceland.
The training sessions will start right after the General Assembly, around 2.30PM, with an estimated end at 6.00PM.
The participation to the training sessions is free, but it is limited to the registered participants of the General Assembly – register to the General Assembly now!
Humanist ceremonies are a secular, non-religious way to celebrate the most important moments of the life of a person, for example: getting married, the birth of a baby, the passage from adolescence to adulthood, the celebration of one’s life after passing away.
Patients in hospitals, people in prisons, students in schools, personnel in armed forces: at some point in their lives all these people might need help and support from someone with a like-minded vision of life. For humanists around the world, this kind of support has a name, that is, humanist counselling.
Humanist counselling – called also humanist pastoral support or humanist chaplaincy – is provided in many countries, especially in Europe and North America. However, still today these services are usually provided only from religious personnel – priests, pastors, imams, monks, etc – leaving no alternative for non-religious people.
To shed light on both humanist ceremonies and pastoral support, proving tips, best practises and expertise to organisations which are willing to start providing those services or are already doing it but need a boost.
Giovanni joined Humanists International in January 2017. As Growth & Development Officer his main task is to reach new individual contacts and humanist organisations in those areas of the world where Humanists International is underrepresented, to create media and membership resources, and to work for the development of existing Member Organisations worldwide.
Fraser joined Humanist Society Scotland in March 2017 after roles at Citizens Advice Scotland and the Scottish Parliament. He has previously run campaigns on ending Funeral Poverty, clamping down on payday lenders and protecting vulnerable people from scammers. Since May 2019 he is the CEO of Humanist Society Scotland.
Tale is Head of Ceremonies at the Norwegian Humanist Association. The Ceremony team consists of 6 employees managing the national structure of humanist naming, -confirmation, -wedding and -funeral ceremonies conducted by volunteers.
Freedy works for Demens.nu, the Flemish Belgian humanist organisation. He is also the Vice-President of the European Humanist Professional.
Humanist organisations around the world campaigns on a variety of issues: defence of secularism, promotion of humanist values, protest against human rights violations, etc. They approach each cause in a different and peculiar way. The tools they use can vary widely, but there some overall standards to lead effective and impactful campaigns.
Today more than even before, communication is key both for the reputation and the effectiveness of any humanist organisation. A creative, consistent and impactful communication line can represent on its own the success of an organisation, no matter what kind of working focus they have.
To provide tips, best practises and expertise to organisations on how to effectively lead a campaign, from beginning to end, and how to promote their brand and activities in the right way.
Elizabeth manages Humanists International’s advocacy work at a number of institutions, including the UN in Geneva, New York and Paris, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. She is a Member of the Global Steering Committee of the UN Fez Process, Vice Chair of the UN NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief (in Geneva), an International Patron for the Pink Triangle Trust and an International Advisor at the Raif Badawi Foundation.
As well as managing our communications strategy and online presence, Bob coordinates campaigns including Humanists International’s contribution to the End Blasphemy Laws campaign, and serves as editor of our Freedom of Thought Report, which monitors the rights, legal status and discrimination against non-religious people around the world.
Liam joined in March 2014 after working with Humanists UK on a number of writing and design projects in 2012 and 2013. He looks after Humanists UK’s regular publications, extensive social media presence, fundraising and recruitment activities, and work to spread awareness of humanism.
Annie Laurie Gaylor is an American atheist, secular and women’s rights activist. She is the co-founder and current co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. She was also the editor of the organization’s newspaper, Freethought Today (published ten times per year) until 2015. Gaylor is the author of several books, including Woe to the Women: The Bible Tells Me So, Betrayal of Trust: Clergy Abuse of Children and, as editor, Women Without Superstition: No Gods – No Masters.
Daniel Barker is an American atheist activist who served as an evangelical Christian preacher and musician for 19 years but left Christianity in 1984. He and his wife Annie Laurie Gaylor are the current co-presidents of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. He has written numerous articles for Freethought Today, an American freethought newspaper. He is the author of several books including Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist and the most recent Mere Morality.
Roslyn Mould is a member of the Humanist Association of Ghana since its onset in 2012. She was Secretary of the IHEYO AFRICAN WORKING GROUP from 2014 to 2016 and then became Chair of the working group from 2016 to January 2019. She has been Organizing Secretary, President and until recently, Council Member of the Humanist Association of Ghana since 2015. She was recently made Coordinator for the West African Humanist Network. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics and Modern Languages.