A PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN ETHICAL UNION
Table of Contents
Invitation from the International Humanist and Ethical Union
The International Humanist and Ethical Union's (IHEU) 2012 General Assembly will be held at the Humanist Centre in Montréal, Canada, from Friday August 3, 9:30am-5pm, and Sunday August 5, 2:30-5:30pm. The Humanist Centre, run by IHEU member organization Fondation Humaniste du Québec (FHQ), is at 1225 Boulevard St. Joseph Est, Montréal, QC H2J 1L7.
IHEU is also sponsoring a conference on "Sex and Secularism" hosted by Humanist Canada and Association Humaniste du Québec from the evening of August 3 to lunchtime on August 5. The conference will be held at the Hilton Bonaventure in downtown Montréal, 3.5 miles from the Humanist Centre. We recommend GA participants stay at the Hilton Bonaventure. Free shuttle transportation between the Hilton Bonaventure and the Humanist Centre will be provided at the start and finish of the GA on Friday and Sunday. The conference will explore how Humanists can tackle the taboos, problems, challenges, and opportunities that surround sexuality and gender. Conference languages are English and French, with simultaneous translation available.
Conference topics include:
- The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power & the Future of the World
- Humanism and the Rights of Women
- Does the Freethought Movement have a Gender Problem?
- How Religion and Secularism Affect Your Sex Life
- Religion's War on Women and Sex
- Why Humanism and the LGBT Movement are Growing Together
- Michelle Goldberg, award winning author and senior contributing writer for Newsweek.
- Maryam Namazie, spokesperson for Equal Rights Now, One Law for All, and the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain.
- Robert J Sawyer, futurist and the only Canadian ever to win all three of the world's top Science Fiction awards for novel of the year.
- Rebecca Watson, founder of Skepchick and co-host of the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe
- Darrel Ray, author of Sex and God
- Sonja Eggerickx, president of IHEU
- Andrew Copson, IHEU vice president and CEO of the British Humanist Association
- Roy Brown, IHEU main representative at the UN Human Rights Council
- Kristin Mile, secretary general of the Humanist Association of Norway, the world's largest freethought organization.
Please fill in the online form at http://www.iheu.org/ga2012 to register for the General Assembly. Registration for the "Sex and Secularism" conference must be completed separately at www.humanistconference.ca. The conference website also contains details about the Hilton Bonaventure and how to register there at the discounted conference rate. Space at the General Assembly is limited and anyone wishing to attend must register by 24 June 2012. Places may not be available for people who do not register by the deadline. Only duly authorized representatives of IHEU Member Organizations in good standing may participate in the General Assembly. However, IHEU Individual Supporters and members of IHEU Member Organizations in good standing may sit in the GA as observers, space permitting, if they register by June 24. The American Ethical Union in a Member Organization of the IHEU in good standing.