Aug 9th 2014: IHEYO today held our election of committee members. Here are the results:
By Kato Mukasa
Nothing has given Uganda so much International publicity than the passing of the Anti Homosexuality Bill by our Parliament and then its televised signing by President Museveni. The immediate cutting of Aid from Uganda’s strong allies; Norway, Netherlands, Denmark and the sharp criticism from President Obama, the World Bank and the United Kingdom should make people ask whether there is not something seriously wrong with this law. Yes, the law strongly undermines fundamental rights and freedoms of several people including homosexuals but it is not a solution to the problem to cut Aid to Uganda as people of all sexual orientations are directly affected.
IHEYO is organizing its General Assembly (GA) on Thursday 7th August, 20.00 – 22.00pm at Panel Room/Oxford Town Hall, St. Aldate‘s in Oxford. IHEYO President Silvana Uhlrich-Knoll will formally open the assembly. Event will also discuss procedural matters. Further, IHEYO's member organization's delegates will represent the General Assembly.
This GA will further discuss and approve annual report of 2013. Action plan of 2015 will be presented and discussed among the members for input and adoption.
Among many activities that took place around the world to mark World Humanist Day, Swiss freethinkers screened a documentary that has enraged Evangelical Christians, particularly in the United States, whereGod Loves Uganda was released to critical acclaim last year.
Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights honours the freedom to subscribe to whatever philosophy you choose, be that religious or not. A debate was held in the Lords on 24th July on ‘International compliance with Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights concerning freedom of belief.’ Several examples of gross intolerance based on religion or belief were cited in the House, including the plight of the non-religious.
Parivartan Kendra (Centre for Change) is situated in Mohammadabad, Distt. Ghazipur of Uttar Pradesh and is aimed at multidisciplinary extra curricular learning such as: sewing; art and craft; as well as computers.
The Humanist Association for Leadership, Equality and Accountability (HALEA) are in need of help following a significant burglary in early July.
Since the amazing European Humanist Youth Days, the European Working Group has greatly expended. With new contacts in Ireland, Scotland, Croatia, Malta and France, the working group is moving confidently into the new year! Coming February(22nd-23rd) representatives from all over Europe will meet in the Netherlands, for the annual face-to-face meeting.
The government of Malta has signed a new agreement with the Vatican that effectively reverses a previous concordat, which gave the church's ecclesiastical tribunal precedence over the civil courts in annulment cases.
In the past, in a separation case, the civil courts could not take on the case if it had already been initiated in the ecclesiastical tribunal, while if a case starts in the civil court but either of the couple decided to take it to the ecclesiastical tribunal, the civil case would be halted.
Voluntourism is travel, which involves volunteering for a charitable cause. Over the past decade the voluntourism industry has become increasingly popular. The Travel Industry Association of America has reported that more than 55 million Americans have participated in volunteer based travel and that an estimated 100 million more individuals are considering undertaking voluntourism. The majority of voluntourists are high school and college students.
IHEYO is the Youth wing of IHEU, the International Humanist Ethical Union
