In 1975 Jaap van Praag resigned as Chairman. The three-headed chair that succeeded him, the so-called Troika, led an IHEU that was at first rather on the defensive. By 1980 IHEU definitely discerned a growing anti-humanist trend in society, an upsurge of authoritarianism, fundamentalism, and orthodoxy. It was the world of Ronald Reagan (1980-1988), Margaret Thatcher (1979-1990), and Leonid Brezhnev (d. 1982). The Board regularly expressed its opinion that humanism was threatened in the world at large, and even chose this to be the main theme of the 1982 World Congress: 'Anti-humanist trends: challenge and response'. This was not the right period for bold initiatives. Instead, IHEU concentrated on creative consolidation. In the late 1970s a whole range of imaginative measures was introduced to strengthen IHEU, and particularly its financial position. These measures paid off remarkably well. By 1979 the financial situation had improved markedly: before that year deficits were the rule, thereafter they became the exception. In addition, from 1981 the number of member organizations began to rise sharply. In the late 1980s the atmosphere became much more optimistic. The congress themes that IHEU chose, express self-confidence and a pro-active stance rather than the defensive 1982 theme. In 1986 the theme was 'Humanists say yes to life', two years later it was 'Building a world community: Humanism in the twenty-first century'. The 1988 congress attracted an unprecedentedly large number of participants. One year later, in 1989, the collapse of Communism opened up decidedly promising vistas for world humanism. The future looked bright again.

Troika

In 1975, after holding the Chair for 23 years, Jaap van Praag retired. By experiment, it was decided to replace him for a two year period by a so-called Troika of three Co-Chairmen: Piet Thoenes (Dutch HV), Howard Radest (AEU) and Mihailo Markovi (HESYAP)-in the end, the Troika system was maintained for 21 years, until 1996. By 'spreading' the chair, the international look of IHEU was emphasized and the Dutch 'domination' of IHEU, complaints about which had occasionally been voiced in the Board, was reduced. One of the chairmen was still chosen from the Netherlands, lest the efficiency be endangered of the organizational work that was performed by the bureau in the Netherlands. At the same time the influence of other IHEU member organizations increased-especially members with another 'flavor' of humanism, such as the ethical humanism of the AEU or the secular humanism that became increasingly popular in America in the 1970s (Paul Kurtz, whose Humanist Manifesto ii in 1973 had still admitted religious humanism, issued A secular humanist declaration in 1980).

By choosing the Yugoslav Markovi as a Co-Chairman, IHEU wanted to give a signal that it looked positively towards the non-aligned countries that in the Cold War tried to find a third way between the capitalist and the Communist bloc. This signal was the more remarkable as Markovi was a dissident: IHEU openly declared its willingness to support the Yugoslav humanists, who were at the time harassed by the Tito government. Since the autumn of 1972 half a dozen humanist professors at the university of Belgrade-Markovi among them-had been fired and their passports confiscated, thereby incidentally hampering the Humanist-Marxist dialogue; their periodicals such as Praxis had been suppressed, and trials had been started against them. In 1973 and 1974 IHEU repeatedly filed protests against this repression of academic freedom. 'Ideas should be defeated by better ideas-not by force', Van Praag said. When in 1985 Markovi stepped down as Co-Chairman, IHEU appointed another member of the group of dissenting Yugoslav philosophers, Svetozar Stojanovi , to succeed him.

Thoenes's long-term view of IHEU

At the 1977 Board meeting, Co-Chairman Piet Thoenes presented a personal view of what IHEU should have achieved by the year 2002. His memorandum was intended as the starting point for the development of a long-term view, 'so that the members of IHEU would have some idea of where we are going'. Thoenes's starting point was that the world was in an economic crisis. The key problems, he said, lay in distribution-distribution of wealth, and of control over labour. In his analysis, the problem was that labourers hardly shared in the control of work. Thoenes put well-being above material comfort, and then proceeded to mention a dozen characteristics that he considered essential for a 'humanistic society in 2002', which would give the individual more opportunities for self-realization. Thoenes's wide range of wishes included an end to all discrimination, more attention to artistic education, mutual respect in the army, and working in decentralized units. Thoenes also sketched how his ideals might be realized: people should engage in discussions and become a member of IHEU, and IHEU should become 'a clearing-house for information' regarding criticism of present-day society, visions of the future and strategies to realize them. In retrospect Thoenes's proposals appear somewhat disappointing-honest and well-meant but naïve and impractical. With his utopian wishes he seems to look back to the sixties rather than forward to the year 2002. Thoenes's proposals had little direct follow-up. The discussion in the Board was summary only, and ensuing proposals to start working parties on 'Humanism and science' (to study humanist schools of thought) and 'Multinationals', did not come off. However, raising the question which future IHEU really wanted-irrespective of practical obstacles-may have inspired a bolder approach by the younger guard in IHEU.

To boldly go ...

At the 1978 Board meeting, as a sequel to Thoenes's paper, the Board again discussed the future of IHEU in connection with the tight financial constraints. A contrast may be noted between the old guard with an Executive Committee background (Van Praag, Radest), who tended to pragmatically 'mind the shop' and avoid risks, and junior Board members like the newcomers and future Chairmen Paul Kurtz and Rob Tielman, who were ready to try less conventional paths. Radest and Van Praag conceded that 'there has never been a dearth of ideas, of projects that would be important, worth doing and exciting', but they stressed the indispensability and exacting character of existing routine and long-term work: 'these two things must be supported. When these two matters are dealt with, very little energy is left for other matters.' Kurtz, however, was one of those who asked for 'the establishment of programs of a daring kind'. Tielman pleaded that 'as an experiment we should try and raise funds for new projects and concentrate less on [routine and long-term work]'. Consensus in the Board turned out to be remarkable, including even veterans like Blackham and V.M. Tarkunde, so in the ensuing discussions it was indeed decided to give priority to two projects that had a good chance to secure additional independent funding: the humanist ombudsman and a summer school. The Chairmen made it clear that the Board would be responsible for the outcome of this decision. Radest said that, if other work at the office would have to wait, there could be no blame for things not done. Thoenes stated that-if volunteers could not be found in sufficient number-extra work, arising from new choices, would have to be carried out by the members of the Board. In 1986 the flourishing of optimism, activism and new ideas within the IHEU Board was reflected in a new Troika, when Rob Tielman and Paul Kurtz were elected Co-Chairmen. Tielman was the young president of the Dutch HV, Kurtz, who represented the AHA on the Board, was a prolific author and staunch defender of secular humanism, an increasingly vociferous and influential movement in the United States in the 1980s. A year later Stojanovi was succeeded by the Norwegian Levi Fragell, who had played a major role in the unprecedented growth of the Norwegian humanist movement. Tielman, Kurtz and Fragell may be seen as the exponents of a new 'generation' of humanists to come to the fore in IHEU.

Solving IHEU's financial problems

In the late 1970s the post-Van Praag Board devised various means to improve IHEU's financial situation, which was so desperate that at one time the Board was warned that 'IHEU could not afford to continue in the present way beyond six months'. These new means worked very well: a long series of budgetary deficits ended at last in 1979, and the 1980s were a very successful period for IHEU indeed. First, the Board cut in the paid staff of the central bureau in favor of cheaper part-time administrative personnel and volunteers. In 1977 the staff consisted of one full-time and one half-time employee, by the end of 1981 there was only Executive Director Ernst van Brakel, who by then worked half-time. To get all the work done in spite of the severe reduction in experienced and professional staff, IHEU tried to recruit volunteers. These, however, were not easy to find, especially since IHEU at this moment not only needed general administrative support such as typists, but also looked for 'enthusiastic specialists' for its so-called 'task forces', to be described later. Second, the Board chose to embark on projects that would pay for themselves or had good prospects of being subsidized. In 1978 three such projects were proposed: a human rights ombudsman project, a humanist lobby with the European Community, and a summer school. We will return to the first two later-the summer school was not successful. Third, publication of the loss-making quarterly International Humanism was suspended for two years (1979-1980). From the summer of 1979 IHEU published a Newsletter as a cheaper alternative to keep the members informed. The quarterly returned in 1981 under a new title, International Humanist, and from 1987 to 1992 was produced from Canada. Some other activities went into hibernation by default, such as the working parties and dialogues. Of the half-dozen WP's that had existed in the 1960s only two remained in the late 1970s, neither of which held formal meetings during the 1978 London Congress, because the two convenors were unable to attend. Dialogues were held only intermittently. Fourth and finally, income from IHEU members rose. Norwegian HEFIN began its fast growth and it was very convenient that they proved to be impeccably prompt payers. IHEU also increased its income by raising membership dues, by incidental fund-raising campaigns and campaigns to encourage individual life membership, and by flexibly creating new categories of membership whenever there seemed to be a market. For example, when two prospective new members expressed their wish to become a co-operating group, such a category was created. A similar innovation was the introduction in 1980 of 'member-of-members', local branches of a national organization that itself already was a member of IHEU. This incurred some practical problems, such as the theoretical risk that an organization by means of its own member-of-members might swamp voting in the Board, but these were easily solved. In 1981 another new class was created of 'extraordinary' members, to attract organizations that specialized in one particular activity, such as humanist education, social work or development aid. The 'new categories' strategy resulted in an unprecedented increase in the total number of member organizations-from 36 in 1980 to 61 in 1984, after which a slow further increase took place to 67 in 1989. It is notable that many of the new members were from the United States: while in the 1970s only three American organizations had been an IHEU member (AEU, AHA and the Friends of Religious Humanism), this number increased to twelve in 1989 and twenty by 1995. This increase gave a welcome financial injection into IHEU, even though most newcomers applied for the low status of associate member.

Task forces

Together with the reduction of its paid staff, IHEU in 1979 launched a 'new approach', which encompassed the introduction of specialized volunteer 'task forces'. Besides continuing its existing 'coordinating function for humanism worldwide', IHEU proposed to take up concrete projects that might contribute both to humanism in general and to the member organizations. So-called 'task forces' were to be set up, volunteer teams that met periodically. By performing all the work that was related to their specific task, including for example all correspondence, these teams would relieve the workload of the reduced Secretariat staff. The first such task force was the Organizing Committee, an enlargement of the former (before 1975) Chairman's Committee, that assisted the Chairmen in preparing and implementing Board decisions. The Chairman's Committee had consisted of generalist 'consultants', but within a few years from 1978, each Committee member had its own specialty, for example Education, European contacts or Human rights. As specialties in turn got subdivided, the group doubled in size from less than ten members in the late 1970s to fifteen in 1989, including specialized 'visitors' who formally were not members but took part in all monthly meetings. In 1993 the Executive Committee, as it was called since 1983, was reformed and trimmed down.

Another activity for which a task force was proposed, was the 'adoption' of member organizations. The idea was that each member of the Committee would keep in close contact with some member organizations, and support them with whatever help, advice, information, etc. it required. The Organizing Committee soon took up this task but, after an enthusiastic start, this adoption or 'twinning' scheme seems to have atrophied. From 1983 a Committee on Growth and Development, originally consisting of Fragell, Kurtz and Tielman, has in a more comprehensive and structural way discussed ideas to further humanism worldwide, and especially in the non-western world. The idea of task forces was also used in two new IHEU projects: the Euro Committee, to be described later, and the international Human Rights Ombudsman project.

The Human Rights Ombudsman project

At the 1978 Board meeting Co-Chairman Tielman proposed several projects that might be useful in three ways: furthering intrinsic humanist aims, being instrumental in procuring positive publicity, and presenting good perspectives for acquiring external funding. The most illustrious proposal was to create an international humanist ombudsman with whom complaints could be lodged in cases where human rights were violated, in particular human rights of non-religious people or cases which involved the separation of church and state. The ombudsman would then start an investigation and, if appropriate, would take further measures such as legal action to support the victim. The prospective ombudsman should be an eminent and widely respected international law expert. Ivo Samkalden, a former Dutch Minister of Justice and mayor of Amsterdam, was willing to take up the function, but was not immediately available. He was appointed in 1983, on which occasion his function was renamed Commissioner for Human Rights (CHR). In 1986 Samkalden was succeeded ad interim by former Dutch judge Pieter van Dijk, in 1988 Jan Glastra van Loon, a former Dutch Secretary of State for Justice became CHR. The Commissioner led an 'Ombudsteam' that had already started work in 1979. It consisted of volunteer legal specialists, who could in turn draw on a network of other experts both in the Netherlands and abroad, for example to get precise information on countries where violations occurred. The team was secretarially supported by a conscientious objector, who fulfilled his military service in this alternative way. The Commissioner and his team closely cooperated with other human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, but tried to concentrate on issues that other organizations did not cover well. The first 'niche' were rights of humanists and other non-believers, or cases where the separation between church and state was at stake. For instance, the Commissioner supported a campaign to separate church and state in Ireland by offering legal advice regarding the lodging of complaints with the European Court at Strasbourg. Further, the Commissioner attended to 'sensitive' kinds of human rights violations that most international organizations shied away from. Examples are conscientious objection, homosexuality, or the right to abortion.

By the late 1980s it became clear that the project had achieved less than expected. It had no record of formidable successes, did not make money, was highly legalistic, had not been well integrated in IHEU's activities, and was not as broadly international as it had been intended to be-in fact, many cases simply regarded refugees who had come to the Netherlands. In the next chapter we will see how from 1988 the project was transformed to improve it.

Humanist-Marxist dialogues

In August 1979 a three-day Humanist-Marxist dialogue was held at Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia, in which two dozen people took part. It was the first of its kind since 1970. The general theme was 'Humanist prospects and scientific predictions'. Apparently the Yugoslav participants were quite optimistic on the possibilities of science to guide society in a more humanist direction, while Western participants stressed the need to give room to the non-predictable: creativity, imagination, poetry.

Jaap van Praag opposed the view that humanism could deliver a definite recipe for the future. He pointed out that 'not any [political] shaping of society will meet humanist demands', and he explicitly mentioned the risk that socialism would develop 'a sterile ideology of centralism and conformity that gave rise to a suffocating bureaucracy (italics Van Praag), based on coercion and oppression.' The Yugoslav participants, including at least four so-called dissidents, will have understood what he meant. After the conference the Board concluded that 'these exchanges are important for both East and West and should be continued to continually define and develop humanist ideas'. Preparations to carry on with the dialogue were started immediately, but after the death of president Tito, repression of the dissidents started anew. By December 1980 Co-Chairman Radest felt compelled to once again send a letter of protest to the president of Yugoslavia. It was ten years before the next conference was realized in Moscow, July 1989. The Communists were still in power, but, as Paul Kurtz noted, 'Gorbachev's new policies had relaxed the rigid guidelines defined by the Party, and a freer and more relaxed atmosphere prevailed'. In 1991, after the fall of Communism, a further dialogue was held in Prague. In 1997 a full-fledged international conference was organized in Moscow, which may be considered as the sequel to the series of Marxist-Humanist dialogues.

Congresses

IHEU held its seventh, eighth and ninth World Congresses at London (1978), Hannover (1982) and Oslo (1986). The London Congress reflected the long-term and utopian approach that Thoenes had introduced in the Board, the Hannover congress concentrated on humanist answers to anti-humanist trends in society, and the Oslo congress had as its theme 'Humanists say yes to life'. Doubling the congress frequency, the tenth congress was held only two years after the ninth, in 1988 at Buffalo. Focusing on humanism in the century to come, this congress made an appeal for a 'New global ethics' and 'Planetary Humanism'. No regional congresses were held in these years, but instead IHEU began a series of thematic congresses: two on Moral education (Brussels 1980 and 1985) and a Peace Conference in Zutphen, 1983.

International representation

In the 1970s IHEU began to expand its network of international representatives, which up until then had been restricted to two posts (UNESCO at Paris, and United Nations at New York). In 1979 Bert Schwarz in the Board stressed the need for good contacts with the European Parliament. This might be useful to further humanist interests, by introducing a clearly humanist voice in its meetings, but the initiative was also prompted by the consideration that European lobbying might be 'income-conducive'. To stimulate networking, it was proposed that the IHEU member organizations from European Community countries form a European Committee for the Promotion of the Interests of Non-Denominational People, soon abridged to Non-Denominational European Coordination (NEC), Euro Committee, or 'Humanist lobby'. Two years later the Board decided that it would be useful if IHEU were not only represented at the European Parliament, but also at the Council of Europe, where more European states are represented. In fact IHEU had asked for, and obtained, NGO status with the Council of Europe in 1973, but nothing much had happened thereafter. In 1980, however, Alexandre Marius Dées de Sterio, from Luxemburg, became IHEU representative at the Council of Europe at Strasbourg. In his first report Sterio was not much impressed by the discussions in the human rights section-'repetitive and generally of low standard'-but he stressed the importance for IHEU to become better known. De Sterio has fulfilled, and still fulfils, his post very well. In 2000 he was given a rare pro-merito distinction of the Council of Europe. The second new IHEU post was at the United Nations in Geneva, where A. James Dilloway has been the IHEU representative from 1976 to 1997. Being a former United Nations officer, Dilloway knew the voluminous organization from within. His annual reports show that this definitely was an advantage: each year Dilloway presented an instructive account of the major developments the United Nations were involved in, and he then concentrated on those areas of activity that mattered most to IHEU, especially human rights, describing what was important for IHEU to know, and where IHEU might contribute to the United Nations. Dilloway was presented with a Distinguished Humanist Service Award at the 1996 Mexico congress. Since 1981 the IHEU has also been represented at the United Nations in Vienna, but until now it has proven difficult to find candidates who can spend enough time on this function for a longer period.

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The first Troika: Radest, Thoenes, Markovi American philosopher Howard B. Radest (b. 1928), a former Executive Director of the AEU, was elected Secretary General of IHEU in 1970 and served as one of IHEU's Co-Chairmen from 1975 until 1985. He was Director of the Ethical Culture Fieldston School in New York, and is the Dean Emeritus of the Humanist Institute in New York. Among his specialisms is medical ethics. Dutchman Piet Thoenes (1921-1995) was a sociologist with a special interest in the welfare state and the caring society, and their future development. He was actively involved with several scientific organizations within the Dutch humanist movement. He was an IHEU Co-Chairman from 1975 until 1978. Mihailo Markovi (b. 1923), as Director of the Institute of Philosophy at Belgrade University, was one of 'the six of Belgrade', who in the late 1960's were fired by the Communist regime. The journal he had founded, Praxis, was banned. Markovi participated in the IHEU Board since 1971, and was elected Co-Chairman in 1975. In Markovi 's view Marxism was a kind of Humanism. When in the early 1990s he became an active member of the Yugoslavian Socialist Party and co-operated with Slobodan Milo evi , the Board froze its relations with him.

Paul Kurtz Paul Kurtz (b. 1925) was professor of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo from 1965 until 1991. As a protagonist of secular humanism, skepticism, rationalism and atheism, Kurtz is respected and feared by many in the United States as 'the pope of unbelievers'. He has founded several important humanist institutions, among which are Prometheus Books (the world's largest humanist publishing company), the Council for Secular Humanism, the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, and the magazines Free Inquiry and Skeptical Inquirer. From 1969 Kurtz has been a member of the IHEU Board, at first representing the American Humanist Association, and later Prometheus Books and the Council for Secular Humanism. From 1986 until 1994 he was IHEU Co-President. Being of the opinion that IHEU had an important role to play in spreading humanism worldwide, and convinced that a potential for such growth existed, he exhorted international humanism to overcome lethargy and inaction. Kurtz is the author and editor of 35 books. In 1999 he wrote Humanist Manifesto 2000, which has as its main theme 'A call for a new planetary humanism'. One of its suggestions is to transform the United Nations organization into a world parliament with elected representatives. At the IHEU World Congress in Mumbai, 1999, Kurtz was presented with the International Humanist Award, for his long-standing contribution to the international humanist movement.

Rob Tielman Sociologist Rob Tielman (b. 1946) in the 1970s played a prominent and pioneer role in the Dutch gay movement and in gay studies. From 1977 to 1987 he was president of the Dutch HV. He is a proponent of the Dutch model of humanism as a modern social movement that pays much attention to the translation of humanist principles into education and counseling, and the implementation of these principles into legislation. His involvement with IHEU began in 1972, when he joined the Organizing Committee of volunteers, with special responsibility for dialogues. Three years later he became a Board member. From 1986 to 1996 he was Co-Chairman, from 1996 to 1998 President of IHEU. Being a phenomenal 'networker', Tielman has contributed considerably to establishing the European Humanist Professionals and the European Humanist Federation, and in setting up the Humanistischer Verband Deutschlands in the early 1990s. He was involved in a wide variety of IHEU activities. To cite Nettie Klein: 'As everyone who has met him knows, "active" is very much the operative word with Rob'. For many years he was the face of IHEU and of international humanism.

Wim Koppenberg, Ernst van Brakel, Nettie Klein Wim C. Koppenberg (1904-1972), a chartered accountant, had been appreciated in the 1950s as Treasurer of the Dutch HV for his skilled handling of financial problems. In 1959 he became Organizing Secretary of IHEU, and from 1966 until his death in 1972 he was Deputy Treasurer. After his death, in recognition of his capable financial management the IHEU Endowment Fund was given his name. Ernst van Brakel has been a staff worker of IHEU from 1965 until the mid-nineties. He also was IHEU's representative at the UNESCO from 1967 until 1980. In 1977 and 1992 he sketched the history of IHEU in anniversary issues of the IHEU periodicals. In the 1990s Van Brakel undertook writing a more comprehensive history, but this project has remained unfinished. Nettie Klein (J.W.F. Klein-von Baumhauer, b. 1927) had her first contact with international humanism at the 1962 Oslo Congress. In 1966 she became Honorary (that is, volunteer) Organizing Secretary of IHEU, and from 1982 to 1996 she was General Secretary. In the 1990s she wrote 'Nettie's Column' in International Humanist News. In 1996, at the Mexico City Congress, Nettie Klein was presented with the International Humanist Award, for her long-standing merits for IHEU.

A spectacular and unexpected success On March 8, 1989 the UN Commission on Human Rights passed a resolution recognizing the right to have conscientious objections against military service. This was an important success for IHEU, because the resolution closely reflected an earlier IHEU statement that in turn was based on a paper on conscientious objection by Stephan Pas, a conscientious objector working at the IHEU Human Rights Project. 'Given the lack of time, it was almost a miracle that such success was achieved', concluded James Dilloway, IHEU representative at the United Nations at Geneva. 'Conscientious objection is now firmly established as a recommended policy'.

Henry Morgentaler Henry Morgentaler was born in Poland in 1932. Being of Jewish descent, he ended up in the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Dachau, which he survived. After his medical studies in Brussels he emigrated to Canada, and settled as a general practitioner in Montreal. In 1968 he became the founding president of the Humanist Association of Canada, which immediately became a member of IHEU, with Morgentaler representing it on the IHEU Board. Morgentaler has become well-known for his struggle for the legalization of abortion in Canada. He saw the right of women to abortion as a derivative of the right to moral self-determination and as part of the right to 'control their reproductivity'. He spent ten months in prison, and his letters from prison were published in the Canadian Humanist. IHEU supported him, among other things by sending letters of protest to the Canadian authorities. In 1976 the Quebec government decided to end all further prosecution of Morgentaler. In 1988 he received the Humanist of the Year Award at the Buffalo IHEU Congress for upholding his humanist principles, at the cost of great personal sacrifice.

World Congress London, 1978

The seventh IHEU World Congress took place from July 31 until August 4, 1978 in London. It discussed 'Work for human needs in a just society'. In order to meet the real needs of man, several speakers advocated radical changes in private life and society, requiring full democratization of society, an ecological attitude towards nature, reduction of the scale of production, and the pushing back of too extreme divisions of labor. British former UN officer James Dilloway discussed an alternative way to look at work. For most people work could be a means to self-respect, self-expression and community. Yet work often leads to anguish, which Dilloway linked to the force of pay as the criterion of excellence. By providing a near equal monetary reward and by making the reward and distinctions in other ways to stimulate choice, we could remove much anguish. British educational psychologist James Hemming argued for the need of a revolutionary change of the secondary educational system, needed to get young people who are 'whole' and confident and contributive to the struggle of mankind. Two hundred years of mis-education had appealed only to the left hemisphere of the brains and had killed the natural curiosity of adolescents. Dutch sociologist Piet Thoenes argued for 'a qualitatively better life with less', emphasizing a new respectful attitude towards nature, new manageable social units, and the adoption of a kind of civil and personal rights and liberties in connection with these and with the idea of a just society. On behalf of the IHEU Board Thoenes proposed to establish an Ombudsman for the Defense of Freedom of Conscience to call world attention to violations of human rights and to muster worldwide support for individuals who got in trouble because of their non-conformist beliefs.

World Congress Hannover, 1982

More than two hundred humanists from twenty countries assembled in Hannover, Germany, on August 1-5, 1982, to discuss and to formulate recommendations on 'Anti-humanist trends: challenge and response'. The purpose of this congress was to analyze negative currents and unfair attacks on humanism, and to discuss opportunities for humanists to change these developments into a more positive direction. In his opening speech on 'Anti-humanist trends in the world today' Yugoslav philosopher Mihailo Markovi drew attention to various threats to humanity resulting from the pursuit of power, such as bureaucratic obsession with political power, egoistic obsession with material desires, large scale institutionalized violence, the increasing commercialization of information and culture, ideology of any kind, and the rise of conservatism. In the struggle against anti-humanistic trends, 'humanization in social life can only be the work of enlightened human beings themselves, who join their forces in broad democratic pluralist movements'. American ethical humanist Matthew Ies Spetter gave 'A Humanist's response to institutionalized violence' by pleading for a learning process how to humanize our lives: 'It is in the emotional bonds between people, in our ability for compassion in short, in our capacity for identification with one another that lies the promise of a saner and better human order'. Paul Kurtz, American philosopher and Board member, described a recent proliferation of new cults of unreason in a discourse on 'Anti-reason'. After giving several examples of this backward trend, Kurtz stressed that we need to investigate the causes of this decline and the characteristics of human nature in order to know whether and how a secular humanist world is possible.

World Congress Oslo, 1986

IHEU held its ninth World Congress on August 2-7, 1986 at Oslo. More than 500 people from 25 countries took part. The assertive leading theme, 'Humanists say yes to life', was approached in quite different ways by the various speakers. British astronomer Hermann Bondi argued that humanists' acceptation of life also implied accepting certain limitations of human existence and human knowledge. From this basic principle he attacked adherence to sacrosanct religious convictions. American feminist author Marilyn French in an enthusiastically received speech criticized Aristotelian ideas regarding self-respect and freedom that, she said, have for a long time affected thinking in the Western world. Contrary to Aristotle for whom power was the key concept, French concluded that freedom, which she defined as a balance between commitment and satisfaction of one's needs, was essential for self-respect. The way to attain freedom, she said, was by discovering what gives us pleasure, a deep and real satisfaction in life. Norwegian sociologist and 'peace professor' Johan Galtung in his lecture on 'Solidarity: in a global perspective' discussed human solidarity, which he extended not only to the depraved in the world of his time, but also to future generations. The greatest danger, he said, is the idea of being the chosen people. Religious fundamentalism in particular was attacked by American Old Testament specialist Gerald Larue, who pointed out that in the United States alone there were already forty million fundamentalist Christians, waiting for the end of the world and therefore indifferent to human life here and now. Dutch-American psychologist Matthew Ies Spetter, however, was more optimistic: trust and utilize the inventiveness of man, and there is ground for hope, was his advice.

World Congress Buffalo, 1988

The tenth IHEU World Congress, held at Buffalo (New York) from July 31 until August 4, 1988, was attended by over 1300 persons from 30 countries. Titled 'Building a world community: Humanism in the twenty-first century', it was intended to stimulate discussions on the ethical issues facing humankind in the century to come. What can be the humanist role, how can humanists develop a 'new global ethics' that is truly planetary in focus? Biophysicist and Nobel Laureate Herbert Hauptman gave a gloomy analysis of the critical issues facing mankind in the twenty-first century, such as the abuse of power by strong nation states, racism and religious bigotry, the arms race, inequities between the rich and poor, and the violation of human rights. American William Jones noted the fact that virtually all participants to the congress were white, highly educated, and middle to upper class. He linked this to the difficulties IHEU met in expanding the humanist movement into the Third World. German psychologist and Board member Renate Bauer promoted in her speech the 'Right to work' as one of the Human Rights. American philosopher and Humanist Award winner Corliss Lamont expressed concern about the humanist movement's neglect of its struggle for reason and scientific method as a means to solve human problems, and against faith in divine guidance. He did not think it wise to revive the debate whether humanism is a philosophy or a religion, and thought that time and energy were better spent on other humanist issues and work. The Congress adopted A declaration of interdependence: A new global ethics by Paul Kurtz, to respond to the new challenges and revolutionary changes. The declaration pleads for cooperation and dialogue between world religions and world views on the basis of the development of a new 'Planetary Humanism'.
Humanist Education Conferences, 1980 and 1985

The IHEU held two conferences on humanist education. The first took place on August 27-29, 1980, in Brussels. Its purpose was to exchange experiences and to reflect on methods and perspectives in the field. Chairman of the British Humanist Association J. Hemming explained the characteristics of the 'caring man' that had to be developed in order to build up a new world. Belgian moral pedagogue J. Buelens sketched the outlines of 'The new education', characterized by respect for the pupil, egalitarianism, an active involvement of pupils in their acquisition of knowledge, open-mindedness on the part of the teacher, the use of dramatic arts, and the school as a workshop for a living democracy. It was concluded that future conferences on specific subjects should be stimulated. The second conference was held on August 28-30, 1985, in Brussels as well. By that time, according to IHEU Co-Chairman Bert Schwarz, humanist education had become a priority within IHEU. Belgian Claude Javeau argued in favor of an education which not only teaches fundamental values such as 'freedom', but also, in view of the dominant contemporary moral climate of cynicism and anomie, brings to consciousness the possibility at all of positive values.

Dutch sociologist and IHEU Co-Chairman Rob Tielman discussed 'The meaning of humanist values in our society'. He stated that a democratic pluralist view of education, implying basic values of autonomy, freedom and solidarity, best fitted the humanist outlook. J. Schelle, director of the Max Planck Institute in Cologne, Germany, read a paper on 'Genetic engineering, or how to develop ethical norms with relation to the use of new knowledge'. He instigated a lively debate on the freedom of the scientist and on the place of ethical issues within his training.

International Humanist Peace Conference, 1983

On August 26-28, 1983, the Dutch and Belgian Humanist Leagues co-organized an IHEU conference in the Dutch town of Zutphen to discuss the issues of 'Humanist answers to the problem of (nuclear) armament' and 'Peace education in a humanist perspective'. Belgian polemologist J. Niezing stated that many humanist organizations had not yet clearly spoken out on armament problems, as their precarious position made them hesitant to make statements on controversial political issues. Humanism however should address these problems as the modern arms race is utterly incompatible with all that humanism stands for. Joachim Kahl (Germany) stressed the political aspects of peace education and the importance of a strong joy of life, to transform the justified fear of war into a productive trust in the struggle for peace. A successful peace policy, he argued, is a necessary condition for peace. Belgian polemologist G. Geeraerts pointed out that 'Social defense without violence' is not without risk, but that the dangers of a nuclear war are much greater.

The voice of IHEU, 1975-1989
1975 Helsinki agreements
1975-1976 Civil war in Lebanon
1975-1979 Cambodia: Red Khmer terror
1976 Eurocommunism in Italy and France
1976 China: Tangshan earthquake kills 650,000; death of Mau Ze-dong
1976-1980 USSR: Repression of dissidents
1976-1980 US: Carter presidency
1977 USSR: New constitution adopted
1977 Israeli-Egyptian rapprochement
1979 SALT II treaty
1979-1988 Soviets in Afghanistan
1979-1990 Great Britain: Thatcher Prime Minister
1980 Yugoslavia: death of Tito
1980 Zimbabwe independent
1980-1981 Poland: Solidarno labour movement challenges Communist government
1980-1981 US hostage crisis in Iran
1980-1988 Iraq-Iran War
1981 Egypt: Sadat assassinated
1981 New disease: AIDS
1981 Personal computer (DOS 1.0)
1981-1983 Massive pro-peace demonstrations throughout the world
1981-1989 US: Reagan presidency
1982 Israel invades Lebanon
1982 USSR: Death of Brezhnev
1982 Falklands War
1982-1998 Germany: Kohl chancellor
1984 Indira Gandhi assassinated
1985-1991 USSR: Gorbachev reforms
1986 Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster
1986 European Community 12 members
1987 Palestinian Intifada
1987-1988 Reagan-Gorbachev arms agreement; ending of Cold War

1978 (IHEU Congress), Conception outside the womb (IVF): 'We affirm the principle of freedom of choice and the right of individuals to determine responsibly matters concerning their private lives.'

1982 (IHEU Congress), Lebanon: 'As humanists we disagree with the use of physical violence for the attainment of political goals by the belligerents.'

1982 (IHEU Congress), Homosexuality: 'Freedom to shape one's own existence, also with regard to sexuality, is one of the fundamental human rights [...]'

1986 (IHEU Congress), Nuclear weapons: 'We urge: 1) the immediate stopping of all nuclear arms testing; 2) the immediate starting of negotiations aiming at the reduction and eventual total nuclear disarmament, and at the prevention of future re-armament.'

1987 (Board of Directors), Islamic fundamentalism: 'IHEU requests the governments of the Islamic world to tackle the danger of intolerance toward other beliefs and life stances, and to stop violations of human rights.'

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International Humanist and Ethical Union 1952-2002
Past, present and future
Bert Gasenbeek and Babu Gogineni (eds.)
Copyright © 2002 by De Tijdstroom uitgeverij.
Republished 2006 at http://www.iheu.org with permission
ISBN 90 5898 041 3 nur 730, 740
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