The outspoken atheist Christopher Hitchens died Thursday, December 15, at the age of 63, after battling esophageal cancer. Humanist groups and atheist activists around the world are paying tribute to the life and work of the prolific writer.

World Humanist Day originated in the 1980s, when several local state chapters of the American Humanist Association (AHA) began celebrating World Humanist Day.

World Humanist Day is celebrated every year on June 21. It is an opportunity for Humanist individuals and organizations to publicize the positive values of Humanism and to share the global concerns of the Humanist movement.

When Rob Buckman – Humanist, oncologist, and TV personality – realized he was dying from an autoimmune disease, he thought it would be useful to make a film to help others learn from his death. He was right about the value of the film: Your Own Worst Enemy was a great critical success and helped countless people address a topic that is taboo and yet unavoidable. But Rob was wrong about the subject of the film: thanks to a new treatment he survived another three decades after the 1981 movie. And those three decades were filled with the love, learning and laughter that made him a hugely popular figure on both sides of the Atlantic.

Secular people are just as likely to participate in society as religious people, suggests new research by the British government. The British Humanist Association (BHA) has welcomed the findings as further evidence against the idea – increasingly advanced by religious and government leaders – that religion increases people’s contribution to society. The survey also revealed that Christians were much less likely than any other belief group to mix with people of different beliefs or ethnicities.

Humanists have warmly welcomed the Queen of England’s praise for the gay atheist Alan Turing, whose work breaking German codes played a crucial role in World War II. The creator of the modern computer, Turing received little recognition for his work during his life, which ended when he committed suicide after he was convicted of a homosexual act and forced to undergo chemical castration.

To mark World Humanist Day on June 21, the British Humanist Association (BHA) has launched a new online resource called The Really Simple Guide to Humanism. The website features quizzes, games and videos, as well as answers to some of the most common questions about Humanism.

IHEU president Sonja Eggerickx was among a distinguished roster of speakers at the 70th Annual Conference of the  American Humanist Association. The conference, from April 7 through 10, 2011, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was attended by more than 450 people. Sonja gave the following brief summary of the IHEU and its activities:

The World Day of Social Justice, observed this year on Feb. 20, is an urgent call for all countries to take decisive and concrete steps to promote the UN's mission for human rights, human well being and human dignity. The recent astonishing and historic events in the Middle East and North Africa testify to the crucial importance of social justice.