There are more godless groups in the world than ever before. The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), the world union of Humanist, atheist, rationalist, freethought and ethical culture groups, now has 117 member organizations from 38 countries. At the World Humanist Congress in Olso, five new member organizations joined the IHEU, taking it to the highest membership figure in its six decade history.

Humanists from six continents are gathering in Oslo, Norway, ahead of the Eighteenth World Humanist Congress. More than 100 Humanist activists from 40 countries took part in leadership training workshops on August 10 and 11, the two days before  the Congress formally opens.

The International Humanist and Ethical Union is pleased to announce it is now accepting applications for the IHEU-HIVOS Humanist Network and Development programme for 2011. A total of 75,000  Euros is available for grants, with Euro 10,000 per year as the maximum annual funding for any single project. The deadline for applications is September 1, 2011 (but there is an August 1 pre-qualification deadline for groups that are not IHEU member organizations). Detailed information on the programme and the grant application procedures, plus application forms, can be found below.

IHEU is pleased to announce the formation of a Humanist group in Singapore. The Humanist Society, which was officially recognized by the government of Singapore on 6 October 2010,  is the first society in Singapore to specifically cater for people with no religious affiliation.

The Malta Humanist Association (MHA), a new organisation aimed at representing Maltese secular humanists and promoting the principles of secular humanism, was launched on 7 April 2010 at Europe House in Valletta.

Greece has a new Humanist group. The Humanist Union of Greece (HUG) was launched this month, January 2010, and already has 65 members.

Humanism continues to take root and grow in the Southern African nation of Malawi. An inaugural conference in 2008 and a second national conference in 2009 were both funded by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU). Now the Association of Secular Humanism (ASH) in Malawi is taking part in a high-profile debate—titled “Which is Good for Malawi: Christianity or Secular Humanism?”—which will be broadcast live on national radio on December 27.

“Women must be seen as the agents of change rather than the objects of change” Amartya Sen.

When I first met the late Dr Indumati Parikh in January 1999 while attending the 14th World Humanist Congress in Mumbai, I could not believe that here was a woman who for 35 years had been putting into practice what was only then coming to be recognised by the international development community as the leading development paradigm: integrated health care, education, and women’s empowerment. The women’s self-help organisation that Dr Parikh founded, Streehitakarini, is still going strong.

IHEU is pleased to report on recent, very encouraging discussions with HIVOS as regards future cooperation in the light of IHEU’s new plans for Growth and Development.

One of the primary purposes of IHEU is to stimulate and support the growth of new Humanist organisations where none currently exist, and to support the growth of smaller existing organisations. Today there are over one hundred Member Organisations in IHEU from nearly 40 countries.