IHEU member organization Humanist Society Scotland will hold its annual conference in North Queensferry on 25 October 2008. The theme will be The impact of Humanism on Scotland in the 21st century.

On 30 July, as part of the programme of Europride 2008, the Swedish Humanist Association organised two very successful events. The first was a panel discussion, ‘Religion: the hotbed of homophobia?’ for which the 120-person auditorium in the main Pride Hall of Stockholm was packed to capacity, with many more would-be listeners turned away at the door. The second was a more informal pub evening allowing humanists from different countries to discuss the issues of the day over drinks and food.

Join Humanists, Freethinkers, human rights activists, intellectuals from Nigeria and Overseas to discuss and debate on how to eradicate caste discrimination and untouchability in the world. Sponsorships are available for victims of caste discrimination and untouchability in Nigeria.

Untouchability persists in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Yemen and Nigeria. Nearly 250 million persons are directly affected by this disease. It is time for the world to take note and to eradicate this heinous practice. Calling Victims, Rights Activists, Academics and Governments to contribute to, and to participate in, the First World Conference on Untouchability.

She started speaking quite slowly and even those in the audience aware of her role in life hardly imagined what was to come. Dr Carolyn Porco is only the fourth recipient of the American Humanist Association Isaac Azimov Science Award in the 20 years since its creation in 1988, and this was her acceptance speech.

IHEU’s 2008 General Assembly was held in Washington DC, USA on 5th and 8th June 2008 before and after the 17th World Congress on Reclaiming Humanist Values. President Sonja Eggerickx opened the meeting with her address covering the increasing work that IHEU has achieved over the past year.

IHEU member organization The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain presents its first international conference: "Political Islam, Sharia Law, and Civil Society" on Friday 10 October 2008 (International day against the Death Penalty) 10am-6pm.

The 17th Congress is drawing to a close with a final address from President Sonja Eggerickx. Plans for the next Congress are already in hand and the Congress web site is available at www.human.no/congress

The final day of the 17th World Humanist Congress has opened with a keynote address by Christopher Hitchens, journalist, Vanity Fair contributing editor and author of books including "God is not Great".

Philip Pullman is the recipient of the IHEU International Humanist Award. Giving the award, Matt Cherry described His Dark Materials as a triumphant work of freethought. Matt's two-year-old daughter is named after Pullman's character Lyra.