Japan's parliament has adopted a resolution that, for the first time, formally recognises the Ainu as "an indigenous people with a distinct language, religion and culture". In a nation that has always preferred to perceive itself as ethnically homogenous, it is a highly significant move.

In February 2009, we shall be marking the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of his great, seminal work, On the Origin of Species. Just as Copernicus and the many great scientists who followed him had upset the view that the Earth was the centre of the Universe, so Darwin upset the view that humans were privileged beings, specially created by divine will and totally distinct from the rest of life. It is no exaggeration to say that Darwin's discoveries have provided a basis for modern Humanism.

IHEU member organization the Institute for Humanist Studies has made its online e-learning materials on Humanism freely available to all. Starting now, anyone with an Internet connection anywhere in the world can learn about Humanism for free.

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, Japan 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.

As we are in Martin Luther King’s country, I must confess that I had a dream, as he did. I dreamed that we would be able to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in a world of peace and social justice, with people respecting one another’s choices and ways of life.

If there’s one thing the 17th World Humanist Congress is going to be remembered for, it is an agenda that truly encompassed the globe.

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.

Four new member organisations were admitted to IHEU at the 2008 General Assembly: the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain; the Society for Humanism (SOCH) Nepal; the Tarksheel Society Punjab; and the Asian Rationalist Society Britain.

It falls to me, someone that Mel Lipman might describe as one of its more “chronologically gifted” supporters, to tell you a little bit about IHEU, of which AHA was a founding member in 1952. And I am going to ask for your help.