The last day of my childhood was Saturday, November 22, 1975. I was thirteen years old.

Dalits are the people formerly known as untouchables. The largest population of Dalits is in India, where Hinduism and the caste system are traditionally associated with the evil practice of untouchability.

Every child should be sent to school. There can be no quarrel with this statement, which looks perfectly innocuous. Nonetheless it is hugely problematic. The issue is – what kind of school? The first response to this question is: a good school. The problem begins when one sets about defining what exactly is meant by a good school.

Anthony Grayling is professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, London. He is best known as a writer and broadcaster and a staunch defender of Enlightenment values.  He recently joined the IHEU team at the United Nations in Geneva where he has addressed the plenary of the UN Human Rights Council. International Humanist News interviewed him in London.

Highlights of the 13th session of the UN Human Rights Council

The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), a London based non-governmental organisation facilitated a forum under the theme “Humanism and Human Rights in Liberia”. Humanism is a rational philosophy informed by science, inspired by art, and motivated by compassion.

I am happy to be in Liberia, Africa’s first republic. I bring you all greetings and salutations from the International Humanist and Ethical Union and from all Humanist and free thought groups around the globe. I want to assure you that all Humanists wish Liberians well. We are strongly behind you as you embark on this critical task of rebuilding your country.

On Friday, February 26, several representatives from an array of nontheistic organizations in the United States met for a policy briefing with White House officials about issues that are important to secular Americans. The Obama administration routinely holds such briefings with other groups, including groups that are religious or advocate for particular policy positions.

The IHEU General Assembly and the associated African conference held in Kampala in 2004 set the scene for an enthusiastic promotion of a wide range of projects by members of UHASSO, the Uganda Humanist Association, aimed at promoting a Humanist life-stance and benefiting the community.

The weekend of 14/15 March some 2,500 non-believers packed into Melbourne’s glossy new hi-tech Convention Centre for the 2010 Global Atheist Convention.