We don’t yet know whether from September we will be able to meet back in the library in New Cross, or whether we’ll have to find another venue for a short period or even continue on zoom for a while longer, but we have some really interesting meetings lined up for the Autumn so please get the dates in your diaries!
Assuming it is possible, we will also aim to restart some of our social activities in the Autumn. More details to come later in the year. Past events have included museum and art gallery visits; meetups in the pub; walks; Sunday brunches; etc. Please let us know if there is something you think it would be fun to do as part of the group.
See below for details of our monthly meetings September to December….
2 September 2021: Humanist schools in Uganda are thriving
Imagine a happy and purposeful school with abundant opportunities for personal development; a school aiming to deliver the highest standard of education, providing knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for success in the modern world. An inclusive school based on reason, compassion and tolerance.
This is what the Uganda Humanist Schools Trust, a charity supported by many humanist groups in the UK including SELHuG, provides through the six – shortly to be 8 – schools it supports. In an extraordinary year, the trust stepped in to rescue two abandoned primary schools at the urgent request of parents. Charity founder Steve Hurd will tell the story of the schools and the challenges facing them now.
7 October 2021: Humanist Climate Action Group
A speaker from the recently-formed Humanist Climate Action Group will describe what action they have been taking to make a Humanist contribution to fighting global warming and achieving net zero carbon emissions. This should motivate us to determine what we, as a group or as individuals, can do to ensure that the world remains viable for future generations.
4 November 2021: Nuclear Weapons
SELHuG member Gini Bevan, with David Leal, both from London CND, will review the history of opposition to nuclear weapons with an emphasis on the impact of the UN Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (1970) and the more recent Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (2021). This discussion should enable us to decide whether to support the London CND Peace Pledge.
2 December 2021: Human Rights in action: the advocacy work of Humanists International
Freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief, the rights of women, equality regardless of race and nationality, LGBTI equality, the rights of the child… these human rights are threatened and abused daily across the world. Humanists International works tirelessly to help those under threat from harmful traditional, cultural and religious practices.
Lillie Ashworth, Advocacy Officer at Humanists International, will be describing its work at our December meeting to remember and celebrate Human Rights Day (10th December), the anniversary of the 1948 adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
