An excellent opportunity for an experienced Communications Officer has arisen within the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), the world union of Humanist and other non-religious organizations.

The gay Humanist charity the Pink Triangle Trust (PTT) has re-launched its online magazine with a new title, The Pink Humanist.  The UK-based magazine aims to reach a global audience of freethinkers through its website at http://www.thepinkhumanist.com.

Despite damage from the recent bombing in Norway, secular activists from more than 50 countries will meet in Oslo, August 12 to 14, to discuss how to build a more peaceful world. The International Humanist and Ethical Union’s (IHEU) Eighteenth World Congress, on the theme of “Humanism and Peace” (www.human.no/oslo2011), will meet at the Oslo Congress Center, damaged by the July 22 bombing, with events also at the home of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.

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.

The June issue of YouthSpeak is now available online. This issue of the magazine from the International Humanist and Ethical Youth Organization (IHEYO) includes articles of interest to Humanists of all ages and in all locations.

The Council of Australian Humanist Societies is pleased to announce that Dr Leslie Cannold, writer, commentator, ethicist and researcher, is the 2011 Australian Humanist of the Year (AHOY). This award has been bestowed on Leslie in recognition of her valuable contribution to public debates on a wide range of ethical issues, particularly to do with women and family life. She is an outstanding secular voice in Australian public life. Her public contributions, whether in daily newspapers or on radio and TV, are always considered and well informed.

The UN Human Rights Council has published two reports by IHEU in connection with the 16th session of the Council currently underway in Geneva. The first exposes the appalling impact of corruption on the human rights of the world's poorest people; the second is the "smoking gun" on the Vatican's involvement in the systematic cover up of world-wide child abuse.

The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) General Assembly 2011 will be held at Hall D, Oslo Congress Centre, Youngs gate 11, Oslo, Norway on Thursday 11 August 2011 (2.00 pm to 5.30 pm) and Monday 15 August 2011 (9.30 am to 12.30 pm). It will be held in conjunction with the 18th World Humanist Congress.

The National Federation of Free Thought (Fédération nationale de la Libre Pensée - FNLP), the National League for Popular Education (Ligue de l’Enseignement et pour l’Éducation populaire - LDE), the Rationalist Union (Union rationaliste - UR), the Movement Europe and Secularism (Mouvement Europe et Laïcité - CAEDEL), French Member Organizations of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (Union Internationale Humaniste et Laïque - IHEU) have published the following join declaration (en français):