The General Assembly (GA) was held in the offices of IHEU Member Organization the Centre d’Action Laique in Belgium on the first weekend of August.

In the preliminary session on Thursday, three presentations highlighted some of the activities that IHEU and its member organizations are running. International Director Babu Gogineni presented some of the campaigns in India, with focus on promoting science and fighting superstition. Specifically the work done to save the girl Sambabvi from a life as a Hindu girl goddess and get her back to normal school was described. Roger Lepeix and Sam Ayache led a session on the separation of religion and state, with short reports from many of the other countries present. And Sonja Eggerickx gave a presentation on the work of the major Humanist organizations in Belgium.

In the formal session of Friday, the usual business of the General Assembly was conducted, with adoption of minutes from the 2009 GA, the 2009 activity report, the 2009 accounts and the strategic plan for 2010-2014. Membership of four new organizations were approved; the Humanist Academy of Scotland, the Pink Triangle Trust, the Uganda Humanist Schools Trust and the Freethought Society (of Greater Philadelphia). A policy resolution on education in schools was passed by the GA (with two votes against).

Following the new Bylaws and Internal Rules that were adopted last year, the EC presented the membership review and the work done in changing membership category for some of the MO’s and recalculating the dues for all. Some of the MO’s did not respond to the membership review, and the follow-up of these was discussed. There was also a session on regional co-operation, were Roar Johnsen presented some of the possibilities for such co-operation and the related advantages, while Deo Ssekitooleko told of the emerging regional co-operation in East Africa.

Baard Thalberg of the Norwegian Humanist Association presented the plans for the World Humanist Congress in Oslo in August 2011, and urged all organizations to promote the Congress to their members. An Award for Distinguished Service to Humanism was presented to Jean and Barrie Berkley (see http://www.iheu.org/distinguished-service-humanism-award-presented-jean-and-barrie-berkley).

Jack Jeffery left the executive committee after serving two full terms, and Andrew Copson, the chief executive officer of the British Humanist Association, was elected as a new vice president. Roger Lepeix was also reelected to the executive committee. In the EC meeting following the GA, Roger Lepeix was reelected as treasurer and Roar Johnsen was elected as first vice president. Sonja Eggerickx continues as president. (An IHEU organizational chart showing the members of the executive committee is available at: http://www.iheu.org/orgchart.)

The last session of the GA, on Saturday morning, was a workshop on IHEU strategy in the form of a Socratic dialogue, with focus on “the most fundamental questions”. After a long process five areas were identified, and these turned out to be the same as those already in the strategic plan. Better communication and more focus on how the IHEU can be a tool for international influence of the MO’s, were noted as points for improvement.