An interview with Kristin Mile, Secretary General of the Norwegian Humanist Association

The 2011 World Humanist Congress will be held in Oslo, Norway, in August next year. Humanists, atheists, freethinkers, secularists, skeptics and others will meet for the tri-annual congress. IHN takes a look into the preparations for such a large event.

IHN: Are you busy with Congress preparations yet?

Mile: Yes! The Norwegian Humanist Association (NHA) is proud to have been granted the opportunity to host the World Congress in Oslo in 2011. We are excited and anxious to see how the program will be received and how many participants we will get. And we are very much looking forward to seeing numerous Humanists in Oslo next year.

IHN: When did you start the planning for the 2011 Congress?

Mile: We initiated internal discussions during the fall of 2006, and the board of the NHA concluded that they would apply to host the 2011 Congress. We indicated that the main theme would be Humanism and Peace, and the application was approved by the IHEU in June 2007. This allowed us to start planning the Congress in more detail.

IHN: How is the work organised?

Mile: The NHA board has the overall responsibility of organising the Congress, and the planning and coordination is carried out by a Congress committee and two sub-committees; a program committee and an organising committee. Recently we also appointed a cultural committee for the Congress. Employees of the NHA and a PCO (Professional Congress Organiser) make sure the registrations, hotel bookings and other practical tasks are carried out.

IHN: How many people are involved in the preparations?

Mile: At this point in time there are about 20 people, employees and volunteers, involved in the preparations on different levels. As we continue the preparations, more and more people will be involved, and during the Congress itself there will be a substantial number of volunteers contributing.

IHN: What will be the main differences from previous Congresses?

Mile: Humanism and Peace is definitively an important international subject/issue, which has not been the theme for a Congress before. We will invite the delegates to an inspiring and varied Congress featuring excellent and internationally known speakers and contributors. We are aiming for a varied program, but will also offer additional workshops on interesting subjects before and after the Congress.

We hope that the Congress will attract Humanists from all over the world, and therefore the NHA has given a generous contribution to the IHEU Travel Fund. Hopefully this will allow many people an opportunity to attend the Congress.

IHN: How does the Congress theme tie in with Oslo’s identity?

Mile: Oslois the oldest of the Scandinavian capitals, although not the largest. It is a pleasant city with over 500 000 inhabitants, and has become an attractive tourist and conference city.

A focus on Peace is one of the things that have made Oslo famous. This is where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in December each year, and there have also been several peace negotiations in Oslo, amongst them the Oslo Accords. Norway has played a crucial role in the UN’s work throughout the years and has held many of the important offices related to peace and stability in the world`s more unstable countries.

IHN: How many delegates do you expect, and from where?

Mile: We hope that many Humanists and Humanist organisations will be present in Oslo next year. We are optimistic and hope to see between 600 and 800 participants at the Congress. We envisage that our Scandinavian neighbours, Western Europe and USA will be well represented, and we also welcome participants from Eastern Europe. In addition we hope that Humanists from active organisations all over the world will make their way to Oslo. We expect to see delegates from as far away as India and Nepal, Australia and New Zealand, Nigeria and Uganda, Brazil and Argentina.

IHN: How is the Congress financed?

Mile: The 2011 Congress, like previous ones, will be financed mainly through participants’ fees. In addition the NHA will partly subsidise the social events to make this an interesting and inclusive Congress.

IHN: So why should people come to this Congress?

Mile: The most important thing with an international Congress like this is to gather Humanists from all over the world, so that they can exchange experiences, challenges and opinions. We hope to be able to offer a professionally interesting, varied and exciting program that will satisfy the expectations of the participants.

And last, but not least, we hope that as many as possible will have the time and opportunity to get to know our beautiful capital. It may be small in size, but offers history, culture and beautiful scenery. I also hope that some of the participants will be able to combine the Congress with a holiday to allow them to experience more of the beauty that Norway offers.

I would like to invite everyone to follow the updates on the Congress website in the months to come on human.no/oslo2011.