European Humanist Federation
The European Humanist Federation (EHF;. English European Humanist Federation ) is an international association in which several dozen non-religious to humanistic , free-thinking and secular organizations have joined forces from Europe. The EHF is based in Brussels, Belgium . Michael Bauer has been President of the EHF since May 2020. The association was founded in Brussels in 1991.
aims
The association wants to represent the presence and interests of its member organizations at European level, among other things by participating in politics in the European Union . The main concerns include advocating humanistic principles, maintaining or realizing the separation of church and state , human rights and against discrimination against non-religious people.
According to its statutes, one of the primary tasks of the EHF is to promote humanistic perspectives and the cultural, social and ethical values based on them, as well as Europe-wide cooperation for social and cultural progress. Other tasks include organizing cultural, educational and scientific events as well as promoting the exchange of experience and information between the associations, which can contribute to the further development of “humanistic values” in Europe.
The fields of work also include topics relating to bioethical issues, education, marriage, drug policy and public broadcasting.
activities
In order to achieve its goals, the EHF works together with members of the European Parliament and participates in the intercultural dialogue of the Council of Europe as well as in the processes of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe , which are related to the topic of human rights. The EHF is officially recognized as a dialogue partner of the European Union, as Article 17 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union requires the EU institutions to maintain an open, transparent and regular dialogue with religious and ideological communities.
Since 1993, regular conferences have been held in different EU countries that deal with social and cultural issues from a humanistic perspective.
According to its own information, the association works closely with the International Humanist and Ethical Union , which performs similar functions to the EHF at the global level and at the United Nations .
construction
The association consists of around 50 humanistic, free-thinking and secular organizations from around two dozen European countries. Members from the German-speaking area include the Humanist Association of Germany , the Humanist Association , the Freethinkers Association of Switzerland , the Freethinkers Association of Austria and the Giordano Bruno Foundation . The EHF is based in Brussels and is recognized by the Belgian government as a “non-profit” organization. The working languages are English and French.
The highest body of the EHF is the General Assembly, which meets annually and every three years elects the Executive Board, which conducts the business of the EHF between the General Assemblies. The EHF board, chaired by President Michael Bauer, currently consists of 14 people. Vice-Presidents are Lone Ree Milkaer (Denmark) and Kaja Bryx (Poland). The general secretary is Panayote Dimitras (Greece), the deputy general secretary is Raluca Lasl (Romania).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ EHF office at the Center d'Action Laïque
- ↑ https://www.humanistische-vereinigung.de/nachricht/wechsel-an-der-ehf-spitze.html
- ↑ Selected data on the development of the Lower Saxony Humanist Association ( Memento of the original from January 9, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ https://humanistfederation.eu/who-we-are/bylaws/ Statutes of the EHF
- ↑ https://humanistfederation.eu/what-we-do/ Work areas of the EHF
- ↑ Full text of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (PDF)
- ↑ https://humanistfederation.eu/who-we-are/members/ Overview of the EHF member organizations}
- ↑ https://humanistfederation.eu/who-we-are/our-mission/ Tasks of the General Assembly of the EHF
- ↑ https://humanistfederation.eu/who-we-are/our-board/ Board of the EHF
