About HI and YHI

The Asian Humanism Conference will not be possible without help from the Young Humanists International (YHI), the youth wing of Humanists International (HI).

Humanists International (HI)

hi    iheu

Humanists International (known as the International Humanist and Ethical Union, or IHEU, from 1952–2019) is the sole global umbrella organisation embracing Humanist, atheist, rationalist, secularist, skeptic, laique, ethical cultural, freethought and similar organisations worldwide. They were founded in Amsterdam in 1952, with the vision of a Humanist world; a world in which human rights are respected and everyone is able to live a life of dignity.

They work to build and represent the global Humanist movement that defends human rights and promotes Humanist values worldwide. With a headquarter in London, United Kingdom, HI is an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) with representation on various United Nations committees and other international bodies. They seek to influence international policy through representation and information, to build the humanist network, and let the world know about the worldview of Humanism.

Young Humanists International (YHI)

yhi    iheyo

Young Humanists International (known as the International Humanist and Ethical Youth Organisation, or IHEYO, from 2002–2019) is the international umbrella organisation for Humanist organisations. They represent young humanists around the world, with a focus on people aged 18 – 35. With members in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe, they are a diverse Humanist network. As the youth wing of the HI, they work closely with them and are supported by them.

YHI represent between 15,000-20,000 Humanists aged 18-35 worldwide. The hotspots of our membership are East and West Africa, northern/western Europe and spread out across Asia. There is therefore a need for support. The American Humanists groups have strong young base, but are detached from the rest of the world.

Their members benefit from the international network of member organisations and individuals to communicate through. Through member and partner organisations, training and capacity building events are ran on 3 continents for young activists. These training and networking events empower our members to achieve their individual, local and regional goals. Our members form the young humanist communities and campaign for positive change in a diverse range of areas such as: religious freedom, women’s rights, education rights, abortion rights, LGBTIQ rights, equality, human rights, equality, freedom of speech/thought/belief, public communication of science.

Asian Humanist Working Group

YHI’s Asian Working Group is the forum through which Asian Humanist organisations can get in touch and work together. The Working Group is one of four, the others are: the European Working Group, African Working Group and Americans Working Group. The Asian Working Group has one conference per year. Singapore hosted the 2015 and the 2019 conferences. There are also Skype meetings throughout the year. Other committee positions in the working group include the Chair, the Secretary and General Committee.