Nomination for Executive Committee 2017/2018

7 January 2017 by

Dear members,

We are calling for our Annual General Meeting for 2017. We would like to invite our members to be a part of the Executive Committee.
The positions in the Executive Committee for the year 2017 are as follows.

1) Vice-President: Open to members of the society for a minimum of 1 year and must be a Singaporean citizen / permanent resident

2) Secretary: Open to members of the society for a minimum of 1 year and must be a Singaporean citizen / permanent resident

3) Committee Member: Open to members of the society for a minimum of 6 months

The length of term for all offices is 2 years.

For a description of the roles and responsibilities of the above roles are outlined in The Society’s Constitution, which can be accessed at https://humanist.org.sg/about/our-constitution/

Members are free to nominate themselves or another member of the society.
Nominations must be seconded by another member of the society.
Please submit the following details for the nominee, the member recommending the nominee, if not the same individual , and the member seconding the nomination

Title: Nomination for HumanistSG Exco 2017/18

1) Full Name
2) IC number (for Singaporean citizens / permanent resident)
3) E-mail
4) Contact number

Please submit the details to secretary@humanist.org.sg by the 30th of January 2017. Any submissions after 2359hrs on said date will not be applicable.

Please feel free to contact us at secretary@humanist.org if you have any further queries concerning the nomination process.

Announcements

Young Humanists SG meetup #2

18 October 2016 by

Young Humanists SG held a second meeting at Humanist Cafe on November 10, 2016, building on discussions conducted at our first meeting. About 8-10 students and alumni were present at the meeting. Key points: [Read more…]

Announcements, Blog

Videos: Religion and Atheism: A Conversation (Round 3)

12 October 2016 by

This (last of series of three) is appropriately timed for Dr Paul Hedges’ book launch on Friday 14 October 2016.

These videos, where our president had a conversation with Mohamed Imran Mohamed Taib from LeftWrite Center,

Round 3 : Wrap up on religion
Speaker :  Mohamed Imran Mohamed Taib (Co-Founder, Leftwrite Center)

Wrap up on atheism
Speaker : Tan Tatt Si (HSS President)

Perhaps the most memorable phrase outlining the spirit of the conversation, came at the very end of this video : “What is one god between friends ?”

A/Prof Hoon with his closing remarks
Speaker : A/Prof Hoon Chang Yau (Singapore Management University)

HumanistSG thanks you for tuning in, and endeavour to bring more such conversations to our followers.

 

Announcements, Blog

First Humanist Celebrant-led Wedding in Singapore

5 October 2016 by

On what was a beautiful evening on Tanjong Beach Sentosa on Sept 20, Richard & Bev sealed their love with wedding vows here, in a ceremony that was performed by the Humanist Society (Singapore), or HumanistSG for short.

The event, jointly planned by the newlyweds and the celebrant arm of HumanistSG, consists of these parts : the ethos of Humanism, the pathos of the couple and their friends, and finding unity in what all experienced in life so far and in lives henceforth.

[Read more…]

Announcements, Blog

Dialogue with Chris Johnson: Presenting a meaningful alternative to religion

24 September 2016 by

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This is a summary of the film director Chris Johnson’s visit to Singapore on Sept 16-17, where he took part in two separate screenings of “A Better Life: An Exploration of Joy & Meaning in a World Without God”.

Instead of just criticizing religion and the damage it does, the atheist movement should present meaningful alternatives such through the good lives they led and communities they built, according to ‘A Better Life’ film director Chris Johnson in Singapore last weekend. [Read more…]

Announcements, Blog

Our first celebrant service

5 September 2016 by

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By Tan Tatt Si

On August 28, the Humanist Society (Singapore) performed our first celebrant service. While we had other humanist services in the past, this was the first time we are doing it in our organization’s name, ushering in a new chapter in humanist celebrant service here. [Read more…]

Announcements, Blog

Join the Humanist Society! (Video)

23 August 2016 by

Our founding President, Paul Tobin, introduces the Humanist Society (Singapore), a community of humanists, freethinkers, atheists, agnostics and other like-minded people. Since our founding in 2010, we have held many public talks, social networking events and community work activities.

Our thanks and appreciation goes to That Moment Studio for filming and to photographer Ruey Loon for post-production.

Have you watch our short introduction to Humanism?

If you are ready to join us, find out the different ways of supporting the society and the membership here (free for students!).

Announcements, Blog

“Terrorism has no religion”: discard this divisive slogan

25 July 2016 by
The Humanist Society (Singapore) sets out our position regarding the slogan “Terrorism has no religion”.

As Singapore celebrates Racial Harmony Day this month, we are mindful that the terrorist threat to Singapore is at its highest in decades. Singapore’s political leaders has emphasised that the question is not whether a terrorist attack will happen here, but when it will happen.

It is an unfortunate fact that most terrorist attacks in major cities have been perpetuated under the banner of radical Islamic ideology. A similar attack in Singapore will undoubtedly have ramifications on the relationship between persons of different races and faiths.

After each attack by the Islamic State or its adherents (also known as ISIS/ DAESH), ordinary citizens, political and religious leaders often condemn the attackers by asserting that “terrorism has no religion”. However the Humanist Society (Singapore) suggest that this is a divisive slogan which discriminates against people with no religion.

The statement ‘terrorism has no religion’ can also be read as saying that the terrorists were in fact irreligious. Such interpretation even more glaring in reactions stating that the terrorists were “not true Muslims” or “not true believers” – therefore by implication having no religion. The logical conclusion of such statements is that atheism, or the lack of religion, is the root of terrorism instead.

While the slogan was formulated to guard against racial or religious prejudice, it inevitably casts aspersions against persons who have no religion. The Society is concerned that such sentiments may lead to further contempt and discrimination against people who do not subscribe to organised religion. We suggest that a better rallying call is “United against Terrorism”.

It is simplistic to think that merely disassociating religious ideology from terrorism will guard society against terrorism. Society’s collective response to a terrorist attack involve physical responses like the newly established Rapid Deployment Troops, as well as social and psychological responses such as the further strengthening of our multi-racial, multi-religious fabric.

We therefore call upon the Singapore government to step up national defense programmes regarding psychological defense, and the Inter-Religious Organisation and other grassroots organisations to conduct inter-faith events where the aftermath of a potential terrorist attack in Singapore can be honestly and frankly addressed.

Some links for reference:

http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/terrorists-have-no-religion-aamir-khan-eid-celebration-2899332/

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/no-religion-to-blame-for-violence-faith-groups
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-declares-all-atheists-are-terrorists-in-new-law-to-crack-down-on-political-dissidents-9228389.html
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/terrorists-extremists-have-no-religion-says-kerala-cm-vijayan-2906502/
http://www.todayonline.com/voices/terrorism-has-no-religion
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leslie-marshall/terrorism-has-no-religion_b_8804256.html
Announcements, Blog Tags: ,

World Humanist Day 2016 Video

18 July 2016 by

We organised our World Humanist Day celebrations on June 18 this year. The theme is Humanists: Be The Change. The talks are by speakers who represent organisations that make positive changes to their communities. These talks also aim to explore how we can make the most of our one life in a meaningful way for ourselves and others.

At the conference, we brought Humanitarian workers from MSF, UNHCR, Relief 2.0 & HappyPeopleHelpingPeople. The event, held at the Tampines Regional Library, attracted close to a hundred participants. In addition to the guest speakers, we also held members-only workshops on critical thinking and media writing.

The speakers featured in the video are:

1) Robin Low, Relief 2.0
2) Dr Marlene Lee, Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
3) Vivian Tan, UNHCR
4) Mohammad Nafiz Bin Kamarudin, Happy People Helping People

More information about the speakers and their presentations can be found here: https://humanist.org.sg/events/world-humanist-day-2016/

Announcements, Blog

Official shortform: HumanistSG

10 July 2016 by

“Humanist Society (Singapore)” is our official name and it should be used as first reference in official documents, news articles and any other platform meant for mass communication and record keeping. We do not accept variants such as “Humanist Society of Singapore” or “Singapore Humanist Society.”

For second reference and beyond, we can be referred as a “the Society”, “organisation”, “group”, “non-governmental organisation” or “NGO”.

We have used an acronym, “HSS”, as our shortened form in the past. However, “HSS” is a commonly used acronym locally and around the world. Thus, it is not suitable in the long run. From today onwards, we will use a shortened form called “HumanistSG” for second references and beyond. This shortened form also happens to be our Twitter name: https://twitter.com/HumanistSG

“HSS” can be used in private, informal references to our organisation. “Humanist Society SG” shall be kept on our Twitter for brevity sake and will not be used as an official name or official shortened form.

Official first reference:

  1. Humanist Society (Singapore)

Official second references:

  1. HumanistSG
  2. “group”
  3. “Society”
  4. “organisation”
  5. “non-governmental organisation” / “NGO”
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