Annual General Meeting 2016

Date
06/03/2016

Time
6.30 pm – 8:00 pm

Location
Function room (Next to Swimming Pool),
Cashew Park Condominium,
50 Cashew Road 679633

The Humanist Society (Singapore) invites all our members, fellow humanists and supporters to our  Annual General Meeting (AGM).
If you want to find out more about HSS and our activities, our past events in 2015 and our future plans for 2016 and beyond, do join us on 6 March 2016 at 6.30pm.
We will also be electing several key appointment holders for 2016 (see below) and we would certainly appreciate your support.
AGENDA:
a) Introduction by President
b) Events and Activities in 2015/16
c) Press and media coverage in 2015/16
d) Auditor and Treasurer’s report
e) Constitutional ammendments
f ) Election of New committee members
      -President
        Nominees: Tan Tatt Si
      -Treasurer
        Nominees: Zheng Huifen
      -Assistant Secretary
        Nominees: Cheng Chee Hoew
      -Ordinary Committee Member
        Nominees: Dan Dan Thio
                                Chan Yue Kong
To attend the AGM, you must be a member of HSS. You can sign up on the day of the AGM or renew your membership to attend the AGM. RSVP via this Google Form: http://goo.gl/forms/97vznoMgvM
For members who wish to vote for committee members, but are unable to attend the AGM, please e-mail secretary@humanist.org.sg to request to vote by proxy. We will forward details concerning the nominees and further information about proxy voting to you by further e-mail.

Nomination for Executive Committee 2016/2017

Dear members,

We are calling for our Annual General Meeting for 2016. We would like to invite our members to be a part of the Executive Committee.
The positions in the Executive Committee for the year 2016 are as follows.

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

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

3) Assistant Secretary: Open to members of the society for a minimum of 6 months and must be a Singaporean citizen / permanent resident

4) 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

1) 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 13th of January 2016. Any submissions after 00 00 hrs 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.

ST: Vitriol from ‘offended’ individuals a concern

We have penned a letter in response to online vitriol against Amos Yee, the teenage blogger who has drawn public anger over his Facebook and blog posts attacking Islam. While some of Amos’ posts are admittedly careless, some of the reactions against him, including death threats, were extreme and disturbing.

Here’s the letter on the Straits Times Forum:

http://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/vitriol-from-offended-individuals-a-concern

If the URL is no longer working, you can read our unedited letter here, which more or less similar to the edited version. [Read more…]

SIX-SIX: Making Sense of Mortality Matters

We were interviewed by media site SIX-SIX with regards to atheist views on death and rituals, as part of a longer article on different religious views towards death.

Here’s the interview:

http://www.six-six.com/article/making-sense-of-mortality-matters-death-ritual [Read more…]

Our statement on the attacks in Paris and Beirut

The shocking and unwarranted events that unfolded in Paris and Beirut recently should not be condoned. We do not accept any reason or ideology that justifies such harm and sorrow.

While the perpetrators should be apprehended and held responsible for their actions, we should ultimately strive towards understanding the factors that led to these attacks and find a way to prevent them from occurring again.

However, fear of offending sensitivities should not drive the conversation about what has happened. As a society, we should strive towards creating an environment where our problems can be aired before they are allowed to drive wedges and create insurmountable divides that can no longer be bridged.

If anything, these events should serve as a stark reminder that solutions to tensions best arise from open and honest discourse, based on facts and unimpeded by ideology or partisan disagreements. Human lives should be valued over rigid adherence to dogma, for lives once taken cannot be revived again.

Our Charity Book Sales

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iheyounnamedA story by the Humanist Society (Singapore) for the Better Tomorrow – IHEYO’s Charity Week.

An AFP article once said Singapore has no room for the dead. A tiny city-state and the second most densely populated country on Earth, local cemeteries – including the largest Chinese cemetery outside China – had to give way to malls, schools and tall apartment blocks to meet the aspirations of the living. [Read more…]

Communism failed due to flawed economic ideology

This is a letter that was co-written by the Humanist Society (Singapore) and Leftwriter Center in response to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s comments on godless societies. Due to copyright issues, we are showing only our unedited letter here. Click here to view the published letter.

We would also like to recommend this letter by Tan Tatt Si on how atheism is a by-product of beliefs, not a cause of problems. [Read more…]

FF Podcast 76: Freethinking in Singapore

Shortly after the Asian Humanism Conference ended, Filipino Freethinkers president Red Tani held a podcast interview with our President Paul Tobin and his daughter Patricia Tobin. Watch the interview here:

Transcript of the podcast

Red Tani: We’re in Singapore for the Asian Humanist Conference hosted by the Humanist Society (Singapore). Congratulations for the job well done on the Conference. What is the significance of holding this event in Singapore? [Read more…]

Humanist shirts for Pink Dot

The pink version of our Good for Goodness Sake t-shirts are still on sale! The pink version has been worn at our annual Pink Dot picnics for several years. Here’s a photo from Pink Dot 2014.

  • Cost: $20 each for both non-members and members
  • Deadline for ordering: First-come, first-served! We have limited stock.
  • Collection date and venue: July 1 2017, at the HSS Pink Dot booth at Hong Lim Park. Read more at our event page and FB event page.
  • Sizes (updated 30 Jun 2017) :
    • XS: 1 available
    • S: OUT OF STOCK
    • M: 3 available,
    • L: 1 available
    • XL: OUT OF STOCK
    • XXL: OUT OF STOCK
  • Payment options: Scroll down to place your orders!
T-shirt

We are only taking new orders for ONE colour (pink). The other colours, dark grey, brown, maroon and navy, are not being reprinted at the moment. Here’s the chart of sizes:

 

T-shirt sizes

[Read more…]

Passing of Mr Lee Kuan Yew

STATEMENT FROM THE HUMANIST SOCIETY (SINGAPORE):

Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew has passed away this morning at the age of 91.

Throughout his years of public service, including as Prime Minister from 1959-1990, Mr Lee and his team worked to create a safe and prosperous country. Mr Lee recognised the importance of secularism in a muliti-religious society, to balance competing interests so that no group is systematically favoured over another.

Our Society expresses our condolescences to Mr Lee’s family. We will remember his service to Singapore.

For updates, you can follow these two pages:

PM Lee’s page:
https://www.facebook.com/leehsienloong

Remembering Lee Kuan Yew:
https://www.facebook.com/RememberingLeeKuanYew

Executive Committee
Humanist Society (Singapore)