Webinar Series 2021: The Spectrum of Global Humanism and the Importance of Protecting Humanists at Risk
The Spectrum of Global Humanism and the Importance of Protecting Humanists at Risk
With Giovanni Gaetani, PhD Humanists International
Sunday, July 25, 2021 3:00 pm EST
As a member of Humanist Canada, you might be familiar with humanism as a philosophical worldview, but are you aware of the very different situations that humanist organizations and individuals are facing all around the world?
For example, did you know that in 15 countries it is legally or practically impossible to run a humanist organization, while in Norway and Belgium humanist organizations are not only recognized but also funded by the State? Or did you know that 12 countries punish apostasy with the death penalty?
The global humanist movement is extremely complex and contains a series of non-religious organizations that face very different cultural, economic, and political challenges. The best way to understand this complexity is to think about the global humanist movement as a ‘spectrum’.
In this webinar, Giovanni Gaetani will delve into the three main aspects of this spectrum. You will get to hear a series of real-life examples from Members and Associates of Humanists International, and understand how being a humanist can mean different things throughout the four corners of the globe.
A special focus will be given to the situation of humanists at risk around the world and how the global humanist community can support the work of Humanists International to protect them.
Giovanni Gaetani is the Membership Engagement Manager at Humanists International. He has a PhD in Philosophy from Rome Tor Vergata University and has published two books: Atheism and Philosophy without Gibberish (Nessun Dogma) and Against Nihilism. The Atheist and Humanist Wager of Sisyphus (Diogene Multimedia). Before joining the Humanists International, Giovanni worked as a volunteer for the Italian Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics (UAAR). In 2013 he won the UAAR best thesis prize with his work on “Nihilism and Responsibility at the Age of God’s Death in Nietzsche and Camus”. He is the author of Good without a God: an Illustrated Guide to Humanism, published in 2021 by UAAR Giovani in collaboration with Young Humanists International.