The main function of the annual General Assembly is the administrative and statutory management of EHF, but it usually takes place in parallel with important activities (congresses, conferences, seminars on an international or European level) set up by the Federation or by the host humanist organisation. It is therefore an opportunity to meet and exchange information and experience for the representatives of the member organisations.

Those entitled to attend are:-

The General Assembly and a highly successful conference on “Morality in a World without God” were hosted on 6-8 May by the Italian Unione degli Atei e degli Agnostici Razionalisti in Genova.

A full report is to be found here.

The General Assembly and other meetings (including a conference on Women and Religion) were held in Stockholm, Sweden, on 28-29 May.  The full programme is given here.

The General Assembly was held in the afternoon of 5 June in Conway Hall, London.  The annual report [either in English or French) was accepted and three planning papers  were also agreed, including a long-term vision for the EHF.  The meeting paid tribute to the retiring General Secretary, Georges Liénard, who had steered the EHF through nine significant years of growth and campaigning.

In the morning before the General Assembly there was an open meeting at which there was discussion on the rule of law and on education – follow the link to read the main contributions.

The following day there was a highly successful one-day conference on Darwin, Humanism and Science (programme here), jointly sponsored with the IHEU and with our member organisations the British Humanist Association and South Place Ethical Society.  People queued for returned tickets and the hall was packed with all 450 seats sold.  Ed Spencer in his blog Ed’s Elite Blog gave the conference an enthusiastic reaction – read it on this site.

Later in the week, after the IHEU General Assembly, there were other events, including a memorial meeting for Harold (H.J.) Blackham (1903-2009), a pioneer of Humanism, founder of IHEU and first director of the BHA, and a two-day IHEU conference on caste and untouchability.

Before the General Assembly a half-day seminar was held on the EHF’s work in the main European institutions.

The 2008 General Assembly was held in Athens, Greece on 15 May. The annual report for 2007 was discussed.  At a reconvened General Assembly on 10 July in Brussels revised By-laws were approved.

A one-day conference to mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was held the next day.

The 2007 General Assembly was held in Torino, Italy on 15 June. The President, David Pollock, made some introductory remarks. The annual report for 2006 was discussed.

A conference on Secularism was held the next day in collaboration with the Consulta Torinese per la Laicit delle Istitutzioni and the Unione degli Atei e degli Agnostici Razionalisti (UAAR).

2006: Toledo
The 2006 General Assembly was held in Toledo, Spain on 23 June. The annual report for 2005 was discussed.

It was at this General Assembly that Steinar Nilsen retired as President. Werner Schultz paid tribute to his huge services to EHF over twelve years.

A symposium on Promotion of Secularism in Spain, Europe and in the EU was held the next day.in collaboration with Europa Laica.

The EHF published a booklet, The EHF in the European Union, to mark its first fifteen years.

The 2005 General Assembly was held on Saturday June 25 in Berlin, Germany, with Humanistischer Verband Deutschlands (HVD) as our hosts. The annual report for 2004 was discussed.

A Symposium was held on Saturday June 25 on the Limits of Religious Freedom.

The 2004 General Assembly was held on Saturday June 19 in London, UK. The annual report for 2003 was discussed. At this General Assembly and all subsequent ones members discussed and approved the working plan for the following year.

The 2003 General Assembly was held on Saturday June 14 in Brussels, Belgium. The annual report for 2002 was discussed.

2002 General Assembly -Noordwijkerhout
The 2002 General Assembly was held on Saturday 6 July in Noordwijkerhout in the Netherlands.  The annual report for 2001 was discussed.

2001: Ostend

2000: Brussels

1999: Ghent

1998: Utrecht

1997: Strasbourg

1996: Utrecht

1995: Oslo.  In addition in October 1995 the then EHF Secretariat for Central and Eastern Europe organised a conference in Berlin.

1994: European Parliament, Brussels.  At this meeting Steinar Nilsen (Norway) became president: he served until 2006.

1993 (25-27 July): Berlin: a Congress rather than a General Assembly.  John Leeson, the EHF President, gave an opening address.  A report by Paul Kurtz in Free Inquiry (September 1993) started:

The first Congress of the European Humanist Federation convened in former communist country East Berlin on July 25, 1993, focussed on ‘Democracy and Human Rights,’ and was attended by officials of post-communist Eastern European and Western countries. The political conditions prevailing in the Balkans and the former republics of Soviet Union were criticized, and pessimistic views were aired on the Eastern European countries’ transition from communism to democratization. . .

1993 (7 March): Antwerp
1992 (8 November): Paris
1992 (27 July): Amsterdam
1992 (29 February) Berlin.  This GA was intended to involve organisations from eastern European but elicited only apologies (from the Czech and Hungarian associations) and no attendance.
1991 (12 October) Brussels – the first General Assembly.  John Leeson (UK) was the first president.

Formation of EHF
Prior to this, there were three significant meetings: the IHEU Congress in Brussels in 1990 when the idea for the European Humanist Federation was formed; a final preparatory meeting Brussels 27 April 1991 which was mainly concerned with drafting the EHF constitution; and the IHEU Board meeting in Prague in 1991 when it was formally decided to create the EHF – read here a report of that meeting.