BHA Local Development Volunteers wanted

Could you represent the views of humanists and non-religious people to your local authority and local equality networks?

Would you like to represent local humanists and the non-religious in dialogue between different religion and belief groups in your community?

Could you work constructively with religious representatives, religious groups and local government representatives in work regarding equality and social cohesion?

The BHA has received funding from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to set up a Local Development Project which will:

identify how humanists and non-religious people might contribute effectively to the work of equality bodies and networks, including groups which discuss religion and belief issues, within local authority areas
identify how humanists and the non-religious might engage with relevant local government bodies
set up and maintain a network of humanists and non-religious people to represent the policies of the BHA in their local area
represent the views of humanists and the non-religious on bodies which take part in local discourse around religion and belief issues
engage representatives of humanists and other non-religious people within local activity

The project is designed to complement the good work currently done by humanists and humanist groups at a local level. All the evidence we have suggests that the non-religious are systematically excluded from regional bodies that bring together people with different religions and beliefs. The lack of understanding by Government bodies of the need to include the non-religious as stakeholders or partners has repercussions for broader equality and human rights networks, as well as social cohesion in general.

The longer-term aims of the project are:

to ensure that local authorities understand that they cannot discriminate between people with religious and non-religious beliefs
to ensure that all equality networks recognise the benefits of working with the whole of the 'religion and belief' equality strand, and not just with religious groups
to ensure that the relevant community forums and networks include people who can represent the interests of people with non-religious beliefs

In order to achieve this we now need to identify people who are ready to take on this role as soon as an opportunity arises. All volunteers will receive training and support and become part of a wider local development network of individuals who will sit on community bodies to represent the views of humanists and the non-religious. The time commitment depends on the local networks involved but is also down to the individual volunteer.

Local Development volunteers will need to:

have humanist / non-religious beliefs
be a member of the BHA or willing to join
have a strong commitment to equality, human rights, and social cohesion
have a strong commitment to participation and local engagement
have the ability to engage and work constructively with religious and interfaith groups on equality, human rights and social cohesion issues
be willing to attend an introductory training workshop
be able to attend meetings in the local area and not overstretched with too many other time commitments
be willing to read briefings from the BHA and other relevant organisations on key issues
be willing to report to the BHA on the issues that arise
be committed to sharing experiences and good practice with counterparts in other parts of the country, e.g. through an e-group

If you would be interested in this work, and can meet the requirements laid out above, please contact Pepper Harow, the BHA's Local Development Officer, by email at or write to him at the address below as soon as possible. Please include:

Your full name
Your telephone number
Your full postal address

Pepper Harow

Local Development Officer

British Humanist Association

1, Gower Street, London WC1E 6HD

t: 020 7462 4992

f: 020 7079 3588

For more information about humanism and the British Humanist Association go to http://www.humanism.org.uk/