On Saturday, November 30, 2024, the delegates of the Humanist State Associations met in Hanover for the Council of Delegates, the highest body of the Humanist Association of Germany – Federal Association.
In his farewell speech, which moved all the humanists in the room, Erwin Kress aptly summarized his many years of commitment: “I hadn’t been looking for this organization, it rather came about me, a bit like the British philosopher Iris Murdoch says: ‘You don’t just look and choose something and see where you could go, you’re always already up to your neck in your life’.” In three decades of dedicated and impressive work, Erwin Kress has significantly shaped the Humanist Association through his tireless commitment, productive contentiousness and profound expertise. Katrin Raczynski paid tribute to his commitment with the words: “You inspired us and consistently thought humanism in terms of people and the concrete needs of a world situation that is in crisis in many areas.”
It therefore came as no surprise to anyone in the room that he recommended the topic of the climate catastrophe to the new Federal Executive Board, which in retrospect he would have liked to have dealt with earlier and more intensively.
With a view to the association’s internal development, in future there will also be the opportunity to become more involved in various specialist committees such as Animal Ethics, Humanist Pastoral Care or Humanist Life Studies. The aim is to involve the potential of experts from the regional associations more closely in the work of the federal association.
Andrée Gerland was newly elected to the Board of the Humanist Federal Association. He has been Managing Director of Humanisten Baden-Württemberg since January 2022. His interest in working on the federal board lies primarily in the federal-state interface: “If we want to elevate the purposes and tasks of the federal association to common and nationwide ones, which should not only be cultivated in the state associations, but also practised in closer coordination with the federal government, then more intensive communication between the federal and state governments and the managing directors is required.”
With the departure of Erwin Kress, the position of Federal Board Spokesperson of the Humanist Association of Germany also had to be filled, for which Katrin Raczynski was unanimously elected: “My motivation for this application results from my many years of experience and the conviction that the humanist movement – against all odds – must become even more visible nationwide and internationally.” In the report of the discharged Board of Directors, it also became clear how much time and effort Katrin Raczynski has invested in international cooperation so that the Humanist Association of Germany, also in the face of numerous global challenges, is once again more internationally networked.
The open and approachable atmosphere at the Council of Delegates also showed how important and beneficial direct and personal exchange is. Cohesion should also be strengthened through a common purpose, for which we were already able to create a good basis in an initial exchange.
The Humanist Association of Germany – Federal Association would like to thank the Humanist Association of Lower Saxony for the opportunity to meet at Haus Humanitas in Hanover!
