A brief history of the Humanist Movement

The Humanist Movement began its activities during the '60s as a study group in the structural relation between the personal and the social. Some of these ideas were expressed in an address given by the founder of the Humanist Movement, Mario Rodriguez Cobos, aka Silo, the 4th of May, 1969, in Argentina. This address was called The Healing of Suffering.

Because of the military dictatorship in place at that time this talk was permitted on the condition that it would be held high in the Andes Mountains, far from the nearest town. Nonetheless, some hundreds of people took part in that event.

Even in the face of brutal repression and disinformation campaigns aimed at these initial groups, they grew and spread throughout Latin America. This growth was reinforced when some of the members, freely or as political exiles, took up residence in various countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

In 1975, one hundred members from different countries met in Corfu, Greece to agree on proposals, objectives and a rudimentary organisation that would be tested over the next four years.

In 1981, the founding documents for the Humanist social and cultural organisation The Community for Human Development were published. This was soon followed by the formation of humanist political parties connected in a Humanist International. In 1991, the first Humanist Clubs were started, beginning with the Humanist Club of Moscow. In 1993, the Document of the Humanist Movement was written (see Letter 6 in Silo's Letters to my Friends) and the first Humanist Forum was held. In 2001, Silo left his role as an organizer in the Humanist Movement to start a new project called Silo's Message.

Currently, the Movement is developing activities in over 100 countries with more than four million members and supporters.