Category: Forums

Category for all Forum posts.

Fostering a Refugee Youth

Francis Bencik

February 21, 2016

(Note: Voting for the HCSV Board of Directors will occur immediately before this Forum. See the Feb. 7 Forum write-up.)

There are approximately 19.5 million refugees worldwide and a staggering 51% are under the age of 18. A high percentage of those children, whether in refugee camps or urban centers, have lost or been separated from their families. Francis Bencik, the Community Coordinator for the Refugee Foster Care program at Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, will provide an overview of how unaccompanied refugee minors arrive to the Bay Area and how one can become a foster parent or volunteer. Francis grew up in Croatia following the end of the Croatian War of Independence, and is the co-founder of Migrants Matter, an EU advocacy organization aiming to advance migrants’ rights as part of the EU agenda.

Celebrating Darwin — Darwin Day Plus

Dr. Robert Stephens, Arthur Jackson

February 14, 2016

In this Forum, Dr. Stephens will discuss how he invented Darwin Day and related promotional materials. Jackson will focus on how Darwin’s ideas open up the realm in which all human concerns, especially moral and ethics, must be studied and developed. Dr Stephens had a career with SRI, and has strongly supported the Secular Student Alliance, American Humanist Association (AHA), and HCSV. Mr. Jackson has been an active Humanist since discovering the AHA in 1962. He is the author of “How to Live the Good Life: A User’s Guide for Modern Humans”, and is currently the President of HCSV.

 

Humanist Community Forum (2016-02-14): Celebrating Darwin — Darwin Day Plus (Dr. Robert Stephens, Arthur Jackson) from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

 

Meet the Candidates for the HCSV Board

February 7, 2016

The candidates for the HCSV Board will make statements and take questions from the audience. The current candidates are Ron Gerber and Will Weyer. HCSV members may vote for one of the candidates. Voting will occur immediately before the Feb. 21 Forum begins.

Ron Gerber

In college, I studied electrical engineering and then switched my major to physics—but my career became software engineering. I did manage to include some biology and psychology classes and now I am very much interested in evolutionary psychology. This field can be very helpful for Humanists who want to understand how conservatives think. I am hoping for more discussions of this area as well as the historical development of human culture, including science and technology. I would also like to be involved in music appreciation activities. We live in a high-tech world that can have a dehumanizing effect but also gives possibilities for improving the quality of life.

Prisons – The Challenge

Amir Varick Amma and Arthur League

January 31, 2016

Amir Varick Amma is a community organizer in the “All of Us or None” program of the Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC, www.prisonerswithchildren.org) organization. He spent 20 years in a New York state prison on a nonviolent drug conviction. Arthur League is also formerly incarcerated, a co-founder of “All of Us or None,” a former Black Panther, and a LSPC board member.

 

Humanist Community Forum (2016-01-31): Prisons – The Challenge (Amir Varick Amma and Arthur League) from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.