The leadership gap in global humanism: the case for an international training institute

Leo Igwe at the World Humanist Congress in Copenhagen, August 2023. Photo by David Warden.

By Dr Leo Igwe

In this compelling article, Leo Igwe argues that the global humanist movement faces a fundamental challenge: the absence of structured leadership training. Drawing on decades of experience in Africa and beyond, he highlights how this gap has limited humanism’s growth – particularly in the Global South – and contrasts it with the rigorous formation found in religious traditions. Igwe makes the case for a dedicated international humanist institute to equip future leaders with the knowledge, skills, and shared purpose needed to build a more effective and visible global movement.

Leo Igwe is a Board member of Humanists International. He founded the Nigerian Humanist Movement (now the Humanist Association of Nigeria) and is a leading campaigner against witchcraft accusations in Africa, and a prominent advocate for human rights and critical thinking.

The humanist movement, in various forms, has existed for centuries, and humanist values and principles are embedded in all cultures. But the humanist movement has not been visible in many parts of the world. Humanists International, founded in 1952, is the umbrella organisation for humanist groups and associations worldwide, but it is not widely known in many parts of the Global South. Effectively, the international humanist movement has been organising for over seven decades. I have actively participated for three decades – since 1996. I have worked and campaigned to organise humanism at both local and international levels. But based on my experience, I believe that the international humanist movement faces a leadership issue that needs to be addressed.

I believe that what's needed is an international institute to train humanist leaders. It would equip those who aspire to influence and guide our movement with the skills and competencies necessary to be effective representatives and spokespersons. No such global humanist institute currently exists and its absence has hindered and limited the growth and development of humanism worldwide. The focus and mandate of those few educational and training facilities that do exist (discussed below) are too limited for the scale of the challenge.

Impressionistic image by ChatGPT

The humanist leadership model compares poorly to the Catholic Church

Before my involvement with humanism I worked for the Catholic Church and underwent training to become a priest. To become a Catholic priest you must undergo education and formation for at least fourteen years. In most cases, the training requires minor seminary education at high school level followed by major seminary training – including the study of philosophy and theology at bachelor's degree level. Trainee priests are also sent to teach in mission schools and seminaries. I taught in a seminary for two years. The church sends aspiring priests to communities to assist ordained priests and help grow local Catholic communities. In the Catholic Church of Nigeria, internships are mandatory for those aspiring to become priests and clerics. These programmes prepare participants to lead, equipping them with the knowledge, education, and administrative skills and experience they will need to do their work as pastors and ministers.

When I joined the humanist movement, I wanted to undergo some training before leading a humanist organisation. But in 1996, when I joined the international humanist movement, I discovered that there was no leadership training programme and no international humanist training institute existed. I decided to lead a humanist group in Nigeria and that was it! I just became a leader and an organiser with no requirement to undergo formal training, internship or mentorship. This leadership model is fundamentally flawed, and has made the global humanist movement ineffective.

How can the global humanist movement match its religious counterpart, given this leadership culture? I cannot imagine how humanism can provide an effective alternative to supernatural religions and dogmatic faiths without a robust training institute for aspiring leaders and representatives, especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America, where religions are dominant. In many places, humanist leadership is improvised, a case of ‘anything goes’. Humanist leaders, especially those from the Global South, learn on the job. They are largely self-taught, self-anointed and self-certified. After a while, many of them get burnt out, tired, or abandon the role. And then it’s back to square one. Sadly, this means that in most parts of the Global South, organised humanism is going round in circles and getting nowhere.

Humanist education and training programmes that do exist

However, I never gave up on my quest to train as a humanist leader. I tried to find a humanist institute where I could learn to lead and guide humanist organisations. In early 2000, I discovered that a humanist institute existed that could train me to lead. This was the Humanist Institute in the US. I wondered why such an important faculty was largely unknown. Upon enquiry, I discovered that it was a small organisation and had a part-time training programme for aspiring humanist, atheist and freethought leaders. Their curriculum was American in focus, and graduates were mainly humanists from the US.  I registered for their training course, but did not attend the programme due to lack of funds. I also discovered another institution, the University of Humanist Studies in the Netherlands. I contacted them and discovered that their programmes focused on Dutch society rather than the needs and challenges of international humanist leadership. 

I then came across some educational programmes at the Center for Inquiry and Humanists UK. While these programmes were useful, and provided humanists with some basic knowledge and understanding, they were patchy and short of what individuals around the world needed to become effective humanist leaders. Humanists need to establish a global humanist institute and a sound, substantial leadership programme to drive the growth and development of humanism worldwide. The international humanist movement needs a study programme in which aspiring leaders learn by living together, studying together and working together. International cooperation has suffered because there are no opportunities for humanist representatives to learn to work together.

In the West, humanism has made some progress. The humanist movement is more established, and the situation of humanist leadership is different. Over the decades, Western humanism has forged a tradition of leadership that has served the region. But this is not the case in other parts of the world. Humanists must turn this ‘Western tradition’ into a robust facility that serves the needs of humanists everywhere. The humanist movement is larger than just its European and American expressions. In an increasingly interconnected world, humanists must address this challenge of humanist leadership.

The risks of neglecting leadership training

In past decades, I have noticed first-hand how a lack of training and education has affected humanist leadership in Africa. Africa is widely known to be very religious, and the humanist movement has been largely invisible due to a lack of effective leadership. Many people proclaim themselves to be ‘humanist leaders’ even when they lack a basic understanding of humanism: some have little or no knowledge of the history, ethics, debates and traditions of humanism. Some have simplistic and superficial ideas of humanism, barely distinguishing between humanism, human rights, humanitarianism and humane-ism. With patchy and misconstrued notions of humanism, some even espouse racist, ethnocentric, sexist, homophobic and xenophobic views. A humanist leadership course would provide conceptual clarity and a secure foundation for aspiring leaders and activists in this region.

In some cases, with the support of ‘international humanist’ individuals and groups that sometimes exoticise Africa and patronise Africans, some African humanist leaders and groups focus on such activities as rearing grasshoppers, soap making, tailoring, and distributing agricultural products and sanitary pads. They can be opportunistic in their actions and initiatives, often abandoning the work after securing a few travel scholarships and grants. A proper humanist leadership training programme would help to reorient such activists and aspirants. 

A blueprint of what is needed – and current progress

The leadership course required will be a month-long programme in two sessions. Part one introduces trainees to the basic philosophy and history of humanism. It includes the values, principles and traditions of humanism, including atheism, scepticism, rationalism and secularism. The basics of non-profit organising, lobbying, community-building, membership development, fundraising, event planning, media/communication/editing skills, and grant proposal writing skills. In the second part, trainees take specialist courses in humanist administration, chaplaincy and counselling, ceremony celebrations, and caregiving. Before embarking on the second part of the course, trainees will spend some time working or volunteering with existing humanist organisations, one in the Global North and another in the Global South, gaining practical experience, developing their capacities, and gaining insights into humanist leadership and organisation.

There has already been some progress in setting up this kind of international humanist training course in Africa. If the programme succeeds, it will be replicated in other parts of the Global South. Two professors, from the University of Lagos and Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco, have agreed to serve as instructors. Leaders of the American Humanist Association and Humanists UK have expressed their support, pledging to make their educational resources and instructors available. In 2024, the American Humanist Association education director Kevin Jagoe organised a successful international cohort experiment on the theme of the humanist worldview. Humanist leaders and activists from Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Malawi participated. The American Humanist Association has approved the use of its course material for leadership training.

Conclusion

Statistics show that millions of non-religious and non-theistic people exist in many countries of the world where there are no humanist or atheist organisations. Many parts of the world need the kind of leadership that humanists can provide. But in several countries there are no humanist organisations because there are no humanist organisers, officers or leaders. And there are no organisers because there is no facility to train leaders. The international humanist movement must prioritise humanist leadership training if it is committed to the growth and development of humanism.

It must treat leadership training as a foundational and organisational necessity.

Further information

Leo recently messaged the Humanists International Board with this message:

Dear fellow board members

Humanism is building itself a house in Nigeria. I am so excited to inform you that some preliminary work has started at the site of our proposed humanist house/health center in Nigeria. Before I die or get incapacitated I want to make sure that humanism has a real house in Africa, a physical place to host our meetings and coordinate our health programs and educational projects and humanist services....Let’s go. Let’s grow...we can do more. We can do better...than this!”