---
title: "Amsterdam Declaration"
date: "2022-04-28T18:13:27+01:00"
modified: "2025-09-12T13:22:15+01:00"
url: "https://heritage.humanists.uk/object/amsterdam-declaration/"
post_id: 6917
categories: ["Philosophy"]
tags: ["Activism", "Ethical Movement", "Humanism", "Internationalism", "Philosophy", "Science", "Social welfare"]
---

# Amsterdam Declaration

The Amsterdam Declaration, the outcome of the first congress of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU, now [Humanists International](https://heritage.humanists.uk/humanists-international/)), was a collaborative statement of ‘the fundamentals of modern, ethical humanism’. The formation of the IHEU was spearheaded by the humanist pioneer [H.J. Blackham](https://heritage.humanists.uk/harold-john-blackham/), with the close cooperation of his counterparts in Holland, India, America, and Austria. Seeking to revive the international humanist movement following a disappointing meeting of the World Union of Freethinkers in 1946, Blackham sought to strengthen relationships between humanist organisations the world over, and to formulate – as the Declaration did – a shared statement of humanist ideals. The statement affirmed the democratic, scientific, creative, ethical, and liberating principles underpinning humanism: ‘a way of life for everyone everywhere’.







Read the [Declaration](https://humanists.international/policy/amsterdam-declaration-1952/?lang=es).