Toronto Secular Alliance

1
Toronto Secular Alliance

• 2005-2006 Year-in-Review
• Justin Trottier, President

2
What weve accomplished

• 2 Film Screenings
• 1 Lecture event
• 1 Major Symposium
• 3 Book club gatherings
• 3 social events
• Faith Centre campaign
• Religious arbitration campaign
• CSPE campaign

• Graduation prayers campaign
• National initiative
• Library initiative
• Newsletter initiative
• Website initiative
• Freethought Centre
• Presence at 3 external group events

3
Events
4
The God Who Wasnt There
5
Intelligent Design Lecture

• Early September
• Speaker DJ Grothe, CFI-On Campus
• 50 attendees

6
The Girl with the X Ray Eyes

• Late November
• 50 attendees
• Speakers Andrew Sknolnick (CSICOP), Eric
  McMillan (Skeptics Canada), philosophy of science
  prof

7
Is God All in Your Head?
8
Is God All in Your Head?
9
Book Club

• Calculating God, Robert J. Sawyer
• On the Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown
  of the Bicameral Mind, Julian Jaynes
• Oryx and Crake, Margaret Attwood
• 5 - 8 attendees
• Goal monthly meetings

10
Social Events

• Winter Solstice Party December
• Darwin Day Pub Night February
• Spring Equinox Party March

11
Center for Inquiry Towards a New Enlightenment
Conference
12
Intergroup events

• Center for Inquiry Conference
• Does God Exist? Debate
• Know Radical Islam Week

13
Activism Campaigns
14
On Campus Representation

• Faith centre campaign
• Prayers at grad campaign
• Secular humanist officiants
• Reps for the secularist view in articles on the
  role of religion on campus in the press

15
Religious Arbitration Campaign Our First
Success!
16
Canadian Secularists for Public Education (CSPE)

• Meetings with MPs
• Press release
• Media coverage
• Strategic alliances
• Volunteer committee formed

17
In the News

• Newstalk 1010
• CJBK morning show
• London radio
• Saskatoon radio
• Freethought TV
• Humanist Network News
• SSA Podcast
• The Toronto Star (letter to the editor)
• Newsletters (HAT, HAC, Skeptics)

• CH Global TV
• The National Post
• The Varsity (U of T)
• The Town Crier (North York)
• Centretown News (Ottawa)
• The Charlatan (Carleton U)
• The Newspaper (U of T)
• The Salterrae (U of T)
• The Gazette (UWO)
• The Ryersonian
• CKLN (Ryerson radio)

18
Initiatives
19
Secular Library

• Over 1500 books! Cog sci, cosmology, philosophy,
  etc
• Various nodes throughout the city

20
Freethinkers Press
21
Freethinkers Press
22
Website

• Updated every couple of days!
• Archive of all media
• All pertinent project docs, pics, etc
• Successfully used for Persinger/Buckman event
• Public outreach
• Forum?

23
Canadian Freethought Centre

• Ours as of April 1!
• Future meetings and smaller events to be held
  there
• Committee structure

24
National Initiative

• New group creation
• Carleton
• Ryerson
• UTM ?
• York ?
• McMaster ?
• Uganda !?
• Newsletter
• Conference

25
The Executive
26
Toronto Secular Alliance 2005-2006