Rob Tielman

From Philosopedia

Tielman, on the right, with Herman Beks

Oil Painting by Wim Heldens

Tielman, Robert A. P. (19 August 1946– )

Tielman, a social sciences educator, was born in Hilversum, The Netherlands, the son of Tine Angenent and Albert Tielman.

From the University of Utrecht, he received his M.A. in sociology in 1971 and his Ph. D. in Social Science in 1982. He has been a member of the university's staff since 1971, is a professor of Humanist Studies, and heads the Gay and Lesbian Studies Department.

For over three decades, Tielman and his partner Herman Beks, also a humanist, have lived in Utrecht.

When one Manhattanite in New York City saw the painting of the two, he exclaimed, "I see clearly that there are still Dutch Masters!"

Positions Held

• Chairman, World Health Organization, Advisory Board, Geneva, 1989-1993
• Head, Humanist Teacher Training, Humanist Ethical Education Utrecht, 1993-1999
• President, Ethics Commission, Dutch Institute of Mental Health, Utrecht, 1975-1992
• Representative, International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), UNESCO, Paris, 1989-1999
• Representative, European Humanits Federation, EU, Brussels 1981-1999
• Secretary General, Dutch Gay and Lesbian Association COC, Amsterdam, 1971-1975
• President, Dutch Humanist Assn HV Utrcht 1977-1987
• Member, European Humanist Professionals (President, 1993-2000)
• Editor, Third Pink Book (1993)

Current Positions

• Secretary Study Center Public Education, Utrecht, 1994 to date
• Senior Advisor, Public Education, Gen Pedagogic Center APS, Utrecht, 1994 to date
• President, Public Schools in the Netherlands, CB OO, Utrecht, 1989 to date
• Vice President, European Platform on Education, Elkmaar, 1994 to date
• Council of Europe, Strasbourg, 1989 to date
• Humanis Archivist, Utrecht, 1996 to date
• Fellow, Dutch Gay and Lesbian Professionals (Secretary, 1998 to date)

Activities

In 1998 Tielman resigned as President of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), having served from 1986.

In 1982, he wrote Homosessualiteit in Nederland and, in 1991, Bisexuality and HIV / AIDS: A Global Perspective.

In 1994 at the Toronto conference of the Coalition for Secular Humanism, Atheism, and Freethought (CSHAFT), he spoke on “International Humanism in the 21st Century,” mentioning a census which shows that currently 55% are non-religious in the Netherlands, that 25% are humanists, and that 40,000 children voluntarily have enrolled in humanist education courses.

In 1995 he spoke in Delphi, Greece, at the first International Multidisciplinary Conference on Human Behaviour and the Meaning of Modern Humanism. Also in 1995, at the IHEU meeting in India, he noted that there is still discrimination in Europe against atheists and humanists. Also, there is a struggle to create a secular European Union, but the Vatican is working for a Christian union. The Vatican, he holds, should be a church, not a state.

At the International Humanist and Ethical Union’s (IHEU’s) Second Moral Education Conference held in Brussels (1985), and at the Tenth held in Buffalo (1988), Tielman addressed the groups.

In 1996 Tielman was a participant in the 1996 Humanist World Congress held in Mexico City. “[The] close ties between humanism and the homosexual rights movement can be explained by the fact that they both accept the principle of human self-determination,” he wrote in “Homosexual Rights: Why Humanism Cares” (Free Inquiry, Fall 1997). The article tells of his and his companion’s being gay foster parents for twenty-five years. He signed Humanist Manifesto 2000.

For his being President of the Dutch Humanist League from 1977-1987, Dr. Tielman received a knighthood.

Tielman is active in the Dutch Labor Party. His avocations include studying the historical topography of the low counries and former Dutch colonies.

{HNS2; New Humanist, February 1996; International Humanist News, December 1998}