Atheist Alliance International

thumb|Generic atheist symbol, the result of a 2007 AAI contest, created by Diane Reed.[http://www.atheistalliance.org/secular/articles/v12n3_conventionpt5.pdf PDF of the Secular Nation article "A Conventioneer's Delight! Pt 5 of 5"]
Atheist Alliance International (AAI) is an alliance of 58 atheist organizations around the world, 46 of which are located in the United States.
AAI was founded in 1991. Its stated goal is "to help democratic, atheistic societies become established and grow" and "to work in coalition with like-minded groups to advance rational thinking through educational processes." Its unofficial aim is to unite atheists to give them a cohesive voice.
The organization sponsors an annual convention,Convention archive at atheistalliance.org publishes Secular Nation magazine,Secular Nation magazine at atheistalliance.org and manages The Freethought Directory.The Freethought Directory
==Annual convention==
The first annual convention of the Atheist Alliance International took place in 1995 in Los Angeles. The subsequent conventions took place in:AAI Archive of Past Conventions
*1996 Minneapolis
*1997 Orlando
*1998 St. Louis
*1999 Austin
*2000 Sacramento
*2001 Atlanta
*2002 Dallas
*2003 Tampa
*2004 Colorado Springs
*2005 Los Angeles
*2006 Kansas City
*2007 Crystal City, Virginia
*2008 Long Beach
The 2009 convention will be held in Los Angeles.
==Richard Dawkins Award==
The group's Richard Dawkins Award is a prize awarded annually since 2003 to a person (or persons) during its annual conference.Slack, Gordy; "The atheist: Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins explains why God is a delusion, religion is a virus, and America has slipped back into the Dark Ages."; salon.com; April 30, 2005 The official award criteria state that:
The Richard Dawkins Award will be given every year to honor an outstanding atheist whose contributions raise public awareness of the nontheist life stance; who through writings, media, the arts, film, and/or the stage advocates increased scientific knowledge; who through work or by example teaches acceptance of the nontheist philosophy; and whose public posture mirrors the uncompromising nontheist life stance of Dr. Richard Dawkins.
===Past recipients===
*2003 — James Randi (inaugural award)
*2004 — Ann Druyan
*2005 — Penn and Teller
*2006 — Julia Sweeney
*2007 — Daniel Dennett
*2008 — Ayaan Hirsi Ali
*2009 — Bill Maher
==Presidents of Atheist Alliance International==
Name 	Affiliation 	Term of Office
John B. (Jack) Massen 	Atheists of San Francisco Region 	Sep. 1992 - Apr. 1994
Marie Alena Castle & Christos Tzanetakos 	Minnesota Atheists & Atheists of Florida 	April 1994 - Apr. 1995
Lee Baker & Christos Tzanetakos 	Atheists United & Atheists of Florida 	April 1995 - Apr. 1996
Marie Alena Castle & Steve Petersen 	Minnesota Atheists 	Apr. 1996 - Apr. 1997
Marie Alena Castle 	Minnesota Atheists 	Apr. 1997 - Apr. 2001
Marie Alena Castle & Bobbie Kirkhart 	Minnesota Atheists & Atheists United 	Apr. 2001 - Apr. 2004
Bobbie Kirkhart 	Atheists United 	May 2004 - July 2006
Margaret Downey 	Freethought Society of Greater PhiladelphiaFreethought Society of Greater Philadelphia Home page	Aug. 2006 - Sept. 2008
Stuart Bechman"Stuart Bechman Elected President of AAI" Accessed January 14, 2009	Atheists United Atheists United Home page 	Sept. 2008 - present
==International member organizations==
* Australia — Atheist Foundation of Australia
* Cameroon — Le Libre Pensee Cameroon
* Canada — Humanist Canada
* Denmark — Dansk Ateistisk Selskab
* Finland — Atheist Association of Finland
* Germany — International League of Non-Religious and Atheists (IBKA)
* Iceland — Samfélag Trúlausra — The Atheist Society (SAMT)
* Ireland — Atheist Ireland
* India — Atheist Centre
* Nigeria — Nigerian Humanist Movement
==References==
==External links==
* Atheist Alliance International
* Secular Nation magazine
* The Freethought Directory
Category:Atheism organizations
Category:Organizations established in 1991
Category:Political advocacy groups in the United States
Category:Charities based in the United States
Category:Freethought
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