The line-up for Humanists UK Convention 2020 grew to more than 24 confirmed speakers today, when the organisation announced humanist activists, senior journalists, psychologists, and UN officials would be speaking at the summer event in London, over 19–21 June 2020.
Humanists UK today announced that Bangladeshi blogger Bonya Ahmed, psychologist Elaine Kasket, journalists Stephen Bush and Sunny Hundal, and diplomat Ahmed Shaheed will all appear at Humanists UK Convention 2020, the charity’s three-day celebration of humanism over the weekend of World Humanist Day.
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Humanist blogger and activist Bonya Ahmed will be familiar to many long-time members of Humanists UK, having delivered the 2015 Voltaire Lecture, ‘Fighting machetes with pens’, only months after she survived a machete attack by Islamist extremists at Dhaka Book Fair – an incident which claimed the life of her husband, Avijit Roy. Many will also be familiar with Stephen Bush, the New Statesman political editor whose articles have often predicted many of the surprising developments of recent UK politics. UN diplomat Ahmed Shaheed has been the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief since 2016, having previously been Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives. Elaine Kasket is a psychologist and author of All the Ghosts in the Machine, a fascinating examination of the ‘digital afterlife of our personal data’. Sunny Hundal is a journalist and commentator who works for openDemocracy. He has written widely on hot-button issues, and his journalism has explored developments in Sikh identity in Britain.
The London Humanist Choir will also be performing at the event.
These new speakers further strengthen a robust line-up, which includes Alice Roberts, Jim Al-Khalili, Samira Ahmed, Saiful Islam, Carol Smillie, A C Grayling, Robin Ince, Zoe Lyons, and Polly Toynbee. Further speakers including scientists, authors, philosophers, historians, activists, comedians, and more will be revealed in the coming months as Convention 2020 approaches.
The Humanists UK Convention has grown in recent years to become the highlight event of the humanist calendar. This year’s Convention, a little over three months away, begins on 19 June, and closes on 21 June, coinciding with global celebrations for World Humanist Day. It will take place at the magnificent Oval cricket ground in London – a city which has been a centre of humanist thought for over two centuries, as well as the birthplace of Humanists UK in 1896 and home to almost one million people who self-identify as humanists.
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At Humanists UK, we advance free thinking and promote humanism to create a tolerant society where rational thinking and kindness prevail. Our work brings non-religious people together to develop their own views, helping people be happier and more fulfilled in the one life we have. Through our ceremonies, education services, and community and campaigning work, we strive to create a fair and equal society for all.