Humanists UK Convention 2024
Friday 14 June, 19:00 –
Sunday 16 June, 15:00
Humanism in Action
Friday 14 June, 11:00–17:00
Humanists UK AGM
(Members only)
Sunday 16 June, 15:30–18:00
Cardiff Students’ Union
Park Place,
Cardiff
CF10 3QN
Humanists UK Convention 2024 | Cardiff
14-16 June
Adam
Rutherford
Helen
Czerski
Jim
Al-Khalili
Madeleine
Goodall
Alom
Shaha
Jonathan
Illif
Humanists UK Convention 2024 | Cardiff
14-16 June
I thought the discussions and talks were excellent and that it was a full, fascinating, and well-chosen programme. I liked the mix of subjects and variety of speaker formats – there was never a moment where it occurred to me to skip a panel – in fact, having to miss [one talk to see another] led to a FOMO experience!
Humanists UK Convention 2022 attendee
Brilliant speakers, great atmosphere, lots of really nice interesting people to talk to. My first conference and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Humanists UK Convention 2023 attendee
As someone attending my first convention, it was very easy to meet and discuss things even if I was not certain on my position on the topics – the friendliness of those attending gave space to discuss and explore the ideas.
Humanists UK Convention 2022 attendee
I loved the fabulous array of speakers – top quality people with really stimulating and worthwhile things to say. Utterly brilliant.
Humanists UK Convention 2019 attendee
Comedy was brilliant. Speakers were brilliant. Delegates were brilliant.
Humanists UK Convention 2019 attendee
It’s like in the old days, when we used to read newspapers – when you turn the page, you’re not sure what you’re going to get. So it can be challenging and thought-provoking, but most of all it is an oasis of greatness in a world that is going absolutely mad.
Humanists UK Convention 2019 attendee
Hard to pick what was the highlight!
Humanists UK Convention 2022 attendee
I enjoyed the high quality speakers who brought so many ideas and such understanding to us. I felt thrilled to belong to an organisation which takes action at the highest levels of politics and does so much work in so many fields. I enjoyed the sense of being with people who shared my values and were of similar mind. Thank you to all who organised it.
Humanists UK Convention 2019 attendee
Humanists UK Convention 2024 | Cardiff
14-16 June
Tickets for Humanists UK Convention 2024 are £128, and we have a special rate of just £49 for students.
Ticket-holders are entitled to attend all sessions of Convention 2024 from Friday evening comedy through to Sunday afternoon.
Attendees may choose to add on teas, coffees, and lunch on both days, and may choose to join us at the Saturday night drinks reception and Gala Dinner.
We include these as optional add-ons to allow attendees to choose the shape of their weekend, while keeping the basic ticket price as low as possible.
The Humanism in Action day conference returns in 2024, with sessions for humanists doing work in their community – celebrants, school speakers, pastoral support volunteers, SACRE reps, section leaders, group organisers, and more.
£49 when booked alongside Convention, or £75 as a standalone ticket (coming later).
If you’ve got something to share, and want to get your message to Humanists UK Convention attendees, you’re in luck! In 2024, we’re introducing an Exhibitor ticket – inclusive of lunch and dinner – to set yourself up with a stall in our Exhibitors area.
The Exhibitor ticket grants entry to one named person throughout the weekend. Others in your group can help staff your stall, with just a General ticket.
Please contact us before booking an Exhibitor ticket.
We will only accept exhibitors whose work we think may be of interest to some of our attendees, and will not include groups promoting causes we oppose.
Humanists UK Convention 2024 | Cardiff
14-16 June
Humanists UK Convention will make its return to Cardiff in 2024, the first time the Convention has come to Wales since 2012.
More than 100 years on from the disestablishment of the Church in Wales, tolerance and pluralism have taken root in this modern and confident nation.
Today, Wales benefits from a devolved Assembly instituted as a secular body; an open, flourishing, and enriched civic sphere; and strong support for equality and human rights across all demographics, including the right to freedom of religion or belief.
We can’t wait to bring Humanists UK Convention to Cardiff in 2024.
Getting there
Cardiff is well-connected from across the UK. You can reach Cardiff city centre by train direct from London in under 1 hour 50 mins, direct from Birmingham in under 2 hours, in a little over 3 hours from Manchester, and in under 50 minutes from Bristol – all faster than driving, even in the best conditions (according to Google Maps).
Accessibility
Cardiff University Student Union’s Venues Accessibility Procedure can be found here.
Humanists UK Convention 2024 | Cardiff
14-16 June
PROFESSOR JIM AL-KHALILI
Professor Jim Al-Khalili is a theoretical physicist at the University of Surrey where he holds a Distinguished Chair in physics as well as a university chair in the public engagement in science.
He is a prominent author and broadcaster. He has written 14 books on popular science and the history of science, between them translated into twenty-six languages. His latest book, The World According to Physics, was shortlisted for the Royal Society Book Prize. He is a regular presenter of TV science documentaries, such as the Bafta nominated Chemistry: a volatile history, and he hosts the long-running weekly BBC Radio 4 programme, The Life Scientific.
Jim is a past president of the British Science Association and a recipient of the Royal Society Michael Faraday medal and the Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Medal, the Institute of Physics Kelvin Medal and the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication. He received an OBE in 2007 and a CBE in 2021 for ‘services to science’.
He is a Vice President of Humanists UK.
DR HELEN CZERSKI
Dr Helen Czerski is a physicist, oceanographer, broadcaster, and author. While Helen’s primary academic interests are those of the physics of the oceans, she describes herself as a lover of the science of the ‘everyday world’. Helen’s passion for a broad range of scientific endeavours, as well as her skill in science communication, has made her well known as the presenter of a host of popular BBC TV and radio science programmes and documentaries. She also gave a talk the impact of oceans on human civilisations to a packed house at the 2017 Humanists UK Convention. Her newest book, Blue Machine: How the Ocean Shapes our World, was published in June 2023.
She is a patron of Humanists UK.
MADELEINE GOODALL
Madeleine Goodall is the Humanist Heritage Coordinator for Humanists UK, researching and writing about the history of humanism to celebrate the organisation’s 125th birthday. She has a background in education, museums, and community history, and is also Humanists UK’s Wikimedian in Residence. She currently leads on a two-year National Lottery Heritage Fund project – Humanist Heritage: doers, dreamers, place makers – which focuses on the remarkable freethinkers and activists who changed the world, and the communities they built around them.
DR JONATHAN ILLIF
Dr Jonathan Illif is a neuroscientist and medical doctor based at University College London with ties to King’s College, and the president and founder of the UCL Society for the Application of Psychedelics.
His research focuses on the use of psychedelic compounds, like LSD and psilocybin – the active ingredient in magic mushrooms – in the treatment of mental health disorders. This will include the treatment of a large number of patients for depression with psilocybin in a clinical trial over the next four years. He has worked with prominent figures in the field, including writing a comprehensive review with Professor David Nutt.
DR ADAM RUTHERFORD
Dr Adam Rutherford is a scientist, writer, and broadcaster. He is a Lecturer in Biology and Society at UCL, and has written and presented award-winning series and programmes for the BBC, including Radio 4’s Start the Week, Inside Science, and The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry with Dr Hannah Fry. He’s written a number of books including A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived, the very humanist Book of Humans, the Sunday Times bestselling How to Argue With a Racist, Control: The Dark History and Troubling Present of Eugenics, and, most recently, his first book for children, Where Are You Really From?, published in September 2023.
He is President of Humanists UK.
ALOM SHAHA
Alom Shaha is a Physics teacher at a comprehensive school. When he’s not teaching, he works as a writer, film-maker, and science communicator. He is the author of several books, including The Young Atheist’s Handbook, Mr Shaha’s Recipes for Wonder, Mr Shaha’s Marvellous Machines. His most recent book, Why Don’t Things Fall Up?, is for adults who didn’t like or didn’t understand science at school was published in August 2023.
He is a patron of Humanists UK.
Humanists UK Convention 2024 | Cardiff
14-16 June
Friday 14 June
| Start | End | Great Hall | Meeting Rooms | Foyer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10:30 | 11:00 | Humanism in Action registration | ||
| 11:00 | 17:00 | Humanism in Action | ||
| 18:00 | 20:40 | Registration | ||
| 18:30 | 19:30 | Cash bar welcome drinks | Registration Exhibitions | |
| 19:30 | 20:20 | Comedy – Part 1 | ||
| 20:20 | 20:40 | Comedy – Part 2 | ||
| 21:30 | 23:00 | Drinks at the bar |
Saturday 15 June
| Start | End | Great Hall | Y Plas | Balconi | Foyer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08:30 | Registration | ||||
| 09:00 | 12:00 | Morning sessions | Morning sessions | Registration Shop and exhibitions | |
| 13:00 | 17:00 | Afternoon sessions | Afternoon sessions | Shop and exhibitions | |
| 19:30 | 20:00 | Drinks reception | |||
| 21:30 | 23:00 | Gala Dinner |
Sunday 16 June
| Start | End | Great Hall | Y Plas | Balconi | Foyer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09:30 | Registration | ||||
| 10:00 | 12:00 | Morning sessions | Morning sessions | Shop and exhibitions | |
| 13:00 | 15:00 | Afternoon sessions | Afternoon sessions | AGM registration Shop and exhibitions | |
| 15:30 | 17:00 | AGM (Members only) | |||
| 17:00 | 18:00 | Drinks with Board members (Members only) |
Look through our 2023 Convention programme for a better taste of what’s to come!
Humanists UK Convention 2024 | Cardiff
14-16 June
Our base ticket does not include any food or refreshments, such as teas or coffees. We separate these out to allow us to offer the ticket at as low a price as possible, to allow as many people to attend as possible.
Years ago we took the decision to split out lunch and dinner from our standard ticket, to allow us substantially reduce the basic cost of attending our Convention. Attendees are welcome to add on coffees, teas, and lunches, and the Gala Dinner, or to arrange their own food from the range of nearby cafés, shops, and eateries during breaks.
No. As is standard, our venue’s terms and conditions do not allow food to be brought in from off the premises.
No. You should wear what you feel most comfortable wearing. Some people take a quick nap, freshen up, and have a change of clothes before dinner, while others will head out to see what Cardiff has to offer.
No. The Gala Dinner on Saturday night is open only to Convention attendees with the Gala Dinner add-on.
Yes. We have now added the option for attendees join the Gala Dinner without having also bought a lunch add-on. This decision makes the dinner a more affordable prospect for more attendees. However, you must still be a Convention attendee to attend the Gala Dinner.
Yes. We offer discounted tickets for students, and for disabled people.
If you have booked a Disabled Person’s ticket and will be attending with a carer, please email info@humanists.uk and we will assign them a complimentary ticket.
We also offer a limited number of discounted tickets for those on Universal Credit or Pension Credit. Please do choose a full-price ticket if you can afford to do so. It is full-price tickets sales that allow us to offer more affordable tickets for those who would otherwise be unable to attend.
We are unable to offer any discounts on add-ons.
Through splitting out lunch and dinner, we have reduced our minimum ticket price for everyone, to allow as many people as possible to attend each year. Our standard ticket in 2024 is still priced lower than our standard ticket for Convention 2015.
Cardiff University Student Union’s Venues Accessibility Procedure can be found here; excerpts are included below.
Lifts
The venue has lifts between the entrance and all floors.
Toilets
Toilet facilities are available on all floors except ground level. Dedicated disabled toilets are on levels 2–4 and are all unisex.
Taxis
Accessible taxis can be booked through Capital Cabs (029 2077 7777). The venue should be contacted if a taxi has been pre-booked and you require assistance.
Assistance Dogs
All assistance dogs are welcome. Venue staff should be approached for further information.
Help and assistance
Should you require any information prior to your arrival, please contact the Cardiff University Students Union Switchboard on 029 2078 1400.
Should you experience any problems while at the venue, please contact any member of venue staff and ask for a member of the Duty Management team who will assist you as necessary.
No. Unfortunately our systems are not capable of processing payments by instalment at this time.
No. If we are able to offer day tickets at a later stage, they will be displayed on this page, and announced by email to our members and supporters.
No. Attendees travelling to the event must arrange their own accommodation.
Yes. By default, the option to receive a printed programme is selected when booking your ticket. If you leave the checkbox selected, you will receive a full-colour printed booklet at registration. In the days before the event, all attendees will receive an electronic PDF programme by email, while this page will display a simplified timetable.
In 2022, we took the decision to make our programme available by request, to cut down on unnecessary printing and waste, as in previous years we printed a programme for each attendee, and always had many spare by the end of the weekend. All attendees will be emailed a full-colour electronic version of the programme in advance of the event.
Humanists UK Convention 2024 | Cardiff
14-16 June
Cancellations
Bookings may be cancelled free of charge up to 120 days prior to the Convention start date (by 14 February 2024, inclusive). Bookings cancelled 60-119 days (by 15 April 2024, inclusive) from the start date will incur a 50% charge of the full price of the ticket. Cancellations made within 60 days of the Convention start date (from 16 April 2024, inclusive) will not be refunded, but may, at the discretion of Humanists UK and with no less than 21 days’ notice (by 24 May 2024, inclusive), be transferred to another eligible individual. Any refunds for ticket cancellations will be processed within two months.
Speakers
All appearances are subject to speakers’ work and other scheduling commitments.
Photography, video, and audio recording
Humanists UK reserves the right to photograph and record video and audio of all public sections of the Convention and to make public the footage as it sees appropriate. Please be aware that by attending Humanists UK Convention 2024, you consent to your voice, name, and/or likeness being used, without compensation, in any and all media, whether now known or hereafter devised, for eternity, and you release Humanists UK, its successors, assigns, and licensees from any liability whatsoever of any nature. If you would like to ensure that you are not captured in any media, please contact events@humanists.uk and we will do our best to accommodate you.