Humanism in Action 2025 | Sheffield

Humanist Climate Action

with Lori Marriott

This will be the first opportunity for humanists interested in activism to engage with and feedback on Humanist Climate Action’s newly created resources. Our aim is to support and encourage local humanist groups, humanist sections and anyone interested in environmental activism. 

Using Exploring Understanding Humanism: getting to know our resources

with Bethan Fowler

This workshop offers humanist professionals across all networks the opportunity to try out a selection of Understanding Humanism educational resources. Perfect for school speakers looking to enhance their school visits, the session is also an ideal opportunity for members of other networks to get to know what’s on offer and reflect on how these resources could help or inspire you in your work. The informal activities and discussions around the resources may also give you a welcome chance to reflect on your own humanism.

Why get so hung up about inclusive language?

with Mike Higgins

This session aims to provide a space where we can think about how the way we communicate our ideas widens or narrows their impact. We will try to come to grips with the links between what we say, how we say it, and what we do as humanists. Do you think this concentration on how we put ourselves across is an unnecessary diversion from our goals of promoting humanist ideas?  Would clearer, more accessible, and inclusive approaches help us to widen further the appeal of humanism? Please come along and grapple with these important questions.

How to support people leaving a high-control religion

with Terri O’Sullivan

Leaving a high-control religion can be a very challenging time. It may mean complete exclusion from your family and friends, it could even lead to homelessness, loss of employment, mental health difficulties, and in some rarer cases, even receiving threats of violence. So how can we support people going through this difficult experience? Terri O’Sullivan, a former Jehovah’s Witness herself, has been supporting ex-religious people for over 18 years. She is the Apostate Services Development Officer at Faith to Faithless, a service of Humanists UK, and she will talk about what we can do to support ex-religious people, what to say, what to avoid saying, and generally, how to be a good friend and ally. 

Exploring Chaplaincy Work at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals (off-site)

with Lindsay de Wal

Join Lindsay de Wal, Non-Religious Pastoral Support Network Manager and Head of Chaplaincy at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, for an open session during the Humanists UK Convention. This is an opportunity to visit the hospital chapel, learn about the exciting plans for the future of the Sheffield hospital chaplaincy team and explore how to get started in pastoral care. Whether you’re new to the field or already involved, come along to brainstorm ideas and discuss the challenges and opportunities of working in a multi-faith and belief chaplaincy team. Members of the Sheffield chaplaincy team will also be on hand to share their experiences and answer any questions.

Improv – because life isn’t scripted

with Jon Trevor

Despite appearances to the contrary, Improv isn’t about being witty, clever, or quick-thinking. It’s about being totally present, noticing with all our senses what is happening in the moment, and responding both flexibly and authentically. Improvisers soon discover that planning our responses in advance immediately lets us down when others just don’t act according to our imagined plan. Instead, we learn to pivot gracefully, accept openly, and support wholeheartedly. So the skills of improv make us better listeners, better collaborators and – in fact – better human beings! So come and have a play, take a peek into the joyful world of improvisation, and discover how it can help you in your role, be that as a pastoral carer, a school speaker, a local group volunteer or something else, especially when dealing with the unexpected. No acting or comedy experience required, just a sense of fun and a willingness to explore.

How to make a zine

with Cas Bradbeer

Come draw and write your own zine using imagery from Humanists UK’s archives. As well as explaining a simple method for making zines, the session will explore how they can be used to build community through low-cost collective making. Perhaps you’d like to make one as a resource for schools. You might be a celebrant who’d like to help their clients make a souvenir for their wedding. Or maybe you’d like to run a zine workshop with your local group. Join Cas for this upskilling opportunity as they lead you through the zine-making process, resourcing you to make a zine and teach others how it’s done.

Plenary session

with Andrew Copson

and more to come…

Cas Bradbeer

Cas Bradbeer is a curator and workshop facilitator whose practice focuses on art history and social change. They were the Heritage Project Officer for Humanists UK in 2024, delivering the LGBT Humanists 45th anniversary programme.

Ann-Michelle Burton
Director of People and Culture

Ann-Michelle Burton is Director of People and Culture at Humanists UK, having joined in 2022. Ann-Michelle’s role is to lead on all aspects related to our people’s experience of working or volunteering with us. She oversees our people strategy and associated activities, including staff and volunteer engagement, recruitment, leadership, learning and development, and our people brand. She works alongside our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Action Group to promote EDI across the workforce. As Director of People and Culture she also oversees HR for the staff team.

Luke Clifford-Roper-Smith

Luke Clifford-Roper-Smith has been a life member of Humanists UK for over a decade and is a commissioned officer in both the RAF Reserves and RAF Air Cadets.

Last year, he delivered his community’s first secular Ceremony of Remembrance alongside other inclusive youth and public sector organisations, ensuring that this important national occasion was accessible to all.

Luke firmly believes that if the Act of Remembrance is to survive for future generations, it is essential that associated public ceremony rediscovers its secular roots so that all citizens feel welcome.

Andrew Copson
Chief Executive

Andrew Copson is Chief Executive of Humanists UK, responsible for day-to-day management of the organisation as a whole, and management of the staff team. He has been Chief Executive of Humanists UK since 2010, prior to which he worked across educational and public affairs roles within the charity.

He is an expert on humanism who has written widely on the subject, and is regularly invited to appear on TV and radio news programmes. As well as these roles, Andrew is a trustee of the Religious Education Council and President of Humanists International – the umbrella body bringing the global humanist movement together to pursue human rights at an international level.

Lindsay de Wal
NRPSN Manager

Lindsay de Wal is NRPSN Manager; she became the first UK-based head of chaplaincy as a humanist in February 2018, gaining national and international recognition. She is currently the head of chaplaincy at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the NRPSN manager for the Non-Religious Pastoral Support Network. She also trains humanist pastoral carers through Humanists UK. Holding a master’s from the University of Humanistic Studies in Utrecht, she is accredited in humanist pastoral care and as a funeral celebrant. Lindsay is pursuing doctoral research at Middlesex University on the experiences of humanists in faith-based healthcare chaplaincy teams.

Bethan Fowler
Education Networks Manager

Bethan Fowler is Education Networks Manager at Humanists UK, having joined in 2023. With a background in primary and secondary teaching, she now manages Humanists UK’s education networks and the services they provide to raise awareness and understanding of humanism. This includes the school speaker programme, teacher training provision, and humanist SACRE representatives.

Mike Higgins
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion committee member

Mike Higgins, with his partner Linda, established a Human Services Training and Consultancy agency called Linda Laurie Associates in the 1990s, focusing on equality, diversity, and inclusion. They used action research, interactive training, professional advocacy, and collective activism to challenge injustice, tackle discrimination, and promote positive social change.

Mike became an active humanist in 2014, when he joined the London Humanist Choir. This provided him with a philosophical mooring for his Marxist beliefs, and a scientific grounding for understanding our experiences as a species.

In 2024, he was invited to join the Humanists UK Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion committee, which supports staff, volunteers, members, and supporters to ensure that Humanists UK communicates and operates as inclusively as possible.

Roger Hutton
President, Defence Humanists

Dr Roger Hutton retired from his role as Director International Security in the UK Ministry of Defence in 2020. He is a patron of Humanists UK, President of Defence Humanists, and a Fellow at the Strategy and Security Institute of the University of Exeter. He blogs at This Page Left Intentionally Blank.

Roger was previously MOD’s Director Chilcot, Strategy Director, and Transformation Director; his earlier Senior Civil Service career encompassed strategic planning, resource allocation, and operational policy. Before that, Roger worked on issues relating to NATO, all three Services, Defence White Papers, and bilateral relations with a range of countries, including the US and (during unification) Germany.

At different stages of his career, Roger enjoyed secondments to the NHS, the Home Office, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and PwC.

Lori Marriott
Coordinator, Humanist Climate Action

Lori Marriott is the Coordinator of Humanist Climate Action, a volunteer-led network of Humanists UK members and supporters, and has been since August 2021. She is passionate about promoting environmentalism within the humanist movement and putting humanist values into practice to tackle environmental degradation and the climate crisis.

Lori has campaigned on environmental issues for many years, previously volunteering for the Green Party and several environmental NGOs. Lori recently spoke about our shared responsibility to care for the planet on a Faith & Belief Forum Earth Day podcast, and contributed to the Understanding Humanism textbook.

Safina Nadeem

Safina Nadeem is a highly skilled and qualified Equality and Diversity professional with over 20 years of experience. She has extensive expertise in the design, delivery and management of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policies, strategies and large-scale organisational programs. Her specialist knowledge is in unconscious bias and its impact on decision-making within organisations.

Safina also has a special interest in inclusive leadership, having completed a three-month research project into the benefits of inclusive leadership and the characteristics of an inclusive leader. She holds a Masters Degree in Promoting Equality and Managing Diversity. Safina is deeply passionate about embedding EDI practices into organisational systems and processes, encouraging it to be seen as a ‘business as usual’.

Terri O’Sullivan
Apostate Services Development Officer

Terri O’Sullivan is the Apostate Services Development Officer for Faith to Faithless, Humanists UK’s programme of support that raises awareness around the issues apostates face, provides socials and facilitated peer support specifically for apostates, and runs apostate awareness training for service providers and other third parties who in turn support apostates. 

Terri delivers and develop social groups and peer support groups for apostates, and delivers and grows our training programme for professionals.

Jon Trevor
Humanist Ceremonies celebrant

Jon Trevor has been a Humanists UK celebrant since 2009, and a school speaker since 2019. He has also been heavily involved in the Birmingham improv scene for the last 16 years. Jon is the founder/director of Birmingham Improv, which runs classes, workshops, drop-ins, jams, and shows. He performs with two improv groups: Box of Frogs, and with Breakfast of Champions. He is the founder/director of the Birmingham Improv Festival. He also takes the skillset of improvisation into the corporate world under the banner of Improv Initiative.

All that, and funerals, weddings, namings, and school visits too!