Annual Conference - Saturday 25th October 2008

“The Impact of Humanism on Scotland in the 21st Century”

• Religious Apartheid In Scottish Schools. The EIS may accept the RC Church’s veto on teachers but does the HSS? Keir Bloomer, former official in the EIS and retired Direction of Education will outline a possible plan of action.
• Education. Schools need to provide alternatives to religious observance/instruction for pupils. Two parents will recount their experiences of following guidelines provided by the HSS and taking on their local education authority.
• Bioethics. Our recently formed Bioethics committee will outline their work to date and plans for the future.
• Open Forum. Suggestions for topics for discussion will be welcomed and should be forwarded to organiser before conference to ensure their inclusion.
  

Venue

The Queensferry Hotel, North Queensferry.

Modern Hotel set amid hillside gardens on the north shore of the Firth of Forth with panoramic views of the bridges.

Conference will run from 10am till 5pm with the added option of dinner, an evening of discussion and overnight accommodation

Costs
Special Discounted Rates

All Day (10am – 5pm inc lunch and breaks) £35
All Day plus Dinner (10am – 5pm inc lunch and breaks and dinner) £59
Residential package (All Day Plus Dinner, overnight accommodation and breakfast) £139

Date: Sunday 4th May 2008
Venue: King Robert Hotel, Bannockburn
Time: 10.00am – 4.30 pm

In our education leaflet which we circulated throughout Scotland in April we have offered to provide:

1. speakers to go into schools.
2. advocates for parents who are seeking help in communicating with schools.
   

In order to meet the anticipated requests we must establish a pool of trained personnel from the HSS so a training day has been arranged and we are now urgently seeking volunteers from all areas to attend. This will be the only training day before the start of the new school year in August 2008 and it is essential that we have trained personnel throughout the country to meet the anticipated demand.
Details of the training which will be given can be found on the Education Training Day page.

We are very fortunate in having two first class educationalists to provide the training:
Professor Brian Boyd of Strathclyde University
and
Bob McKay, a former Director of Education

To apply to join this scheduled training day please contact our Education Officer ASAP, providing your name, address and email contact details.

Thank you
Clare Marsh
Depute Education Officer

At 2.00 p.m. on April 26th 2008 at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh, Convenor Jim Petherick & Education Officer Bob McKay launched the Society’s Education campaign, founded on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The event also incorporated the inauguration of the Humanist Society of Scotland’s first president, the award-winning novelist, Christopher Brookmyre.

For more information please see the Education Campaign page

Dynamic Earth 112-116 Holyrood Rd Edinburgh, EH8 8AS