This weekend the National Federation of Atheist, Humanist and Secular Student Societies (AHS) held its seventh Annual General Meeting to elect a new Executive, which is responsible for the overseeing the growth of the organisation and supporting non-religious student groups over the academic year. The AHS is the umbrella organisation for atheist, humanist, secular, skeptic, and other non-religious student groups across the UK and Ireland. It aims to have a thriving member society on every university campus, and works to defend and uphold the rights of non-religious students across the UK and Ireland. The British Humanist Association (BHA), which facilitates and supports the AHS, has welcomed the new team.
Elected for the role of AHS President was Chris Malburn, former President of University of Liverpool Humanists and AHS Regional Development Officer for the North West, who was joined by the new Treasurer Daniel Newman, current President and former Vice President and Treasurer of University of Liverpool Humanists, as well as Martin Smith, Publicity Officer for the University of Nottingham Agnostic, Secular and Humanist Society and AHS Regional Development Officer for the East Midlands, who was elected Secretary.
The outgoing Executive, consisting of Rory Fenton (President), Ruth Haydock (Secretary), and Matthew Power (Treasurer), have now finished their terms and have begun handing over to the newly elected Executive. During their tenure, the AHS has continued to grow, and now counts 54 registered member societies. It held its most recent annual convention at Conway Hall in London, and as well as providing funding for numerous local events around the country, offered training days for AHS Members and Officers. During this period, the AHS was also called upon on to assist member societies at London South Bank University and the London School of Economics, and in both cases was successful in opposing censorship imposed by their student unions.
The AGM weekend was hosted by the University of Liverp
ool Humanists. In addition to official AGM business, the BBC journalist John Sweeney’s presented his show on brainwashing; outgoing and previous members Rory, Matthew, Michael Paynter and Jessica Vautier gave workshops, offering advice on the various aspects of running a student society; and Merseyside Skeptics Society board members Mike Hall, Michael Marshall, and Alice Howarth brought the weekend to a close by giving insights into their successes with community-building and skeptical activism.
The new Executive have pledged to further grow the AHS community by providing more resources and guidance to member societies, exploring new ways to assist the start-up of new groups, and responding robustly to any student unions which threaten the rights of non-religious students.
Notes
For comment or information, contact Chris Malburn, AHS President, at president@ahsstudents.org.uk, or Andrew Copson, BHA Chief Executive, on 020 3675 0959 or andrew@humanists.uk.
The National Federation of Atheist, Humanist and Secular Student Societies (AHS) is the umbrella organisation for all non-religious student societies in institutes of higher education across the UK and Republic of Ireland. The AHS’s vision is a thriving atheist, humanist or secular student society in every institute of higher education in the UK and Republic of Ireland, networked together, with a shared voice in public life, whose members can contribute to and be part of the wider national and international movement. The AHS’s mission to build, support and represent atheist, humanist and secular student societies; to facilitate communication between them, to encourage joint actions and to ensure that their members have opportunities to be part of the wider national and international movement.
The British Humanist Association is the national charity representing and supporting the interests of ethically concerned, non-religious people in the UK. It is the largest organisation in the UK campaigning for an end to religious privilege and to discrimination based on religion or belief, and for a secular state.
The AHS is facilitated and supported by the BHA.