The National Secular Society welcomes the launch of AHS Student Organisation

The National Secular Society welcomes the new nationwide student organisation, The National Federation of Atheist, Humanist & Secular Student Societies, (AHS) that launches on 19 February 2009.

The AHS is an umbrella organisation representing free thinking student societies in Britain and runs the Secular Portal, a network for secular students groups.

At the launch at Conway Hall in Central London, the three guest speakers will be all be NSS Honorary Associates – Professor Richard Dawkins, writer and political commentator Polly Toynbee and Professor AC Grayling.

The resources and national profile of the group are a welcome addition to the fight against increasing incursions of religion into education and we look forward to collaborating with them in their important work. Currently, one student group has contacted the NSS about its fight to show and debate the film Fitna on campus because it is facing protests by the student Islamic Group. The university has told them that they must pay for their own security if the screening goes ahead; the cost of this will effectively prevent the event.

The National Secular Society is working with the AHS to create a starter pack for student groups with advice on how to set up and run their own atheist and secular groups on campus in addition to our ongoing work supporting groups and individual students who are already members of the NSS.