REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN for the 5th Annual Iowa Secularists Conference
Registration is now open for the 5th Annual Iowa Secularists Conference!
It will be held Saturday, July 17, 2010 in Des Moines at the Ramada Tropics Resort and Conference Center, conveniently located at the intersection of I-80 and Merle Hay Road.
The morning will consist of a meeting of the voting members of IS (Associate and Contributing members) and will include respective reports from the officers of the organization, as well as a potential vote to fill an open seat on the Board. This meeting will last from 10:00-12:00 that morning.
1:00-1:15: Introduction and Welcome
1:15-2:15: Secular parenting panel discussion
2:15-3:15: Discussion: “Countering intolerance with tolerance: what works?” facilitated by Athan Petridis, IS Board member and Professor of Physics at Drake University.
3:30-4:30: Critical Bible Discussion: “Biblical Prophecies”, led by Randy Henderson, President of the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers.
4:30-5:30: Hemant Mehta, “How campus/local secular groups are getting their message to the masses“.
5:30-6:30: Cocktails
6:30-7:30: Catered Dinner provided by the Ramada
7:30-9:00: Keynote address by Hemant Mehta “The Need for Critical Thinking in Public School Education“.
The day will conclude with a catered dinner and a keynote address by the Friendly Atheist, Hemant Mehta! Hemant Mehta is the Chair of the Secular Student Alliance (SSA) Board of Directors.
He attended the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he graduated with honors in both Mathematics and Biology. While there, he also helped establish their first secular student group, Students WithOut Religious Dogma (SWORD). He is now earning his Masters in Math Education at DePaul University.
He has worked with the Center for Inquiry and is the SSA representative to the Secular Coalition for America. He is also on the board of Foundation Beyond Belief, a charity organization targeting non-theistic donors.
Hemant was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal for his work as the “eBay Atheist” and his book about the experience, I Sold My Soul on eBay (WaterBrook Press), was released in 2007.
Hemant’s blog can be read at FriendlyAtheist.com.
He currently works as a high school Math teacher in the suburbs of Chicago.
Hemant will provide two sessions at the conference – one focusing on the suitability of religion and religious belief in education, and another one about how to build secular student groups and how to interact positively with theists.
Registration for the conference is $50 per couple, $30 for an individual, and because of the student focus by Mr. Mehta, the IS has added a registration level of $20 for students (student status will be verified).
Please be sure to register by July 2, 2010! You may also mail in your registration to the Iowa Secularists at P.O. Box 883, Iowa City, IA 52244
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