Come and hear FSU member and former teacher, Ben Dybowski, in conversation with local group Free Speechers Wales and West in Cardiff on 13th July. Mr Dybowski, who has an unblemished 20-year career in the profession, was sacked from a school for sharing his Christian beliefs at a staff-only diversity and inclusion training seminar run by Diverse Cymru, an organisation that trains teachers on “unconscious bias” and “trans, gender identity and gender expression awareness”. Speaking to the Mail on Sunday about his case, he said he had never discussed his views with pupils and was always respectful of those with different opinions. His dismissal was, he added, “an attack on Christianity” and “an affront to freedom of speech and freedom of thought”.
Tickets are available here. There will, of course, be plenty of time for discussion and for socialising with fellow free speech supporters. Doors open at 6.45pm, speaker and discussion starts at 7.30pm.
If you can get to Edinburgh on Wednesday 19th July, please come to our Summer Speakeasy on the timely subject, Can the Arts Survive and Thrive in Scotland? Taking place just weeks before the Edinburgh Festival, where comedian Jerry Sadowitz will return with his show, in defiance of last year’s cancellation, and Joanna Cherry MP is due to speak after an attempted no-platforming. Our guest speakers, poet Jenny Lindsay, actress and producer Kirstin McLean and author Ewan Morrison, will take us through the free speech issues faced by artists, writers and performers north of the border, and discuss how we can stand up for the right of audiences to judge for themselves. Get your tickets here.
The following day, Thursday 20th July, we’ll be in Manchester with a fascinating event entitled ‘Free Speech: A Radical History’, with a particular focus on the city’s historic political struggles. We have two local historians, Michael Herbert of Red Flag Walks and Jonathan Schofield, tour guide and editor of Manchester Confidential, to share their knowledge. They’ll be joined by historian Dr Cheryl Hudson. Tickets are here.
