A Positive Voice for Atheism in Iceland
International Atheist Conference in Reykjavik Iceland June 23 - 25, 2006
Atheist Alliance International and SAMT (the Atheist Society of Iceland) are the official hosts of the first international Freethought, Rationalist, Humanist, Skeptic meeting to be held at the top of the world! SAMT is coordinating the event along with 3 other Freethought organizations in Iceland: Sidmennt (The Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association), Skeptikus, and Vantrú. The following speakers have already been confirmed for the conference:
Dan Barker
Richard Dawkins
Margaret Downey
Julia Sweeney
Mynga Futrell
Paul Geisert
Bobbie Kirkhart
Annie Laurie Gaylor
Brannon Braga
Sigurður Hólm Gunnarsson
Stefán Pálsson
Steindór J. Erlingsson
Information on the speakers and what they will talk about can be found on the following pages. The conference program is nearing completion and will be posted at a later date. There will be an informal get together on the evening of 23 June with the two conference days being 24 and 25 June. In conjunction with the conference, several guided tours in Iceland are available for those who want to sightsee. Information about these tours is on the next page. Conference fee, per person: ISK 18.000 (approx. $250). A 5.000 ISK discount is offered to students, elderly people (67 and over) and the disabled. All prices are shown in Icelandic Kronur (ISK) and US amounts (where shown) are subject to current currency exchange rates. Included in the conference package is the get-together on Friday evening, with refreshments as well as conference participation for 2 days, with 4 coffee breaks and 2 lunches. Dinners and overnights are not included. The official website of the conference is
http://www.samt.is/conference
Hotel accommodation
You can choose from 4 different hotels, of different class and of course with different prices: Centerhotel Klopp A good 3 star hotel. The rooms have private shower & WC. Our prices, per room, per night, including breakfast: Standard single room ISK 12.910 Standard double room ISK 17.240 Deluxe triple room ISK 25.325 Hotel Plaza A new 4 star hotel. All rooms have a bathroom with private shower & WC. Our prices, per room, per night, including breakfast: Single room ISK 12.615 Double room ISK 15.765 Triple room ISK 19.230 Sunna A modern, family owned guesthouse. Reserved rooms have a private bathroom. Our prices, per room, per night, including breakfast: Single room ISK 10.470 Single studio ISK 13.520 Double room ISK 13.620 Double studio ISK 16.770 Triple room ISK 17.780 Triple studio ISK 19.820 Gardur Inn A winter-time student home, summer-time guesthouse. All rooms have a wash basin with showers and toilets in the corridor. Our prices, per room, per night, including breakfast: Single room ISK 7.365 Double room ISK 9.720 Triple room ISK 12.565
More detailed description of hotels with pictures can be found on the conference website.
Conference booking and flight information
Booking for all aspects of the conference, including hotels and tours should be done via the conference website. Any further inquiries should be done via conference@samt.is or call +354 661 8958. For information on flights to Iceland, a good place to visit is www.dohop.com and www.expedia.com. Icelandair, Iceland Express, British Airways, LTU, Atlantic Airways, SAS and Lauda Air fly to Iceland. All of them fly from Europe but Icelandair is the only one flying from USA.
Conference post and pre tours
Pre-tour - Highlights in short
Dates: 20 June – 23 June Short description of tour: Participants gather in Reykjavik on 20 June for an overnight. Tour then heads over to Borgarfjordur along the west coast and onwards to Skagafjordur and Akureyri for an overnight there. Tour then continues on to Lake Myvatn and spends the day there. Overnight again in Akureyri. Then the tour heads south through the highlands, over the Kjolur highland-track to Hveravellir hot-spring area. Then on from there to two of the highlights of Iceland: Gullfoss waterfall and Geysir hot-spring area. Last stop is then at Þingvellir national park with a late afternoon arrival in Reykjavik. Many stops are taken along the way to properly take in the Icelandic nature and its features. Price per person, sharing a double or twin room: ISK 49.000. Supplement for single room: ISK 10.000 Included: Bus tour as described, 3 days, with English speaking guide. 3 overnights in simple hotels, rooms with private shower and WC. 3 x breakfast and 2 x dinner in Akureyri and an entrance fee to Glaumbær museum.
Post-tour 1 – Highland Adventure
Dates: 26 June – 30 June Short description of tour: Tour starts off with a drive to Þingvellir National Park. Then heads over to Geysir hot spring area and Gullfoss waterfall, Iceland’s most famous, before heading into the highlands. Tour stops at Hveravellir hot spring area where participants can take a dip in a warm hot pot. On from there the tour goes over Kjolur highland track and to Skagafjordur with an overnight in the area. Next day we visit Akureyri and drive on to Godafoss waterfall and Lake Myvatn. Overnight in the area. Tour then heads south over the highlands again, this time over Sprengisandur track, checking out Aldeyjarfoss waterfall and passing glaciers Hofsjokull and Vatnajokull. After passing a few hydro power plants we overnight in the south in a guesthouse. The day after the tour heads over to rhyolite mountain area Landmannalaugar checking out the nearby Eldgja gorge. Overnight in the Vik area. Last day tour drives along the south coast, checking out Dyrholaey bird cliff, Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss waterfall and Hveragerdi village. Late afternoon arrival in the capital with the last overnight. Price per person, sharing a double or twin room: ISK 76.000. Supplement for single room: ISK 16.500 Included: Bus tour as described, 5 days, with English speaking guide. 4 overnights in simple hotels, rooms with private shower and WC. 1 overnight in highland guesthouse. 5 x breakfast and 4 x dinner (not in Reykjavík) and an entrance fee to Skógar museum. This tour has reached the minimum number of participants and is guaranteed to take place.
Post-tour 2 – All Around Iceland
Dates: 26 June – 2 July Short description of tour: Tour starts off with a drive north to Borgarfjordur County, visiting Reykholt village. From there we drive westward passing crater Eldborg reaching the south side of Snæfellsnes peninsula and its main goal Arnarstapi. After a drive to Snæfellsnesjokull (of Jules Verne fame) we overnight in the area. Next day we visit Stykkisholmur village and head over to Hrutafjordur fjord and Skagafjordur and visit Glaumbær museum. After that tour continues to Akureyri with an overnight there. Next day we drive on to Godafoss waterfall and Lake Myvatn, where we spend some time exploring all the fantastic wonders of that area. Finally we drive to Husavik where we overnight. Here it will be possible to take an optional whale safari in the evening. From Husavik we continue along the coastline of Tjornes peninsula until we reach Asbyrgi. From there we check out Dettifoss, Iceland’s most powerful waterfall. Then we arrive in Egilsstadir in the east where we overnight. Journey continues through the eastern fjords and villages Reydarfjordur, Faskrudsfjordur and Stodvarfjordur where we check out Petra museum. On from there to Breiddalsvik and Djupivogur and finally arriving in Hofn village. We overnight in the area. Following day takes us past the base of Vatnajokull glacier and Jokulsarlon lagoon where we can take an optional boat trip among the icebergs. On from there we go to Skaftafell National park and continue over to Skeidararsandur plains and Kirkjubæjarklaustur village and finally Vik where we overnight. Last day takes us past Gullfoss waterfall and Geysir hot-spring area and on from there to Þingvellir National Park. Finally returning to Reykjavik for the last overnight. Price per person, sharing a double or twin room: ISK 100.000. Supplement for single room: ISK. 19.800. Supplement for whale watching trip in Husavík: ISK 4.200 Included: Bus tour as described, 7 days, with English speaking guide. 7 overnights in simple hotels, rooms with private shower and WC. 7 x breakfast and 6 x dinner (not in Reykjavík). Entrance fee to Glaumbær museum and Petra museum.
Minimum of 15 participants and a maximum of 40 participants applies to all the tours! More detailed description of all the tours with pictures and better info on the conference website.
International Atheist Conference in Reykjavik Iceland June 23 - 25, 2006 Information on Conference Speakers
Dan Barker, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, is a former fundamentalist preacher, missionary, evangelist, and Christian songwriter who gave up his faith and is today one of the better known freethinkers in the USA. His book “Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist” details his deconversion, and debunks Christianity and the bible. He also wrote “Just Pretend: A Freethought Book for Children,” and has produced Freethought music, including "Beware of Dogma," a CD celebrating humanism, atheism, reason, and kindness. Barker’s topic: “Losing Faith in Faith” – The path from being a fundamentalist preacher to being an atheist, Humanist morality, and how to debate theists. Richard Dawkins is Oxford’s Charles Simonyi professor of the Public Understanding of Science. He is a world renowned biologist who has written several best sellers on the theory of evolution, among them "The Blind Watchmaker”, “The Selfish Gene”, “Climbing Mount Improbable”, “The Ancestor's Tale” and “Unweaving the Rainbow”. An avid spokesman against teaching of creationism as science, Dawkins has recently been in the limelight as the host of the two part TV documentary "Root of All Evil? shown on the UK Channel 4. Dawkins’ topic, “The God Delusion”, is the title of the book he is now working on, due to be published in September 2006. Why do people believe in supernatural deities, given the total lack of good reasons to do so? Why are they willing to kill and to die for their beliefs? Should we protect children from the religion of their parents? Margaret Downey founded the Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia (FSGP) and the AntiDiscrimination Support Network (ADSN) in 1993. She is the editor and publisher of the bi-monthly newsletter published by FSGP. She is a past board member of the American Humanist Association and the Thomas Paine National Historical Association. She is a current board member of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, The Humanist Institute, the Godless Americans Political Action Committee, Advisory Board Member of the Robert Green Ingersoll Museum, and the Atheist Alliance. In 2002, Margaret became the first "Secular Humanist Celebrant" in Pennsylvania allowing her to perform secular weddings and funeral ceremonies. Downey’s topic: “Celebrating Life the Secular Way” and the importance of training Humanist celebrants to conduct secular alternatives to religious ceremonies. Julia Sweeney is a writer and actress most known for her years on Saturday Night Live (1989 1994) and for performing a one woman show, "God Said, Ha!" on Broadway. On SNL, Julia's most famous character was "Pat" an androgynous person who puzzled people wherever he/she went. The movie "It's Pat" was released by Disney in 1996. The film of her monologue, "God Said, Ha!" was produced by Quentin Tarantino and released by Miramax in 1998. She has appeared in numerous TV shows and movies and was a consulting producer on "Sex & the City" and "Desperate Housewives." Currently Julia is finishing her book, "My Beautiful Loss-Of-Faith Story" and taking her show "Letting Go Of God" to New York in the fall. Sweeney’s topic: “Letting Go of God” is a monologue recounting her journey from the Catholic faith to a philosophical naturalism, or atheism. It ran for a year in LA, will open in New York this fall and a film is also planned. She will perform this play on Saturday evening.
Mynga Futrell is Director of OABITAR (Objectivity, Accuracy, and Balance In Teaching About Religion) and a civic justice activist. She has been a science educator at all levels of instruction, from elementary open school through university teacher educator. As a freelance instructional developer, Futrell has led projects to professionally develop worldview-neutral (religious and nonreligious) professional web resources for public school educators. She is also an Enthusiastic Bright. Paul Geisert co-founded and currently co-directs The Brights’ Network, which is working for social parity between persons of religious and naturalistic worldviews. Individuals registered as Brights proclaim a worldview free of the supernatural. Activist constituents of Brights encourage, via a positive and inclusive rubric (naturalistic worldview), the “coming out” of additional persons. Geisert is a retired professor of biology and science education who has authored college textbooks on using computers in education. Futrell and Geisert’s topic: "Seizing the Elusive Positives" – Do secularists seriously want to be equal players in society? Let's appraise our liabilities, bring our positives to light, and put on some sensible shoes for the occasion.
Information on Conference Speakers -continued
Bobbie Kirkhart has been president of the Atheist Alliance International since 2002. Before that, she was co-president of Atheists United, the largest local atheist group in the United States. She is vice president of the Secular Coalition for America. In addition to numerous articles and essays, she is a contributing author of The Fundamentals of Extremism: the Christian Right in America. Her television appearances include STUN, Food for Thought, Oh Drama!, Faith Under Fire, and Midday Sunday. She has been a guest on several radio programs, including National Public Radio’s To the Point, Minnesota Public Radio's All Things Considered, the nationally syndicated America Live, and BBC news. Kirkhart’s topic: “Why We Are Here” – An introduction to the conference. Annie Laurie Gaylor is co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (www.ffrf.org), a North American association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics) working to keep church and state separate. She is editor of the Foundation's newspaper, Freethought Today, of the anthology, Women Without Superstition: No Gods - No Masters, and is author of Woe to the Women: The Bible Tells Me So. Gaylor’s topic: "No Gods - No Masters: Women vs. Orthodoxy" – Women's rights increase as religion's hold on society decreases. A brief look at current religious threats to women. Brannon Braga attended Kent State University and The University of California, Santa Cruz, where he studied Theater Arts and Filmmaking. Most recently he was executive producer and show-runner of TV's suspense thriller series "Threshold" and served as co-creator and executive producer of "Star Trek: Enterprise". He began his tenure with the Star Trek franchise in 1990 as a writer / producer on "Star Trek:The Next Generation". He wrote over 150 episodes for that series, including the series finale "All Good Things..." which earned him the Hugo Award for Excellence in Science Fiction Writing. In 1995, he was appointed executive producer of "Star Trek:Voyager". Brannon Braga also co-wrote the movies "Star Trek:Generations", and "Star Trek:First Contact". Braga’s topic: “Star Trek as Atheist Mythology”: A question and answer session with Brannon Braga. Sigurdur Holm Gunnarsson is the vice president of Sidmennt, the Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association and is on the board of the Organization for Separation of Church and State. Sigurdur Holm is an occupational therapy student at the University of Akureyri and, among other things, previously studied psychology, and worked as a journalist for some years. He is editor of the website Skodun (Opinion) which deals with politics, religion and other current matters. Gunnarsson's topic: "The State of Religious Freedom in Iceland Today". Sigurdur will give a brief overview of the struggle for equal status of life stance organizations and separation of church and state in Iceland. Stefan Palsson is a historian (B.A. in history University of Iceland 1998; M.Sc. in technology and science studies University of Edinburgh, Scotland, 2001). His specialty is the history of technology in Iceland, esp. the history of energy production and consumption in the 20th century. He has worked at the Museum of Technology (Reykjavík Energy Utilities) since 1997 and been its curator since 1998. Palsson’s topic: The impact which the publishing of the only atheist book in the Icelandic language had on the local population back in 1948 and ever since. Steindor J. Erlingsson holds a BSc degree in biology and MSc and PhD degrees in history of science. His research focuses on the history of biology in the late 19th century and early 20th century and the contemporary interaction of science and society. He is the author of “Our Genes: Biotechnology and Icelandic Society” (2002; written in Icelandic), which takes a critical look at contemporary biotechnology with special emphasis on the Icelandic biotech-company deCODE Genetics. Steindor frequently contributes articles on science and politics to Icelandic newspapers. Erlingsson’s topic: "In the grip of religion: A contribution towards secularization of primary education in Iceland". A critical look at the Christian indoctrination that takes place in primary education in Iceland.
See you in Reykjavik in June!