Welcome to Being Human Festival 2026
An introduction to the festival from Dr Kate Moles, Cardiff University.
A warm welcome to everyone joining us for Being Human Festival 2026, the UK’s national festival of the humanities.
This annual celebration brings together researchers, artists, and communities to explore what it means to be human through exciting, thought-provoking and engaging free public events, activities and exhibitions.
For the fourth consecutive year, Cardiff University will lead a collaborative hub with events and activities designed to amplify marginalised voices and encourage a more inclusive and equitable society.
In collaboration with the University of South Wales and a range of community partners, the festival engages public engagement with the humanities and social sciences. We will not only be hosting and supporting public events across Cardiff, but also building skills and capacity within the education sector to keep public engagement innovative, relevant, and at the forefront of what universities deliver for and alongside our local communities.
“We are delighted to showcase some of our cutting-edge arts and humanities research and innovation to the wider public. The USW contributions to this year’s festival demonstrate the community-focused, co-produced work taking place in the Faculty of Business and Creative Industries. While we have featured in Being Human several times, it is the first time that we are part of a flagship hub. We look forward to working closely with Cardiff University on this excellent project.”
Together, we are planning a wide range of events around this year’s festival theme of ‘Crossroads: a place of decision, encounter, and consequence’. Together, we will explore where paths meet and history turns, to explore crossroads as spaces of encounter, change, and decision.
Our varied festival programme includes a celebratory day of engaging activities that represent the vibrancy of our research, as well as a Festival of Walks, creative workshops, and dedicated events for sanctuary seekers, young people and local schools.
The festival offers opportunities for people to share their thoughts, ideas, experiences, and to help co-produce and contribute to our impactful research.
All our events engage researchers and broader communities in making a difference. In the rapidly shifting and destabilised times in which we live, our humanities research inspires and enriches our everyday lives and helps us to understand ourselves and our relationships with others.
We wish you all a super Festival.