Sir – As is usual at this time of year, our city centre was almost overflowing last weekend, with tourists young and old, and from several different continents/countries. But you wouldn’t have to have been particularly perceptive to have realised that there was also something unusual going on in the Sheldonian, the Examination Halls and at Blackwell’s.

It was the 2014 World Humanist Conference, with its near 1,000 participants including many from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America — and probably constituted the largest gathering of such folk since the millennium.

The theme of the conference was “Freedom of thought and expression”; the speakers included A C Grayling, Philip Pullman, Leo Igwe, Wole Soyinka (by video), Jim Al-Khalili, Richard Dawkins, Joan Bakewell, Samira Ahmed, Babu Gogineni, Kenan Malik, Martin Rowson, Alom Shaha and Zoe Williams. At the end of the conference, we agreed a “Declaration on Freedom of Thought and Expression” which is viewable via http://whc2014.org.uk/oxford-declaration/.

John D White, Chair, Oxford Humanists