The Convention on Modern Liberty in Manchester will be held at Manchester University Students' Union on Saturday 28th February from 9:45. The event is open to the public and free of charge. It will feature local campaign groups talking about different areas of civil liberties, combined with live video feeds of high-profile speeches and debates.

In addition to these organised discussion sessions, people can sign up for a ten-minute "lightning talk" slot, either in advance or on the day, and engage others on a particular aspect of civil liberties. The focus of the lightning talks, along with the organised discussions, is on practical steps which people can take to protect their freedoms.

Dave Page, organiser of the Manchester Convention and North-West co-ordinator for NO2ID, said "I've been swamped with requests for ticket reservations for this event, and we're trying to arrange bigger rooms to make sure we fit everybody in! There's a real sense of alarm about the state of freedoms at the moment, as the Database State and other restrictions start to close in. This Convention provides a great place for people of all backgrounds to take positive steps to defend themselves and society as a whole."

The Manchester Convention website is  http://manchester.no2id.net/modernliberty

ENDS

For more information or interview, contact North-West NO2ID co-ordinator Dave Page on  manchester@modernliberty.net or 07982 814 441

Full details of the Manchester event, including a programme, are at  http://manchester.no2id.net/modernliberty

For more information on the Convention on Modern Liberty, see  http://www.modernliberty.net/

The Convention is sponsored by The Rowntree Trusts, openDemocracy and Liberty. The Guardian is its media partner. NO2ID is a lead organisation partner.

Other Convention sites include the main London venue, Belfast, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff and Glasgow.