Conference programme

Join us online for this special live event to kick off Conference 2025. 

Watch the first screening of our newly commissioned video tour of Sain Ffagan Amgueddfa Werin Cymru – St Fagans National Museum of History, followed by a live Q&A.

MA Conference 2025 will look and feel very different from our past conferences. This video tour aims to give all delegates – online and in-person – an insight into why the museum holds such an important place in the hearts of the people of Wales.

Opened in 1948 as the UK’s first national open-air museum, St Fagans spans 2,000 years of Welsh history from the Iron Age to the 20th century. With more than 40 re-erected historic buildings dotted around the beautiful landscape, it’s an amazing place to visit.

The museum was radical in its day because it reflected the everyday lives of ordinary people, and it retains this philosophy today. St Fagans’ status as a venue that embodies Welsh identity and culture led to the theme of this year’s MA conference – perthyn, the Welsh word meaning to belong.

The tour will take you around some of the key buildings on the site, including the 17th-century Kennixton Farmhouse, the medieval St Teilo’s Church and the Vulcan Hotel, a legendary Cardiff pub reconstructed at St Fagans to look as it did in 1915.

All delegates are invited to tune in to our Swapcard app for a live online premiere of the tour, followed by a Q&A with Dafydd Wiliam, the principal curator of historic buildings at St Fagans, where you will have the opportunity to ask Dafydd any questions you have about this one-of-a-kind site.

The tour will then be available to watch on our Swapcard app throughout Conference 2025. 

Film by Speedwagon Productions. Supported by the Welsh Government.

Start your conference experience with a drinks reception at the Temple of Peace in Cardiff. A stunning art deco venue with impressive marble pillars, striking lighting and huge windows, the Marble Hall provides a fittingly grand start to conference. 

With a drink in hand, don’t miss the opportunity to hear more about the history of the temple, which was founded in 1938 to help combat the evils of war and disease. Housing the Welsh Book of Remembrance in the Crypt (only accessible via stairs), the Grade II-listed building has also acted as a set for television and film, including the BBC’s Doctor Who, Sherlock and His Dark Materials. The upstairs Council Chamber will be open exclusively for the event, where some of the very first conversations about establishing the NHS took place. 

We are excited to announce a performance by Côr CF1 – Choir CF1, one of Wales’ most successful choirs. Under the musical direction of Eilir Owen Griffiths, CF1 has evolved from a youth choir at its inception in 2002 to one of Wales’ leading mixed choirs. Their successes include winning BBC Choir of the Year in 2014, first prize at Derry Choral Festival in 2018 and first prize in the mixed choir competition at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod. 

Welcome drink available on arrival, followed by a pay bar (card preferred). There will be basic nibbles provided. Social events are included in the cost of in-person tickets and there is no need to book a place.

Accessibility 

There will be an assigned quiet room. Please ask a member of staff at the venue. There will be seating available in the Marble Hall and entrance area. We regret that the Crypt is only accessible by stairs. Parking in the metred car park in front of the building is free to Blue Badge holders. 

• Accessibility at the Temple of Peace 

Parking 

There is no free parking at the Temple of Peace. There is a metred car park in front of the building with c.50 spaces, which is free to Blue Badge holders. 

Schedule 

• 1800: Party opens – delegates can wander freely between the grand Marble Hall, Council Chamber and Crypt. Please note that the Crypt is only accessible by stairs 
• 1830: Speeches 
• 1845: Côr CF1 – Choir CF1 
• 2000: Party ends