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What’s on in March?

03 Mar 2025

Welcome to March’s edition of ‘What’s on?’. Here you will find everything you can get involved in for free each month, ranging from cultural, extracurricular and celebratory events and activities.

What's on March edition

Events

International Women’s Day – Events on this March

This March, we celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) 2025 with a range of inspiring talks and events to celebrate women's achievements, resilience, and contributions.

The Council for At-Risk Academics (Cara) Presentation

How can universities help academics around the world to escape discrimination, persecution, violence or conflict? Join Professor Nalin Thakkar, Vice-President for Social Responsibility, and a panel of Cara Fellows for a presentation on their vital work.

  • Book your place on Tuesday, 25 March 12pm to 2pm at the Kanaris Lecture Theatre, Manchester Museum

Adam Rutherford in conversation with David Olusoga OBE

Join David Olusoga, Professor of Public History, in conversation with bestselling author, geneticist and presenter, Dr Adam Rutherford, as they navigate human history, evolution, migration and how Empire continues to shape life in Britain today.

  • Book your place on Monday, 10 March 7.15pm to 9pm at the Martin Harris Centre

Seeds of Hope and Action Exhibition

The Seeds of Hope and Action exhibition, developed by the Earth Charter and SGI UK, focuses on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how individuals can learn, reflect, inspire, act and lead in our daily lives.

  • Find the exhibition from Thursday, 20 March at the Samuel Alexander Building Glass Corridor

Seeds of Hope and Action Panel

Engage in a dynamic roundtable discussion with activists, policy makers and academics focusing on climate and environmental solutions. Speakers include Tom Ross (Trafford Council), Dr Heather Alberro (Lecturer in Sustainability) and Nahid Farzalizadeh (FSE Students’ Union Officer).

  • Book your place on Thursday, 20 March 4pm to 5pm at Samuel Alexander Building SG.16

Our cultural institutions

Manchester Museum

All March: Wild exhibitions

Whitworth Art Gallery

John Rylands Research Institute and Library

Our community

Religious celebrations and traditions

Tuesday, 4 March: Shrove Tuesday (Christianity)

Wednesday, 5 March: Ash Wednesday (Christianity)

Thursday, 13 March: Fast of Esther (Judaism)

Thursday, 13 to Friday, 14 March: Purim (Judaism)

Friday, 14 to Sunday, 16 March: Hola Mohalla (Sikhism)

Tuesday, 18 March: Birthday of Guan Yin/ Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Buddhism)

Wednesday, 19 March: Ostara/Spring Equinox (Spiritualist)

Tuesday, 25 March: Holi (Hinduism)

Sunday, 30 March: Eid al-Fitr/End of Ramadan (Islam)

Awareness days

Saturday, 1 March: St David’s Day

Saturday, 8 March: International Women’s Day

Monday, 17 March: St Patrick’s Day

Thursday, 20 March: Nowruz - Persian New Year

Monday, 31 March: Transgender Day of Visibility

Groups and societies

Book club

Our March book is Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.  We will also recap The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak.

You don't even need to have finished the book (although there will be spoilers!).

Why not head over to our Viva Engage (yammer) group for more reading inspiration!

Want to feature your event next month?

If your event is free and open to all colleagues at the University, you can advertise it here next month!

Submit your suggestion to uninews@manchester.ac.uk by 25 of each month to feature in the following month. Please send us a short description (max 30 words) and any relevant links you may have too.

Please note that we unfortunately cannot guarantee your submission will feature, but we will do our best to feature as many as we can.

The deadline to feature in April’s ‘What’s on?’ is 25 March. Any questions, just drop us an email!