Hola Breakero,
In between essential summer adventures, the BC team are making preparations for April 2025, when we return to the beautiful setting of the University of Exeter for three full days of intensive conference activity! We’re inviting some great guest speakers, and preparing the launch of our Call for Papers (and other opportunities to be involved). Watch out for this in October, when the online forms will be opened for you to participate as speakers, artists, workshop facilitators, volunteers, and creators of installations (VR, video, and other). We’ll also be hosting our vibrant marketplace, including the famous BC Bookstall stocking the speakers’ books, and exclusive Breaking Convention 2025 T-shirts, printed as usual by the fabulous crew at Done London!
*Tickets for BC 2025 will go on sale in the autumn of 2024*
The observant amongst you will have noticed that, thanks to a helpful person or two at Meta, our Breaking Convention social media accounts have been restored; you can once more find us as Breaking Convention on Facebook, and as breakingconvention_uk on Instagram. It was, as suspected, a rogue algorithm erasing many things psychedelic related. It has been eye-opening to be part of such a daunting process in trying to recover our accounts. This incident has reminded us of the huge vulnerability of social media dependency, and we are working on ways to establish resilience in future.
The big news this week has to be the FDA’s decision to refuse Lykos Therapeutics (formally MAPS Public Benefit Corporation) licensing for MDMA assisted therapy treatment for PTSD. You can read all about it at Lucid News. And, an additional report on the fallout, including many job losses, here.
Looking ahead to the next few months, there is a still a selection of European events taking place in 2024, starting in the UK at Wasing (including a panel hosted by Breaking Convention), then Switzerland, Italy, and the Canary Islands! Details of all of these can be found below…
…also below, you can find a link to The Betsy Gordon Psychoactive Substances Research Collection, a collection of primary source materials that document the history of psychedelic medicine, and an article about the first appearence of the term ‘Pantheist’, by our resident philosopher Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes.
Wishing you all the best,
Nikki
On behalf of the Breaking Convention team
Breaking Convention at the autumn Equinox
We are excited to announce EQUINOX, on 20-22 September 2024 at Wasing near Reading, UK. EQUINOX is a one-off event, raising funds for PAR (Psilocybin Access Rights), and Earth Percent, the music industry’s climate foundation co-founded by Brian Eno, with whom an incredible line-up of music artists & guest speakers has been curated, including Shpongle (DJ Set), Younger Brother, Hayden Thorpe, Mira Khanya, Sam Lee, The Egg, & Di-Pod.
Breaking Convention will be curating a panel discussion on the intersection of climate change and psychedelics, featuring Sam Gandy, and Neil Woods, moderated by Aimee Tollan. BC director Alexander Beiner will also be talking at the event.
We can't wait to see you in Wasing Woods in September!
See poster above for details, or find out more at www.wasing.co.uk/equinox
Awareness Lectures on Psychedelic Science
The Swiss Academic Conference on Psychedelic Research and Therapy
11-12 October 2024 in Aarau, Switzerland
We are delighted to invite you to the fourth edition of the ALPS Awareness Lecture on Psychedelic Science, set to take place on Friday and Saturday, October 11-12, 2024.
Join us in the scenic city of Aarau, located in the heart of German-speaking Switzerland. Aarau boasts convenient access, just 40 minutes away from major cities like Bern, Basel, and Zurich, with international flights available through Basel and Zurich airports.
This year's conference will feature 11 distinguished speakers and two interactive panels, providing deep insights into the latest advancements in psychedelic research and therapy. We look forward to hosting an engaging and enlightening conference that promises to expand knowledge and foster significant discussions.
Second round of Early Bird tickets on sale from 1st of June to 15th of August!
Emerging Therapies in Psychedelic Science
First Italian conference on the clinical use of psychedelic substances
8-9 November 2024 in Roverreto (50km north of Verona)
Whether you are a researcher, healthcare professional, or simply an enthusiast eager to learn more about the clinical potential of psychedelics, this conference will offer valuable insights and opportunities to connect with leading experts in the field. Secure your place today and be part of this exceptional convergence of science and society!
Join us for this pioneering event that promises to be both educational and inspiring.
The conference (in English) will take place on Friday 8th November in Rovereto (Italy) and it will be streamed online (with the possibility to access the recordings within 24 hours to adjust to the different time zones), while on Saturday 9th the discussion will carry on during a series of thematic workshops (in Italian).
For more information, please view the conference
Fuertedelica, the Canary Islands conference
The island of Fuerteventura is preparing to host the third edition of Fuertedélica on November 22 and 23, a unique event that will bring together specialists and enthusiasts from the world of psychedelia. The carefully designed program offers a comprehensive exploration of psychedelic culture from multiple perspectives, ranging from medical systems that incorporate psychoactive plants to the latest scientific research and its therapeutic applications.
Held in the small coastal town of Corralejo, Fuertedélica will be bilingual, with simultaneous translation, featuring people coming from both Spanish-speaking and English-speaking backgrounds.
This is an initiative organized by @psychedelic_fuerteventura in collaboration with the International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research, and Service (ICEERS). If yuo have any questions, email Dóra, Psychedelic Conference Fuerteventura, <info@psychedelicconference.org>
The Betsy Gordon Psychoactive Substances Research Collection
The existence of this collection was recently brought to my attention by that stalwart of the psychedelic scene, Tom Roberts. I was particularly thrilled to see some of the archival interview material; we at BC have been discussing ways to go about setting up a contemporary oral history collection.
This website is a veritable treasure trove of personal material (letters, papers, notes, etc.) to anyone interested in learning more about psychedelic researchers and culture. I won’t attempt to list the dozens of people included, take a look for yourself!
“This collecting area brings together primary source materials that document the history of psychedelic medicine. Types of materials available for research include correspondence, photographs, unpublished notes and writings, speeches, interviews, born digital materials, and other items of historical import and enduring value. These items are preserved and made accessible in perpetuity for scholars and the public with generous funding from the Betsy Gordon Foundation.”
Pantheists in 1720
And finally… a book review of John Toland’s Pantheisticon, which advocated ‘the forging of a Pantheist creed and sect, and with it a sought return to European paganism, in terms of philosophic belief and ordered ritual’. Whilst not psychedelic focussed, the term is so often used within the field that we feel it is valid to recommend this fascinating article to our readers:
