IQBC 2026: Call for Contributions
6th IQBC: Law – Precepts – Thriving
The 6th IQBC will be a follow-up to the last conference, with three pillars. The first pillar deals with the difference between law and human rights, and so has to do with the social impacts of being a woman or queer or BIPOC or disabled, so being a marginalized group. And this means everyone who is not a white cis straight man.
The second pillar on the other hand deals with the Buddhist precepts whether they are lay precepts, precepts of ordained persons, novices*, nuns*, monks*, priests*, no matter in which Buddhist tradition, especially queers and precepts or queer ordained ones and precepts.
The third pillar of this conference focuses on thriving. This is not only surviving, but enjoying life, living a meaningful and joyful life despite bullying, threats, or abuse.
6th IQBC: Law – Precepts – Thriving
We’re looking for all kinds of contributions including but not limited to Talks, Workshops, Exhibitions, Performances, Films, Meditations, and Yoga Classes etc.
Keynote
When Aspiration Is Not Enough: Human Rights, Buddhist Precepts, and the Practice of Thriving Now
Human rights and religious ethics express our highest aspirations about how people should be treated. But these aspirations alone do not protect us. They do not protect our bodies, our minds and they do not give us power to protect ourselves. When rights and precepts are unenforceable, they remain ideals rather than safeguards. This talk explores why human rights and Buddhist ethical principles must be made operational through accountability and law, and how, even in the absence of perfect conditions, we can practice thriving now rather than waiting for the world to be ready.
Carol Merchasin
Carol Merchasin (she, her) has been called “the Cult Assassin” and the “Wonder Woman of taking down cults.” She is a seasoned attorney turned cult-litigator who has brought legal action against some of the world’s most revered spiritual leaders and organizations. She now leads a team of lawyers dedicated to fighting Spiritual Misconduct at the law firm McAllister Olivarius. Previously, she was a partner in the Philadelphia office of Morgan Lewis, where she conducted dozens of workplace investigations at Fortune 50 companies.
The philosophy of Buddhism is our basis, our path. That means: mindfulness, respect, loving kindness, compassion etc., the ethics we find in Buddhism, but are common human ethics, too. That also means, that we don´t exclude anyone, who observes human ethics.
The International Queer Buddhist Conferences are founded as a safe space for all gender identities, 2SLGBTQIA+ people and people, who kindly support the Rainbow Community as allies. Again everyone is welcome, no matter, which gender, sexuality, color, religion, or where they come from on the globe. We are a global queer family, following the Buddhist ethics. We are an inclusive, intersectional space.
This 6th International Queer Buddhist Conference will be held on zoom.
Let´s come together and enjoy!
Topics
1. Law vs. Human Rights
2. Right to bodily and mental integrity in contrary to "Your body - my Choice": Strategies of Support
3. Story telling as Means of Surviving: Share your Experience
4. Accountability
5. Precepts and Respect for (all) Women
6. Surviving - Living - Thriving
We are also happy to share queer art, so if you would like to share your art on IQBC.org, you are kindly invited!
Submission Deadline
July 30, 2026
Notification of Acceptance
September 10, 2026
Conference
October 30 – November 1, 2026
We call for paper submissions on one of the 4 topics above just one page outlining the panelist initial offering and that this may be made up of bullet points they wish to offer.
Accepted papers will be presented in a 15-minutes talk during the conference and a panel discussion will be held thereafter.
For the Conference Proceedings, we would like to encourage people to send a paper, but not more than four pages. (4 pages, Arial 10 or Times New Roman 12) on one of these 4 topics above.
For workshop proposals, a short description (max. 1 page, Arial 10 or Times New Roman 12) is sufficient. Workshops should be planned for a maximum of 90 minutes.
For any type of submission, please include a short biography (max. 150 words) of the presenter or workshop organizer, as well as a short description of the topic (max. 100 words) to be published on the schedule. In addition, please send a photo of you for the announcement and your PayPal, Venmo or CashApp for direct donations to you.
All papers and workshop proposals must be submitted before the submission deadline to be taken into account for the conference.
For any informal inquiries (e.g., feedback on an early abstract, whether a topic fits to the call, or, further information on other contribution formats), please send an e-Mail to info@iqbc.org timely before the submission deadline.
Please submit your work as a PDF document per e-Mail to info@iqbc.org.
Questions?
Feel free to reach out to us via
email.