Call for Contributions
5th IQBC: Buddhism – Human Rights – Queer Rights vs. Abuse
After the last IQBC, which had the title “Buddhism is Trans” my volunteers and I had to realize, that people would have liked to attend and be part of the conference with this exciting title. But they were afraid of attending because of the bullying and threatening they have gone through among social networks and also in the real world. Still, in the 21st century, queer people are persecuted, brought into jail, tortured or killed, because of being queer.
But queers are humans. And human rights are for every human being, not only for straight, cis people: Human rights are also for queer people.
Therefore, I would like to point to some of the human rights in the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”
In Article 1 it says:
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”
It doesn’t say, “but queer humans are excluded.”
In Article 2 it says:
“Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration,
without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.”
There is no exclusion of 2SLGBTQIA+ people at all.
And finally in Article 5 it says:
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment.”
This is especially important to queer people all around the globe who have to face torture, cruelty, hate crime, respectless behavior and more.
In these times in which politics seems to be like a backlash towards queer rights, this 5th IQBC had to have this challenging title pointing to human rights that are rights for each human being. Queer rights are human rights.
For further information about the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, please, have a kind look on this link.
5th IQBC: Buddhism – Human Rights – Queer Rights vs. Abuse
We’re looking for all kinds of contributions including but not limited to Talks, Workshops, Exhibitions, Performances, Films, Meditations, and Yoga Classes etc.
“Secrecy Is Toxic:” Grassroots Resistance to Sexual Abuse in American Buddhism
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Since the 1980s, American Buddhist communities have been the site of recurring sexual misconduct and abuse allegations. Efforts to bring about justice have been hampered by denial and deflection from teachers, community leaders, and board members. In the absence of community accountability to a central American Buddhist governing body, efforts to respond to sexual abuse have fallen largely to individual or collective grassroot efforts. In this presentation, we consider grassroots efforts to respond to sexual abuse in American Buddhism. These efforts include submitting to outside investigations and trainings, community reform through revised grievance procedures and ethics statements, survivor advocacy through in-person and online networks, and legal interventions. We conclude by reflecting on the relationship between such efforts and the sexual ethics found in the classical Buddhist tradition.
Keynote Speakers:
Ann Gleig
Ann Gleig is an associate professor of religion and cultural studies at the University of Central Florida. She is the author of American Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Modernity (2019) and editor, with Scott A. Mitchell, of the Oxford Handbook of American Buddhism.
Amy Paris Langenberg
Amy Paris Langenberg is professor of religion at Eckerd College. She is the author of “Birth in Buddhism: The Suffering Fetus and Female Freedom” (2017) as well as numerous peer-reviewed articles. Her research is focused on gender and sexuality in Buddhism and female Buddhist monasticisms.
Ann and Amy have just finished a book-length study of sexual abuse in American and transnational Buddhism, to be published by Yale University Press.
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 5th International Queer Buddhist Conference again will use the two virtual platforms: zoom and gather.town.
Let´s come together and enjoy!
Topics
1. Human Rights - Queer Rights All Over the World?
Whether it’s a personal experience or a scholarly talk about a specific country and the politics of human or queer rights, etc.
2. Queer Rights and Buddhism
Whether it is in Buddhist Philosophy or Buddhist countries, etc.
Abuse Among Buddhist Communities, Monasteries etc. and the right to say "no" or resist
Whether it’s abuse towards women – cis, trans, non-binary -, children or queer people – LGBTQIA+, so, no matter which sexuality or gender
Buddhist Traditions for Gaining Self-Consciousness
e.g. Vajrayana, Dakini´s Whisper etc.
Submission Deadline
July 30, 2025
Notification of Acceptance
September 10, 2025
Conference
October 31 – November 2, 2025
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.