Causes: Women, Womens Service Clubs

Mission: The Women’s Visionary Congress (WVC) is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that presents cutting edge information about investigations into non-ordinary forms of consciousness. Our community has been gathering since 2007 to hear presentations from women researchers, healers, activists and artists who examine heighten states of awareness. We promote the right to self-knowledge, cognitive liberty, and new modes of healing that link us to female wisdom keepers and traditional users of plant medicines throughout history. WVC supports both qualitative and quantitative research methods and ways of knowing held by many cultures. Our members are committed to sharing their stories and supporting a vibrant exchange of ideas. In addition to organizing the annual Women’s Visionary Congress and WVC Salons in the U.S. and Canada, WVC raises funds to make grants to women who engage in this work. We facilitate the transcription and distribution of WVC presentations and finance scholarships to our gatherings for people of slender means. WVC also presents information about the potential challenges associated with non-ordinary consciousness or the pursuit of these states. We support risk reduction initiatives and the development of community wellness strategies. Terra Firma, the WVC blog addresses ethical issues concerning investigations into cognition and new therapies involving altered states. While we preference the voices of women, WVC events have always been open to people of all genders. We speak out for the rights of all those who are interested in new and old ways of transcending ordinary reality and limiting definitions of ourselves. Our community events celebrate the creative possibilities of this rapidly developing field. We are on a collective journey of discovery and we welcome you to join us.

Results: Since our first Women’s Congress in 2007 we have provided a supportive and respectful forum for more than 350 women researchers, activists, teachers and artists to showcase their work – and have offered talks by visionary men, who have always been welcome at our events. We make sure to invite speakers who have no prior speaking experience to each of our gatherings, so many of the powerful female voices in the psychedelic movement today got their start at one of our events. Our scholarship program and speaker travel fund allow us to bring women from diverse backgrounds to our events, creating opportunities for intergenerational mentoring and inter-cultural exchange that inspire and enliven our community as a growing part of a global network of communities dedicated to consciousness expansion. WVC has successfully encouraged conference organizers to include more women in their list of speakers, and we have been overjoyed to see an increasing number of women researchers, therapists, and scientists present their work at conferences like Breaking Convention and Visionary Convergence in 2015. These increasingly diverse speaker lineups represent great progress since WVC’s founders attended the psychedelic community’s 2006 International Symposium in Switzerland and noted that there were sixty-nine men and only eight women speaking.

Programs: The women's visionary council is engaged in four primary activities hosting an annual event, organizing regional community gatherings, awarding grants to visionary women and showcasing the work of visionary women in a published newsletter.