PF International Affiliates Conference: New Faces in Parapsychology

The Parapsychology Foundation (PF), now in its 66^th year of operation this year, has re-dedicated itself to one of its core missions, that of advancing education in parapsychology. In this spirit, the PF Lyceum Academy will offer the second in its series of PF International Affiliates Conferences on WizIQ, “New Faces in The Scientific Study of Psychic Phenomena.” Three young researchers from around the world have been recommended by members of the elite group of scientists and researchers in the Parapsychology Foundation’s International Affiliates Program. Pursuing advanced degrees and taking up important topics in the field, these young people will present their research and share their enthusiasm for the field and its challenges at this important conference!

First a little bit about the Parapsychology Foundation International Affiliates program. Inaugurated in 2000 the program includes 27 extraordinary individuals from 26 different countries around the world. Each of these individuals – such as Professor Caroline Watt of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Professor Wellington Zangari of the University of São Paulo in Brazil and Dr. Zoltan Vassy in Hungary – conduct research, mentor graduate students, are active researchers, or active professionals with a deep understanding of the subject matter. In the 2016 PF International Affiliates Conference on WizIQ five international affiliates gave presentations about institutional, educational and research developments in their own countries over the last 40 years. This year we went back to these same extraordinary individuals and asked them to nominate a young person who represents the scientific and academic future of the field. Ana Flores from the University of Edinburgh was nominated by Professor Watt, Csongor Matyi was nominated by Dr. Vassy, and Gabriel Teixeira was nominated by Professor Zangari. A conference of five sessions was built around these young researchers and their work.

To anyone who has followed the Parapsychology Foundation over the last many decades, who has an interest in the scientific and academic side of parapsychology and psychical research, and a need to know how this work has progressed around the world, this event is for you! No prerequisites or qualifications are required to attend the conference, just your interest and enthusiasm for the topic.

Parapsychology Foundation has had a long history on the international scene in the field. From the 1950s through 2005, the PF offered regular conferences all over the world, highlighting the work of the best and the brightest in the field. Combined with the PF’s extraordinary Eileen J. Garrett Library, its publications, scholarships, grants and awards, and the now-under-reconstruction suite of websites, the PF international conference series has always been a beacon for those seeking new and comprehensive information about the field as a whole. In the same way, the PF Lyceum Academy’s International Affiliates Conference series on WizIQ has begun to bring the global outlook of the scientific and academic study of psychic phenomena to a wider world online.

Here are the young researchers who will be speaking at the conference:

• Ana Flores, a Ph.D. candidate at the University Edinburgh (UE), a member of the Koestler Parapsychology Unit in the Department of Psychology at UE, and a research fellow of the Bial Foundation in Portugal. Flores holds an L.L.B. and an M.A. in Law, both awarded by the Universidade Autonoma of Lisbon, and worked as a lawyer for a dozen years. She also obtained a Diploma in Psychology from the Universidade Lusofona de Lisboa and an M.Sc. in Transpersonal Psychology and Consciousness Studies at the University of Northampton in England. Her presentation is “A New Light on the Replicability Problem in Parapsychology: Can Non-Local Correlations be an Answer?”  As part of an International Consortium, Flores’ presentation will review her doctoral work testing a new theoretical paradigm first developed by German physicist and psychologist Walter von Lucadou.
• Csongor Matyi received his M.A. from the University of Budapest where he first studied law and then after a year spent in the UK, switched to experimental and cognitive psychology. Taking part in the Paris Euro-PA Convention in 2007, he was introduced to the international community of researchers in parapsychology. Currently combining a psychological practice specializing in gifted children with lecturing on the history and methods of parapsychology at Eötvös Loránd University, he is also an active researcher and counselor. His presentation, “An Auto-Ganzfeld Study Conducted in 2011,” will focus on his M.A. thesis research.
• Gabriel Teixeira received his Masters in Psychology from the Federal University of São Paulo in Brazil and is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of São Paulo (USP) as well as a member of InterPsi, the Laboratory of Anomalistic Psychology and Psychosocial Processes at USP. His presentation, “Varieties of Out-of-Body Experiences: Comparing OBErs and non-OBEs in a Brazilian Sample,” will review a study done for his masters thesis.

In addition, Lisette Coly, the President of the Parapsychology Foundation, and PF Research Fellows Dr. Carlos S. Alvarado and Dr. Nancy L. Zingrone will conduct the opening and closing sessions for the conference, focusing on the breadth of the PF International Affiliate program, its goals and accomplishments, and, in the closing session, on such activities as upcoming events and courses in the PF Lyceum Academy on WizIQ.

Individuals who attend or view all the lectures and take part in discussions will come away from the conference with the unique experience of meeting and hearing the work of up and coming new researchers as well as learn about some of the latest research work in the field. Individuals who attend will also become familiar with the Foundation’s work supporting researchers and students in a wide variety of countries. Because of the question and answer period after each lecture and the discussion forum available on the conference’s main page, attendees will also have the opportunity to meet and talk with others from around the world who share their interests and experiences.

Although the course does not prepare attendees for any certification or exam, it will provide a unique look into the scientific study of psychic phenomena, experience and belief around the world.