August 30th – September 1st, Ghent, Belgium
Every other year skeptics from all over Europe come together to meet at the European Skeptics Congress.
They listen to talks about a variety of subjects, participate in debates,
exchange experiences with colleagues from abroad while having a great time together.
This year we are meeting in Ghent, one of the great historical cities of Belgium,
home to one of its main universities, with a pre-program ‘Skeptics in the Pub’ event in the center of Brussels.
Come and join us for 3-4 days of fun and learning with Edzard Ernst and Kavin Senapathy,
and don’t forget to sample Belgium’s fine beers and chocolates while you’re here.
Register on our website.
Special discounts for members of skeptical organizations and students.
Join the banquet on Saturday night in the company of the finest selection of skeptics in Europe (separate ticket).
Dear skeptics!
As I am sure you all know by now, the next ESC ’17 will take place in Poland in September of next year.
The Polish Skeptics Club and the Czech Skeptics Club Sisyfos have a holiday surprise for you. Starting tomorrow, December 12th at 12:12 CET, you can start purchasing TICKETS to the ESC! Also, the first 50 Good Tickets are 20% off – 80 Eur instead of the regular price of 100 Eur.
What this all means is that not only do you save on your ticket, but you can get a wonderful present for your loved ones who are skeptics and for your loved ones who aren’t (yet).
Happy holidays!
The Dutch-speaking skeptical landscape
For a bit of context, let me take you on a short tour around the skeptical movement in the Dutch-speaking world. This includes the Netherlands and Flanders (Northern Belgium). In total there are four active organizations; two in the Netherlands and two in Flanders. In the Netherlands the Vereniging tegen de Kwakzalverij (Society Against Quackery) or VtdK, founded in 1881, is the oldest skeptical organization in the world. The VtdK specifically focuses on fighting harmful or useless (alternative) medicine. The second organization in the Netherlands is Stichting Skepsis (founded in 1987 with the help of Paul Kurtz), which focuses on skepticism in general. In Flanders there is SKEPP (founded in 1990 with the help of James Randi and Skepsis), also focused on skepticism in general. Het Denkgelag, the fourth group, is a recent offshoot from SKEPP (althought they’re not competing, rather completing each other) that was founded in 2012 to hold discussions and lectures aimed at attracting people outside the skeptical community, and stimulating critical thinking. Continue reading “Report from the Skepsis Congres on 8 November 2014 in Utrecht, the Netherlands”
