An annual academic and public space dedicated to the interdisciplinary exploration of ideas for earthly flourishing.
The Festival is dedicated to exploring the rich and rapidly evolving field of inquiry and action pursuing efforts to bring the more-than-human world into the ambit of moral, legal, and social concern.
The Festival has two components. The morning sessions comprise a closed-door, interactive academic conference which will examine philosophical, scientific, legal, and cultural perspectives on more-than-human rights and other ecocentric paradigms. In addition to serving as an interdisciplinary space for the generation and refinement of ideas, this academic conference is intended to help consolidate the field of scholars working on topics related to MOTH.
The afternoon sessions, meanwhile, are open to the public and serve as a public platform to engage a broader audience in conversations and actions aimed at advancing the rights and well-being of humans, nonhumans, and the web of life that sustains us all. With creativity and interdisciplinarity at its heart, the Festival will include keynote talks, interviews, film screenings, book launches, poetry readings, concerts, and performances of various kinds by prominent scientists, lawyers, Indigenous leaders, artists, journalists, advocates, and scholars from around the world.
2026 MOTH Festival of Ideas
May 18-20, 2026
New York University School of Law
New York City
Call for Papers
More-Than-Human Rights: Interdisciplinary Perspectives for Earthly Flourishing 2026
To join the 2026 academic conference component of the Festival, please submit your paper abstract and other information.