DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

Medicine is built on the understanding that the most profound healing and growth happens when we gather across difference – not in spite of it. We actively work to ensure that our stages, our healing spaces, our workshops, and our community areas reflect the full breadth of human experience. We programme voices from every continent. We hold space for conversations that matter. We create an environment where people can be exactly who they are – without performance, without apology. The sober, plant-based, ceremony-held nature of the gathering means that many people who feel unsafe or unseen at other festivals find a genuine sense of home at Medicine. This is something we hold with great care.

We are committed to making Medicine as accessible as possible for people of all abilities and needs. Accessibility provisions at the gathering include dedicated accessible camping, accessible toilet and shower facilities, quiet spaces for those who need respite from sensory stimulation, and a dedicated accessibility team on site throughout the festival. We offer complimentary tickets for those who face financial barriers to attending, because we believe that the medicine of this gathering should not be limited by economic circumstance. We also welcome personal assistants and carers and provide complimentary tickets for registered carers accompanying a disabled attendee. If you are bringing prescribed medication, including cannabis-based medicinal products prescribed under UK law, you’re very welcome to do so, and you can find full guidance about prescribed medication on our Accessibility page. If you have specific access needs, we encourage you to get in touch with our accessibility team (accessibility@medicinefestival.com) as early as possible so we can work together to make your experience as comfortable and supported as it can be.

Medicine brings together wisdom keepers, teachers, and practitioners from Indigenous and traditional cultures around the world. This is a privilege, and we hold it with deep reverence and responsibility. We draw a clear distinction between cultural exchange and cultural appropriation. Cultural exchange is rooted in mutual respect, invitation, and relationship. It happens when knowledge is shared freely, in context, by those who hold it. Cultural appropriation, by contrast, takes elements of a culture – dress, ceremony, sacred symbols, practices – out of context, often from communities that have been historically marginalised, without understanding, permission, or reciprocity. At Medicine, we are guided by the communities and wisdom keepers we work with. When Indigenous leaders share their traditions at the gathering, they do so on their own terms, in their own way, and with the full context and meaning that their practices carry. We are guests in their knowledge, not consumers of it. We ask all who attend to approach cultural sharing at the gathering with humility, curiosity, and respect. If something is not yours to wear, to perform, or to claim – honour it from a place of appreciation rather than adoption. When you are unsure, ask. When you are offered a teaching, receive it with gratitude. This is not about restriction. It is about deepening. The more we understand the origins and significance of the traditions we encounter, the more meaningful our experience becomes – and the more we honour the people who carry them.

Medicine is held in ceremony, and that ceremonial container creates a responsibility of care for one another. We are committed to creating an environment where everyone feels safe, respected, and supported. Our community guidelines are grounded in mutual respect, consent, and kindness. We have a dedicated welfare and safeguarding team present throughout the gathering, trained to support anyone who needs it. We take all reports of harassment, discrimination, or harmful behaviour seriously and respond with compassion and accountability. The alcohol-free environment is a foundational part of this. Without alcohol, the gathering operates at a different frequency – one of presence, awareness, and genuine connection. This is one of the most consistent pieces of feedback we receive: people feel safer at Medicine than at any other event they have attended. We also recognise that safety means different things to different people. For some, it is physical. For others, it is emotional, cultural, or spiritual. We work to hold all of these dimensions, and we ask our community to do the same – to look out for one another, to listen before assuming, and to create the kind of space they themselves would want to be held in.

Inclusion is not a destination. It is an ongoing, evolving practice – and we do not claim to have all the answers. We are committed to listening, to being challenged, and to doing the work required to ensure that Medicine is a place where every person feels they belong. We actively seek feedback from our community, our artists, our wisdom keepers, and our partners, and we use that feedback to shape the gathering year on year. If you have lived experience, insight, or expertise that could help us do this work better, we genuinely want to hear from you. Medicine is co-created by its community, and that includes the ongoing work of making this space as inclusive, respectful, and welcoming as it can possibly be.

We are committed to increasing the diversity of our stages, our healing spaces, and our team – both on site and behind the scenes. We are committed to fair and equitable pay for all artists, speakers, and practitioners, regardless of background or profile. We are committed to providing accessible pricing, bursary places, and community-funded tickets to ensure the gathering is open to people of all economic circumstances. We are committed to platforming Indigenous and marginalised voices – not as tokens, but as teachers, leaders, and collaborators at the heart of what we do. We are committed to ongoing education within our team and our community on matters of racial justice, cultural sensitivity, disability awareness, and LGBTQIA+ inclusion. We are committed to transparency. Where we fall short, we will own it. Where we can do better, we will.

THIS IS THE WORK – AND IT IS WORK THAT WE ARE HONOURED TO DO.