NU-TECH 2017 CONFERENCE REPORT
[NuTech is short for New Technologies in Self-Deliverance]
After many months of planning, NuTech 2017 was held in Toronto on the weekend of 28 – 29 October. For the first time, the conference was open to more participants than simply those who attended in person in the studio.
Living up to its name, NuTech used live-streaming technology to hold a truly international conference across the world’s time zones. Presenters came from the US, Lithuania, Australia, the UK, the Netherlands and Canada. Those attending were exposed to exciting new ideas and paradigms for ‘self-deliverance’.
The program was opened by Final Exit author and Hemlock Society founder Derek Humphry. Derek presented
from his home near Eugene Oregon. The remainder of the program alternated between presentations of inventions that were in competition for the inaugural NuTech Innovation Award (USD5000) and guest speakers.
Presentations in Competition:
Life Quality Monitor (David Jones, UK)
Ranking DIY Methods (Ted Ballou, US)
GULPS Generator (John Todd, Aus)
Revisiting Compression (Neal Nicol, US)
Frequency Testing of Helium Purity (Hugh Wynne, UK)
Revisiting the Re-Breather (‘Bob’, US)
The judging panel comprised Derek Humphry (US), Tom Curran (Ireland) and Miriam de Bontridder (NL).
An awards lunch was held on the Sunday at the Intercontinental Hotel where the joint winners of John Todd and Bob from the US were announced. Ironically, perhaps, the live-stream nature of the conference meant that neither winner was present in person to accept their certificate and cash reward. A speaker conference call took the news to Brisbane in Australia and Las Vegas in the US respectively.
In addition to the innovation competition, this year’s NuTech invited a number of guest speakers. Chief among these were the inventor of the ‘art concept’ Euthanasia Rollercoaster, Julijonas Urbonas from Lithuania.
Conceived in 2010, the Euthanasia Rollercoaster has attracted global media as it has conflated art and death in a new unique way. Urbonas was an especially engaging and thought-provoking speaker, living up to the expectation that comes from a stint as ‘artist in residence’ at Accelerate@Cern in Switzerland.
As convenor of this year’s NuTech, Philip Nitschke used the occasion to launch the Sarco, as well as presenting on the new Dutch Salts. To this end Philip presented a scientific analysis and comparison between the Nitrite and Azide salts.
It is expected that NuTech will continue its new live-stream format in 2018 and will coincide with the biennial conference of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies in Cape Town, South Africa in September, 2018.
+++++++++++++++++++
