Why we run a Festival
IF Oxford is organised by a charity (number 1151361) with Trustees and a small team that work year-round to produce the Festival which began in 1992. We are passionate about the health of society and want to help shape a fairer, secure and enjoyable future.
We know that Festivals are a powerful and cost-effective way to bring people together, inspiring curious minds of all ages and backgrounds to access and help shape new ideas.
IF Oxford was running events about pandemics and vaccines well before Covid-19 changed the world and in 2020, the whole of the Festival took place online, we collaborated with a high-quality print magazine and hosted a variety of 100 digital events. As restrictions eased, the 2021 Festival was a hybrid of in-person and digital events, and from 2022, the Festival returned to a mainly in-person format while retaining some digital and print content. See the infographic reports (link below) to see examples of our work and impacts, or explore our values.
Who knows where new opportunities and challenges will emerge?!, so the science and ideas Festival is one way to have a glimpse into the future or reflect on the past, while meeting some of the amazing inventors and creative people working at the edges of human knowledge.
Our events enable a diversity of people (both presenters and audiences) to start conversations that establish relevance and build trust around complex topics. This Festival is a moment in time to recognise, test and enjoy great ideas, or learn something new. Someone who comes to the Festival might have an emerging interest in a health or environmental issue, or might not yet know what they want to do next. But, what they will know is that IF Oxford makes complex topics accessible and interesting, because 90% of visitors are very likely or likely to tell a friend to try some of the enjoyable science and ideas Festival events themselves.
IF Oxford outputs and impact reports 2018-2025
