The World Mushroom Forum, produced by Mycopreneur founder Dennis Walker in collaboration with Oli Genn-Bash of The Fungi Consultant, is bringing together leading voices from across the global mushroom ecosystem for a multi-day virtual gathering designed to foster international dialogue and collaborative design. The inaugural forum is set to take place from August 21 – 23 as an online collaborative conference.
Positioned as a worldwide meeting point for the rapidly evolving fungi space, the event will feature speakers and participants spanning medicinal mushrooms, fungi products, psychedelic research and culture, regenerative agriculture, biotechnology, conservation, cultivation, policy reform, indigenous perspectives, and emerging international markets among other related themes.
“Myself and Dennis have spoken to countless people in the mushroom industry and watched it evolve over the years, with fascinating research and exciting innovation becoming more present every day” says Co-Founder Oli Genn-Bash.
“The World Mushroom Forum is an opportunity to bring together some of these conversations and myceliate with like-minded fungi folk to explore how the future of this industry will take shape.”
The Shroom Boom Goes Global
The launch comes amid accelerating interest in medicinal mushrooms, psychedelic therapies, mycelium-based materials, regenerative agriculture, and fungal biotechnology among many other emerging niches.
Programming includes discussions on mushroom genetics, analytical testing standards for psilocybin and functional mushrooms, the European functional mushroom regulatory landscape, mycomaterials, and the mushroom startup ecosystem in India. Additional sessions will explore fertility and immune health, biocultural conservation of indigenous fungal knowledge, and the emerging regulated psilocybin therapy sector. The full schedule will be released in the coming weeks.
“There are endless opportunities to learn and share with other regions of the world. We have different ideas, perspectives and experiences that complement each other,” says Santiago Ongay of leading North American exotic mushroom genetics distributor Full Canopy Genetics.
“We currently collectively still know so little about the broad universe of mycology, but with collaboration and aggregation of citizen science, we can increase awareness, research, innovation and access to the benefit of all parties involved,” he continues.
As interest in fungi continues to accelerate globally, the World Mushroom Forum aims to bridge conversations that often remain siloed between industries, geographies, and disciplines.
Cross-Border Mushroom Industry Collaboration Is Key
The conference will be hosted entirely online, enabling participation from attendees and speakers across North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Organizers say the digital format is intended to maximize international accessibility while highlighting diverse regional perspectives shaping the future of the mushroom industry and broader fungal movement. There is also an in-person component with independently organized events across the world in partnership with local mycological societies and mushroom groups internationally to cultivate the type of community interaction that cannot be replicated online.
“Fungi are becoming increasingly relevant across healthcare, food systems, materials, community building, you name it, ” said Walker. “But despite the scale of innovation happening worldwide, there are still relatively few accessible cross-cultural and interdisciplinary spaces where citizen mycologists, scientists, entrepreneurs, advocates, cultivators, and community builders from around the world can connect and build together in real time. The World Mushroom Forum is a platform for accelerating collaboration within the global mushroom community.”
Applications and partnership inquiries have already been received from organizations across North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania.
The inaugural World Mushroom Forum is now accepting applications for speakers, collaborators, and sponsors – interested parties can register their submissions through the official World Mushroom Forum submission portal.
Additional details regarding programming, partnerships, and registration will be announced in the coming weeks of June.
Dennis Walker is a multimedia producer and journalist covering global mushroom entrepreneurship and culture. As the host of Mycopreneur Podcast, he has interviewed over 250 mushroom entrepreneurs from 60 + countries and his work has been featured in Rolling Stone, Forbes, Wired, Vice, The Los Angeles Times, High Times, The Independent, Austin Chronicle, and many other international outlets. As a journalist, he has written for High Times, GreenState, Lucid News, Double Blind Magazine, Psychedelic Alpha, Honeysuckle Magazine, and numerous other publications. Walker regularly speaks at academic and industry conferences on psychedelics and mushrooms around the world such as SXSW, Breaking Convention, Psychedelic Science, Harvard Law School and many others.
