Confluence of European Water Bodies 2026

For the fourth iteration of the Confluence of European Water Bodies, taking place from September 3–6, 2026, the River Spree will become a gathering point for water stewards from across Europe. Over 40 rivers, lakes, seas, glaciers, and wetlands from more than 15 countries will come together to explore the possibility of giving voice and political representation to the continent's waters, exchange experiences, and build alliances in support of the legal, social, ethical, cultural, and political dimensions of Rights of Nature.

The Confluence is a growing pan-European network of water bodies and their communities, working across art, ecology, law, activism, research, and public engagement. Launched in 2023 by the Embassy of the North Sea, TBA21–Academy, and ILP Mar Menor at the shores of the Spanish saltwater lagoon, the first ecosystem in Europe with legal personhood, it calls for the legal and cultural recognition of water bodies as living entities with rights, intrinsic value, and agency. Acting as a campaign, research network, and community of practice, the Confluence explores what forms of democracy, artistic practice, governance, and stewardship might emerge when ecosystems are recognized as political and legal actors alongside humans.

This year’s edition is curated by Léon Gross and Jakob Kukula of the Berlin-based ecological design studio Symbiotic Lab, and organized in close collaboration with local partners including the Rights of the Spree initiative, the Berlin University Alliance, and the Confluence “Stream”, a coordination group organizing the network's long-term development and continuity across Europe.

This year's edition unfolds across four locations in Berlin: FLUSSBAD Campus, SPORE Initiative, Spreepark Art Space, and Floating University Berlin. Over four days, participants will gather through workshops, performances, collective meals, rituals, listening sessions, artistic interventions, public conversations, and a multispecies parliament. The program also features a keynote by renowned hydrofeminist philosopher and cultural theorist Astrida Neimanis.