OcéanoFuturismos: Science Fiction prototyping future Ocean imaginaries

Workshop at C.U.M. L’Université de l’Océan (Nice City Council) - Nice, France

June 4 – June 4, 2025

NICE2025

Programming

NICE2025

Upcoming

Can science fiction shape the future of the ocean beyond scientific reports? What if science fiction could succeed where policy reports fall short? OcéanoFuturismos invites participants to step into alternative, science-based futures for the ocean—through three short, interconnected films followed by a participatory workshop. In this unique collaboration between Radical Ocean Futures, TBA21–Academy, and Inferstudio, storytelling becomes a method for transformation, speculation, and collective design. Part film festival, part creative lab, part storytelling symposium, this one-of-a-kind experience at the UN Ocean Conference offers participants the chance not just to witness possible oceanic futures—but to shape them.

 

How can we work collectively toward more regenerative ocean futures that resist extractivism and climate collapse if we lack compelling, visionary imaginaries that ignite our imagination and inspire action? This question becomes even more urgent when the future often feels dark, narrow, and predetermined.

 

How can we dream compelling futures for the ocean—and why does it matter that we do?

 

Rooted in the acclaimed Radical Ocean Futures Project, this full-day event invites participants to journey through three original science-fiction films—MANA, HAVSRÅ, and MATSYA—each envisioning radically different, scientifically grounded futures of the global ocean. This immersive experience sets the stage for an interactive workshop where participants reverse-engineer these fictional worlds, exploring the governance structures, human-ocean relationships, and ecological transformations that would be required to make them real—or to steer us away from their more dystopian possibilities.

 

OcéanoFuturismos is a unique collaboration between Radical Ocean Futures, TBA21–Academy, Inferstudio, l’Université de l’Océan, MAMAC and CUM, designed not only to ignite imagination but to galvanize collective action through an innovative process known as imagination-led backcasting. By beginning with speculative visions and working backward, participants are encouraged to escape the limitations of current frameworks and propose creative, visionary policy interventions—all grounded in science, but unconstrained by today’s assumptions.

 

PROGRAM

MORNING

10 am–1:30 pm

Workshop 
The morning session is open to a limited number of participants. Please register HERE. 

 

AFTERNOON

3:30 pm–5:30 pm

Screening of short films #2 
Each film is accompanied by a dedicated roundtable discussion.
The afternoon session is open to the public upon mandatory registration via THIS form.

 

OPEN CALL

Become an Oceánico – Help shape the future of our ocean

 

TBA21–Academy, l’Université de l’Océan (Nice City Council), Le 109 NICE, YouthEU4Ocean, and Botox(s) invite applications for six new members of the TBA21 Ocean Community that will serve as mediators and moderators for the working groups during the OcéanoFuturismos as part of the Université de l’Océan, a program organized by the City of Nice, taking place at the Centre Universitaire Méditerranéen (C.U.M.) in Nice, on June 4, 2025.

 

Selected applicants will receive exclusive mentoring from leading ocean imagination and advocacy experts, including Eduardo Castillo-Vinuesa (Director, TBA21–Academy), Louise Carver, and other TBA21 mentors. 

 

Deadline for applications: May 22

 

Learn more about the open call HERE.

 

RELATED EVENT

Becoming: Benthos, Creatures of Twilight
June 5, at 4 PM
Presentation, screening, and Q&A
Organized by Schmidt Ocean Institute in collaboration with TBA21 and the Université de l'Ocean (City of Nice) as a parallel event to the exhibition Becoming Ocean - a social conversation about the Ocean at Villa Arson.

 

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