NICE2025: Science Fiction prototyping future Ocean imaginaries

Workshop at C.U.M. L’Université de la Mer - Nice, France

June 4 – June 4, 2025

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Programming

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Can science fiction shape the future of the ocean beyond scientific reports? What if science fiction could succeed where policy reports fall short? Ocean Futurisms 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.

 

Ocean Futurisms is a unique collaboration between Radical Ocean Futures, TBA21–Academy, and Inferstudio, 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.

 

Open Call: Become an Oceánico – Help shape the future of our ocean

TBA21–Academy, Le 109 NICE, YouthEU4Ocean, and Botox(s) invite nominations for six new members of the TBA21 Ocean Community who will serve as mediators and moderators for the working groups during the Ocean Futurisms Assembly at the Université de la Mer (C.U.M.), Nice, France, June 4, 2025.

 

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

 

Deadline for nominations: May 18

 

Learn more about the open call HERE.

 

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