Festival Programme
Open space activities
Dutch peatlands have been drastically changed by human activity over the centuries—from peat extraction and drainage to dewatering for agriculture and housing. Apparently without much protest. But peatlands do make themselves known: through shrinkage, subsidence, and oxidation, the landscape signals that it is under pressure. In many places, it has already lost its function as a sponge, carbon storage, and habitat for biodiversity.
On July 2nd the Embassy of Peat (Ambassade van het Veen) organized a workshop in the peatland area Westbroekse Zodden, north of Utrecht. Together with the Ear to the Earth ensemble participants experimented with ways to engage with and listen to the land. We invite you to immerse yourself in the whispering music and sounds of the Westbroekse Zodden and discover what the peatland sounds like when we truly listen!
Facilitators: Mandy van den Ende, Tom Wils, Sofie Braspenning, Tom Gerritsen, Geertje Speelman, Flora Roberts, Ear to the Earth ensemble
How to come to action towards net zero energy futures? In this ‘just landing’ activity, you walk your own pathway by making choices out collaborations with neighbors, comfort level, preferred technologies and affordability. A decision tree enables you to make your own decisions at crucial crossroad. What steps do you take following your intentions, and by weighing the information you receive and the outcome of discussions with your peers? Through informed decision-making you create your own pathway towards just and net zero energy futures. Visit us at the KF Hein Foyer and just land on your own pathway to get clarity about the actions to take for a just and sustainable energy transition.
Facilitators: Udeke Huiskamp en Fleur van der Linden
Are you curious how a simple element like Hydrogen fits into the broader energy transition? Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the technical, political, and social complexities of transformation? A ‘safe landing’ of green hydrogen requires current and future professionals from various backgrounds to understand these complexities; to see if and how green hydrogen fits into the bigger picture, and to understand the role that every person can play in shaping this picture. During the breakout session, you get a preview of how the Rethink Hydrogen Dialogue Tool has been designed to address these issues in a playful and impactful format. After the breakout you can decide to sign up for a full dialogue session, or to discuss with us how to apply the dialogue tool in your own organization or educational programs.
Facilitators: Krista Peters, Joshua Jacobs and Udeke Huiskamp
Join us for a selection of inspiring short films created during the course Sustainability in Frame: How to Turn Research into Film. Discover how research can be transformed into powerful stories on screen, and explore different perspectives on sustainability.
After the screening, step into the recording booth and share your own message: where and how should sustainability land? Your voice can help shape the conversation about a more sustainable future.
Facilitators: Emanuele Fantini, Tessa Diphorn, Reinout Van Schie, Tatiana Acevedo Guerrero
As part of the immersive “Op Aarde” (On Earth) exhibition, the Sonnenborgh Observatory has been inviting visitors of all ages to imagine and articulate their relationship with the planet through the practice of writing letters to the Earth. Supported by Pathways Seed Funding, a transdisciplinary group of UU researchers, under the project name “To Whom It May Concern,” has been collecting and studying this growing archive of these letters as both a cultural record and a source of insight into climate imagination, emotional literacy, and everyday sustainability narratives.
Participants are invited to explore a selection of letters from the archive and experience their imaginative and wide-ranging perspectives on the current state of planetary health, as well as on desirable collective futures. You can also join a 50-minute guided creative writing workshop led by the To Whom It May Concern team. There, they will have the opportunity to put their own relationship with the planet into words and write a personal letter to the Earth.
Facilitators: Mia You, Robert-Jan Wille, Kári Driscoll, Josephine Chambers (Utrecht University) with Giovanni Stijnen, Tanja Koning (Sonnenborgh Observatory)
How might sustainability emerge when we shift from the perspective of the individual to that of a living network? This participatory session explores collective bodily decision making. Drawing inspirations from artworks such as "divisor' from Brazilian artist Lygia Pape and the book 'Let's become fungal' from Yasmine Ostendrof Rodriguez, we will move like mycelium through the space of the festival.
Beginning with the idea that no actor, human or non, exists in isolation and embracing the fungal intelligent model of mutual dependence and adaptive resilience. Echoing practices of collective movement and negotiated coexistence, we will act as a network instead of hierarchies.
Join the session to experience through your body how 'I' becomes 'we'.
Facilitators: We are a collective that works on the border of art and architecture with focus on agriculture. We are called 'the Outsiders' and the core team of the Outsiders at the moment are: Txell Blanco, Asia Komarova, Avan Omar, Leonaardo de Siqueira and Maxim Yesodharan.
Come and join us to experience how your personal interests and choices shape systemic outcomes. We offer two interactive serious games that address global warming and the management of scarce resources. Join one or both and discover how to navigate complex dilemmas through decision-making.
The solar dimming dilemma
As global warming worsens, humanity could artificially cool the planet by reflecting a small fraction of incoming sunlight. But this scheme is imperfect and full of political dilemmas. Step in the shoes of negotiators and defend your interests!
Hydrogen to Life
Your spaceship was hit by an asteroid and now your water supply is severely damaged! You, the chemist on this mission, now must save the entire crew from dehydration. Your task: use and improve all your chemistry knowledge to convert H2 and CO2 into essential H2O and CH4 using iterative experiments.
Facilitators: Claudia Wieners, Thomas Hartman and Werner Most
Pick up a card, flip the hourglass and talk until the very last grain of sand has fallen. Then the roles are reversed. Can you really listen, or are you already busy in your head preparing your own story? During the festival, researchers from Future Food Utrecht invite you to take part in a conversation experiment. Through a generative dialogue, visitors will enjoy the unique experience of speaking uninterrupted, whilst at the same time learning to truly listen to others. This will give you unexpected insights into each other’s perspectives and world views. What role does food play in your life? What does fair and sustainable food mean to you? How do you see your role in the protein transition? And do you dare to challenge yourself to really listen to others’ arguments?
Facilitators: Saskia Kliphuis
The Sustainability Office works every day to turn ideas into action. But what has landed so far? What has happened, what is visible, and what is still behind the scenes? And what would you like to land yourself?
Join the Sustainability Office for an engaging game where you can earn components by answering questions. Don’t worry, most of them are multiple choice! By the end, we’ll have had a great conversation, and you’ll have landed your own sustainability idea in a real-life ball run.
Facilitators: Susanne Kok, Yashna Pande, Joep Wijnhoven, Judith Boekel, Jeroen Hutten
Discover the inspiring projects nominated for the Pathways to Sustainability Award and meet the people behind them. At the festival, visitors are invited to explore how Utrecht University researchers and societal partners are working together to address sustainability challenges and create a more sustainable and just future.
Get to know the nominees, hear their stories during a meet & greet, and cast your vote for the project that you believe deserves to win. You decide which project takes home the Pathways to Sustainability Award.
Find out more about the Award and nominees here
Breakout sessions
Sustainable ocean management presents a significant challenge. Currently, more than 2 million km² of the deep seafloor are explored for metal ores, with potentially a few hundred thousand km² that could be mined within the next 20-30 years. At the mined location, the removal of polymetallic nodules will result in the loss of nodule-dependent organisms for millions of years. Moreover, mining plumes and noise will spread far beyond the mined areas.
Many areas targeted for potential exploitation are located beyond national jurisdiction, where governance is complex and in development. In addition, political and societal questions on metal demand and origin need to be considered. During this session, you will be introduced to deep-sea governance, ecosystems, and stakeholders by experts of the Sustainable Ocean Community. Afterwards, groups will be formed, and participants are invited to discuss from different perspectives: ‘how can sustainability be achieved in areas beyond national jurisdiction; in 'no man's land'?
Facilitators: Sabine Gollner, Alex Oude Elferink, Erik de Lange, Kjeld Werther, Meike Bos
How can we create more space for deep thinking, meaningful collaboration, and sustainable academic work in a university culture driven by speed and quantity over quality? In this interactive workshop, we explore how the principles of slow science can become part of our everyday academic practice. Through inspiring conversations and collaborative exercises, you'll exchange ideas with fellow academics, identify practical ways to foster more reflective and caring academic cultures, and contribute to a collective agenda for change. Leave with fresh perspectives, concrete strategies, and renewed inspiration to help shape the future of Utrecht University from within.
Facilitators: Ozan Alakavuklar, Giuseppe Feola, Birgit Kaiser, Albert Meijer
Across Africa, sustainability efforts often fail to land or actively harm the communities they aim to help. Drought insurance could deepen conflict in pastoral Kenya and Ethiopia; "green" mineral extraction can displace communities in Mozambique. At the same time, African knowledge and practices offer powerful inspiration, from innovative food systems to locally rooted approaches to sustainability.
This breakout session explores what it takes for sustainability initiatives to truly land in a just and meaningful way.
Session organizers open with two short provocations on extraction-driven displacement and conflict-sensitive climate insurance. Researchers from across Utrecht University will then each introduce their own research collaboration with Africa in just a few minutes, together creating a living map of UU's engagement across all four strategic themes: Pathways to Sustainability, Institutions for Open Societies, Dynamics of Youth, and Life Sciences.
The session concludes with a structured dialogue on capitalism, democracy, colonial legacies, migration, and South-South cooperation, aimed at identifying new opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and co-funded research.
Whether you already work on Africa, are looking for new research partners, or are simply curious about how your expertise connects to the continent, this is the place to meet colleagues, exchange ideas, and help shape Utrecht University's future engagement with Africa.
Facilitators: Kei Otsuki, Awuh Harrison, Rose Camille Vincent and Karlijn Morsink
Photo credit: Liban Godana
Performance ‘Wowo Di Orkan’
A performance not about climate change itself, but about the society that must learn to live with it.
An artist and a scientist enter into a dialogue about the future of Curaçao: about rising temperatures, rising sea levels and a changing island, but also about power, money and class.
Who gets to define the climate problem? Who decides which solutions are necessary? And, perhaps most importantly, who bears the consequences when those solutions become reality?
Through spoken word, rap and science, Juny Martina and Danick Trouwloon explore possible futures in which climate, power and class are inseparably intertwined.
Because perhaps the question is not only: How do we prepare Curaçao for the next storm? But also: What kind of Curaçao do we want to emerge after the storm?
About Warming Up On Tour
Juny and Danick are one of the duos taking part in Warming Up On Tour. With Warming Up on Tour, the KIN Art working group explores how art can contribute to the transition towards a climate-resilient society. In this research project, artists and scientists join forces to experiment with new ways of collaborating. The collaborations themselves are part of the research: what happens when artistic practice and scientific inquiry come together, and how can these encounters help broaden the climate conversation? Several artist–scientist duos will co-create a shared performance or presentation appearing at cultural and scientific venues across the Netherlands. Through Warming Up on Tour, we aim to tell new stories about climate change, engage new audiences, and create space for conversations that reach beyond the usual climate and academic communities.