Address: Campus 2, Villestraße 3, 53347 Alfter
In this Telegram Channel, you’ll find out about any last-minute program changes during the conference weekend. You can join the channel here:
https://t.me/wasserkonferenz2025
Map of the walking route from the train stations to the conference:
Important note: Events in english and/ or with interpretation are marked in this background color. All other events are in German.
FRIDAY, MARCH 21
1:00 – 1:45 p.m. – Conference Opening
1:45 – 2:15 p.m. – Keynote #1 „The Human Right to Water – Endangered, Violated, Defended“
(english, german, french)
In 2010, the United Nations recognized the human right to water and sanitation, yet more than 700 million people worldwide lack access to basic water supplies. Global warming, pollution of water resources, land grabbing, and the „virtual water export“ by agribusiness and mining are some of the reasons for this. Rural communities and indigenous peoples in the countries of the Global South are particularly affected. In many cases, capital from the Global North is behind these economic interests. The first part of the lecture introduces the diverse dimensions of the human right to water. Following this, various case studies will be used to outline resistance to neo-colonial water theft – and what we can do in Germany.
Speaker: Marian Henn is a speaker at FIAN Germany e.V., an international human rights organization working for the right to food.
2:30 – 4:00 p.m. – Workshop Phase #1:
Fake Solution: Carbon Capture Storage – What Makes It So Dangerous and How Does It Affect Our Water?
A blatant fossil fuel rollback is currently taking place at various political levels, and instead of genuine climate protection, billions in subsidies and legislation are being released for the mythical CCS technology. On the one hand, CCS can prevent genuine climate and resource protection for decades; on the other hand, it consumes vast amounts of energy that will not be available in the same quantities from renewable sources – even in the future. Furthermore, it endangers water resources. CCS would also mean thousands of kilometers of pipelines in Germany and Europe and a potential billion-dollar waste of public funds. This workshop will provide input on the connection between CCS technology and water, and in the second part, we will discuss how we can defend ourselves as a movement: what can we do as a movement, and what can we learn from other movements or previous generations.
Speaker: Janine Korduan is involved with the Grünheide Citizens‘ Initiative.
Disaster Relief – Experiences from the Ahr Valley
The water crisis in Germany has many faces: In this country, it means not only drought and water shortages, but in many regions, above all, increasing heavy rainfall and flooding. The devastating „flood of the century“ in the Ahr Valley in July 2021 is still fresh in most of our memories: an early warning system that doesn’t work. Political decision-makers make the wrong decisions. Professional disaster relief efforts fail. And an incredibly large, self-organized flood relief effort, built and coordinated by those affected. Tens of thousands of volunteers, solidarity-minded craftsmen, construction companies, caterers, psychologists, and many more have coined the term „SolidAHRity“ and given it life. What can we as social movements learn from this to strengthen solidarity aid networks in the event of future flood disasters? Those affected from the Ahr Valley will share their experiences with us.
Speakers: Renate Petry (Hammermühle im Ahrtal); Stephan Zöllner (Bodelschwingsche Stiftungen Bethel)
Facilitator: Solidarity Climate Aid is a cross-regional group within the climate justice movement. Its goal is to build solidarity structures for times of crisis that can provide rapid assistance in disaster situations such as floods – whether through food supplies, psychosocial support, or coordination work.
Pan-Africanism and Water Justice
(english, german)
What is the history and current situation on the African continent? Who is fighting for and around water? How do the movements and organizations against water and land theft connect? And what does this have to do with revolutionary Pan-Africanism? In this workshop, we will explore the significance of struggles for water justice from a Pan-African perspective. We will place a particular focus on alternative, community-based, and nature-based solutions to the urban water crisis.
Speaker: Ruben Castro is an activist in the Pan-African movement.
„If you look into the water, do you recognize the water in you?“ Water Relationships: Performance, Poetry, and Perception Exercises
The relationship between water and humans could not be more intimate, yet it is in a deep crisis. Therefore, we invite participants on a journey into the hydrocentric age and ask: What if we encounter water in a friendly, familial, or romantic relationship? What if we could even perceive the world from the perspective of water itself? What meaning would we then give to water, and what could we learn about it? Since „meaning“ and „knowledge“ arise in the continuous exchange between human experience and the actual „inflow“ of matter into our bodies (for example, when drinking), we will explore this fluid connection between our bodies and the watery environment through poetry, sound, performance, movement, and perception exercises, and examine the resulting relationships.
Speaker: Nada Rosa Schroer from the performance collective DENCUENTRO.
4:30 – 6:00 p.m. – Workshop Phase #2
The National Water Strategy: A shared task that challenges all water users and society as a whole!
After presenting the goals, measures, and implementation of the National Water Strategy, we will discuss the challenges of implementation. As the title underlines, the implementation of the National Water Strategy requires the participation of all water users and society as a whole. Possible starting points for further cooperation with civil society, as well as suitable initiatives, plans, and projects, will be identified during the workshop.
Speaker: Diana Nenz is supporting the implementation of the National Water Strategy at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety, and Nuclear Safety (BMUV). Her professional focus is on cooperation processes in the national and international water management sector.
No Justice in a Racist Climate! – On the connection between colonialism and the climate crisis
This talk will explore the fundamental sociopolitical and (neo-)colonial contexts of the climate crisis, giving us an idea of how we even got to this catastrophic point and what we need to consider if we want to find answers to the question of a more just world. The fundamentals of postcolonial analysis will be discussed, and a reflection exercise will critically examine the colonial continuities of the white-dominated climate movement. This workshop is for all positions, especially for white people.
Speaker: Sara Bahadori is an educator on intersectional and decolonial climate justice and a photographer.
Strategies against lithium mining and for the preservation of water and biodiversity
(english, german)
A 30-minute talk will dive into the critical role water plays in the Jadar region of Serbia and how a national people’s movement has been built to preserve and defend rivers, ground water, and drinking water from Rio Tinto’s proposed lithium mine. Underscoring water’s significance to land, people and culture, the talk will explore how RT’s proposal threatens not only agriculture, but a way of life for people who depend on the valley’s water, as well as their cultural identity. The deep cultural connection has sparked a movement uniting hundreds of thousands across political & social divides to demand action, awakening not only Serbia, but drawing Europe’s attention to the dark side of the so-called “green” energy transition, exposing the dangerous myth of
“sustainable” resource extraction driven by corporate greed. The talk will be followed by a 1hour discussion addressing audience questions & concerns, ending with how to unite differences and take action to stop destruction in threatened regions.
Speaker: Marš sa Drine is a national campaign against the mining of lithium, borate and related minerals in Serbia.
Socialization as a Strategy for a Democratic and Socially Just Water Policy
Socialization is currently being widely discussed as a way to wrest areas of public services away from private corporations, democratize them, and realign them according to principles oriented toward the common good. Following the example of the initiative to expropriate Deutsche Wohnen and Co., the question of socialization is also being addressed in other areas of essential everyday provision. At the same time, global remunicipalization movements and the fight for free and high-quality water supply and sanitation are paving the way for the fight for socialized infrastructures that often remain invisible until crises make them visible. In this workshop, we will examine why, for an ecologically and socially just water supply for all, we must also address the question of ownership. We want to discuss what socialization can actually mean in water supply and sanitation and water management.
Speaker: communia was founded in 2020 and develops strategies for a democratic economy, socialization, and public luxury.
Water, Development, and Eurocentrism: A Look at Colombia
This workshop invites reflection on a globally normalized paradigm whose origins lie in Europe: „development.“ Through an interview with an indigenous activist from the Kamëntsa people in the Amazon Andes of Colombia, participants gain insight into a testimony preserved through oral tradition. The focus is on the relationship with water and how it has changed since the Spanish invasion. The goal of the workshop is to explore other perspectives on life and to explore alternatives to development for a future beyond the climate crisis.
Speaker: Yolima Vargas is a biologist and doctoral student in environmental education. She develops educational formats on climate justice, the climate crisis, and a critical examination of the concept of development for children and adults.
Pesticides and the BAYER Group as Water Users and Polluters
The BAYER Group has an immense thirst for water. For its production, it requires large quantities of mostly pure groundwater. At the other end, wastewater containing production residues such as heavy metals, phosphorus, and other pollutants emerges. Former Bayer CEO Carl Duisberg once described the Rhine as a „sacrifice route.“ But not only production, but also the Leverkusen-based multinational’s products, such as pesticides, pose a threat. As early as the 19th century, the company faced lawsuits from Rhine fishermen. And the protests continue to this day.
Speakers: Timo Luthmann; Jan Pehrke of the CBG (Coordination Against Bayer Hazards). The Coordination Against Bayer Hazards (CBG) has been critically monitoring the Leverkusen-based Bayer Group since 1978.
6:00 – 7:30 p.m. – Dinner
7:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Evening Program:
Reading „Thirsty Land“
A reading and discussion about our research and book „Thirsty Land“ – a glimpse into our future. In this book, award-winning journalists Annika Joeres and Susanne Götze accompany fictional protagonists into a near future, demonstrating how we can live if we prepare for the consequences of water shortages in a timely manner – or how we will suffer if we fail to act. The dramatic stories have a real background and are based on numerous studies and interviews with scientists. How we deal with the water crisis will have a decisive impact on our everyday lives.
Annika Joeres is an editor at Correctiv, a writer at Die Zeit, and a book author. Her focus is lobbying and energy policy.
Performance „Water Stories from the Jordan. A look at how the liberation of the Jordan is connected to our liberation.“
The performance explores water perspectives from the desert, from Palestine, Israel, and Jordan, and the question of what we should do with the devastation and destruction of the indigenous culture of the desert dwellers of the Jordan River. We address the question of why local water struggles here will dry up without intersectional, indigenous perspectives. Can a commons and indigenous perspective on water connect people and produce just, restorative solutions that contribute to peace between Jews, Muslims, and Arabs?
Tabea Tabazah is an artist and activist. Website: empathyforpeace.de
SATURDAY, MARCH 22
10:00 – 11:00 am – Start of the day
11:00 – 11:45 am – Keynote #2 „Climate disasters and climate activism“
(english, german)
Right-wing forces are working very hard to ensure that no one connects disasters with climate change (and net 0 policy). Climate activists, presumably, need ways to push back. I want to argue that winning in this space requires climate activists to build alliances with survivors of disasters and people at risk. It’s a big opportunity to finally broaden the base of support for the climate movement. It’s also a huge challenge. I want to offer thoughts about these challenges and opportunities and offer examples of people doing serious work in this space (including us at Flooded People!)
Speaker: Louis Ramirez is director of the organization „Flooded People UK“ which is organizing flooded people.
11:45 – 12:30 pm – Keynote #3 „The Power of Stories: New Connecting Narratives of a Water Movement“
(english, german, french)
Whether „Water is Life“ or „Water Resilience Strategy“: The social conflicts surrounding the distribution of water resources, droughts, or floods are also a battle for stories and narratives. We must counter the attack of the fossil fuel industry and the backlash in climate and environmental policy with unifying and emancipatory narratives. We will present building blocks and suggestions for successful storytelling of a water movement. Without knowing the answers, we want to discuss key questions together to develop broadly relatable and powerful narratives.
Speakers: Alex Wernke and Timo Luthmann, Klima*Kollektiv. The association supports the networking of political groups and committed individuals to build a water movement.
12:30 – 2:00 pm – Lunch
2:00 – 3:30 pm – Workshop Phase #3
Panel „Who Owns the Water?“
(german, english, french)
Water and the conflicts surrounding it will become increasingly important as the climate crisis worsens. And these conflicts have long been a part of everyday life. They mostly revolve around the distribution of water. This distribution issue is organized in capitalism based on economic power and purchasing power. It’s high time to change that and fight for fair distribution. To this end, we want to exchange ideas about how water distribution is currently organized and what paths toward fair water distribution might look like.
Invited are:
Angelika Horster (North Rhine-Westphalia State Working Group on Water)
Inken Behrmann (Political Scientist, University of Bremen)
Manu Hoyer (Grünheide Citizens‘ Initiative)
Bernd Schmitz (Chair of the Working Group for Peasant Agriculture)
Moderated by Janine Korduan
Water in Our Hands – Learning from Local and European Initiatives
(english, german)
Together, we want to examine local water struggles, the increasing privatization of water, and the levers of civil society to counteract it. In addition to a theoretical insight into the possibilities and limitations of citizen participation, we will present successful civil water initiatives at the federal and European levels and discuss what equitable participation for solidarity-based access to water at the municipal level can look like.
Speakers: Sina Trölenberg from BürgerBegehrenKlimaschutz; Jerry van den Berge, initiator of Right2Water; Dorothea Härlin from the Berlin Water Table
Theory of Change
„System change, not climate change“ is a resounding slogan at climate demonstrations and actions around the world. But what does „system“ actually mean, and how can we change it in a climate-friendly way? Through short inputs, small group work, and plenary discussions, we want to understand which approaches to transformation are most promising in our current societal situation and which are more likely to worsen our current situation. Together, we want to seek answers as to how systemic change can be advanced personally and structurally. And we also want to talk about who this „we“ actually is, thus raising the question of solidarity and the democratic negotiation of social change processes.
Speaker: Joshi Wolf, Kipppunkt Kollektiv.
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Brown coal lakes – how can this still be just?
In the first part of the workshop, we will understand why the brown coal pits exist in the first place, what their characteristics are, and why they should be turned into lakes. We will understand the pros and cons of various alternatives. Building on this foundation, in the second part we will address questions of justice: Which aspects of justice are affected by the plans? How can justice be achieved between different generations? Climate change is striking – how can it be just to establish plans now for the next 40 to 70 years? Finally, we will try to create hope and consider how current plans could be made more just. You can bring your frustration about inequities in intergenerational planning for lignite mining to the workshop, as well as your ideas for a fair approach to the remaining pits. We look forward to exchanging ideas with you!
Speaker: Lina Graf – Water expert, hydrologist with a focus on water policy, Water Working Group of the Federal Association of Citizens‘ Initiatives in Environmental Protection.
Knowing How It Works – Insights into the Water Framework Directive
It is the most important water protection instrument of the EU and its member states and probably a global role model: the Water Framework Directive. Adopted in 2000, it obliges us to bring our waters into good ecological status by 2027 at the latest. We will miss this goal miserably; among other things, because raising awareness and acceptance, as well as opportunities for public participation, have been systematically neglected. Following the motto „you only protect what you know,“ we will try in this event to find points of contact through which everyone can participate in protecting our waters.
Speaker: Ruben van Treeck is a strategic advisor for water protection at WWF Germany.
Resistance and defense of the right to water in La Guajira, Colombia
(english, german)
With the FreeBruno initiative, we want to, on the one hand, make visible the resistance that emanates from and is organized by ethnic communities against multinational corporations like Glencore. On the other hand, our actions denounce the links between German financial institutions and this corporation. Andrea Mora Bocarejo and Karen Tatiana Vasquez of FreeBruno invite you to learn more about these actions and how we can make a greater impact. We are also providing data on the water quality of the Río Ranchería, the most important freshwater source in this tropical dry forest region, and its impact on the ecosystem. In our third block, we will feature María José Pinto’s online presence. She is a student in the Social Work program at the University of La Guajira, a young Afro-Colombian woman from the Roche community affected by coal mining in La Guajira, and a member of the „Cocineras de sueños ancestrales“ collective and the „Escuela retomando raíces, amor por el territorio“ (Remembering the Past, Love for the Territory School), where they work with children, adolescents, and young people to preserve African-American memory and water. We look forward to a meeting to exchange ideas and network resistance movements in the Global North and South.
Speakers: FreeBruno Initiative; with: Andrea Mora (founder), Karen Tatiana, and Vásquez Burgos from the FreeBruno initiative, which supports the resistance of indigenous, Afro-Colombian, and peasant communities in La Guajira against advancing extractivism.
Sanitation Revolution: The Toilet – A Transformative Place
Why do we use precious drinking water to flush the toilet? Why do we eliminate important nutrients from our wastewater in highly diluted, energy-intensive processes at our wastewater treatment plants without recycling them? And why do we produce energy-intensive artificial fertilizers for our fields elsewhere, thereby allowing our soils to become increasingly impoverished? We will address these and other questions in our workshop. Dive into the world of sanitation and nutrient revolution with us! We will examine our current linear wastewater system and its ecological consequences. We will show what it would be like if we instead closed the loop, returned the nutrients from human waste to our fields, and protected the water cycle. Our toilet – it is a transformative place! But what political and social changes are necessary for this? What can each of us do? Come along and join the discussion – we look forward to seeing you!
Speakers: Martine & Fiia, AG Education of the Network for Sustainable Sanitation Systems (NetSan) e.V.
Book presentation „First Earthquakes“ by the Soulèvements de la Terre movement
(english, french)
Within three years, the „Earth Uprisings“ have established themselves as one of the most important activist groups in the French environmental and climate movement. With spectacular forms of action, including blockades and sabotage, the group not only effectively intervenes in the machinery of fossil-fueled, extremely energy-consuming, and environmentally polluting industrial machinery, but also repeatedly generates considerable public attention.
„First Earthquakes“ is the translation of the book „Premières Secousses,“ written by over ten members of the French action movement „Les Soulèvements de la Terres“ (in English: „Earth Uprisings“) and edited and published by many others. In this book, the activists report on their activities, analyze their developments to date, and explain their broad form of organization and their strategic hypotheses. The texts simultaneously reveal the limitations of current mainstream ecological movements—reformism, eco-Leninism, and a focus solely on local struggles—and propose a fourth path: the creation of a network of resistance that provides strategic cohesion to local ecological struggles while also having the ambition to intervene in other struggles.
Speaker: Les Soulèvements de la Terre (Earth’s Revolts) is a collective for the defense of land and water that has built a network of local struggles while simultaneously initiating a movement of resistance and redistribution.
4:00 – 5:30 pm – Workshop Phase #4
Film Screening: High Noon – Europe in an Energy Rush
This artistic documentary film deals with the destruction of natural resources by international energy companies in Germany (Lausitz), Spain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia. Activists and experts from all four countries will have their say, all concerned with the environmentally and human-friendly use of raw materials for the so-called #energytransition toward renewable sources. They are fighting to preserve their landscapes, their groundwater, and their life prospects in the place they consider their home.
In conversation: Annette Dorothea Weber, freelance director, long-time director of the COMMUNITYartCENTERmannheim
The EU Strategy for Water Resilience
(english, german)
The first concrete proposals have been announced for the second quarter of 2025, but there are already initial indications of the direction the Water Resilience Strategy is taking – toward more competition and the right of the strongest in favor of national interests. After an overview of what we know so far and initial ideas about what options we have for external influence, there will be time for questions and joint brainstorming to provide direct feedback to Carola’s team in Brussels and, if necessary, to open up avenues for collaboration.
Speakers: Sara Johansson is Senior Policy Officer for Water Pollution Prevention at the European Environmental Bureau. Cindy Peter works with Carola Rackete, MEP for THE LEFT.
The Water Atlas – Water as the Most Important Food
The Water Atlas provides data and facts about the foundation of all life and informs how water ecosystems can be protected from overuse and pollution, the influence of economics and consumption on global water availability, and how the human right to water can be strengthened. In our workshop, we will also examine how food production and consumption affect our water resources.
Speaker: Inka Dewitz is a policy officer at the Heinrich Böll Foundation and focuses on international agricultural and food policy.
Roadmap for engaging with Flooded People and Communities: Learning from UK
(english, german)
This workshop looks at how to successfully facilitate the creation of community-led Flood Action Groups, working collaboratively with risk management authorities, agencies, and organisations to achieve the best possible outcomes for flooded people by creating a roadmap to community led solutions before, during and after a flood.
Speaker: Sanjay Johal (Community Organiser Flooded People UK)
Letting environmental information flow with FragDenStaat
In our workshop, you’ll learn about FragDenStaat and how you can use the platform and our team for campaigns, actions, and research. Whether it’s NSU files, Frontex, or pesticide reports from government ministries: shed light on the authorities‘ darkness with us… Everyone has the right to information from politics and administration. FragDenStaat helps you enforce your rights. You can submit a request via Fragdenstaat.de, and we will forward it to the responsible authority.
Speaker: Joshi Wolf, FragDenStaat
International Solidarity Against Mega Dams
Hydropower is considered „renewable“ and „green“ in the political debate about the energy transition and plays an important role in global transformation scenarios. But in reality, dam projects are often associated with massive problems and injustices. Entire villages are forcibly displaced, ecosystems are destroyed, and conflicts over water are fueled. In addition, hydropower plants are failing more frequently as droughts increase. After an introduction to the political debate, the example of „Hidroituango“ in Colombia, which is associated with violence, conflict, and corruption, will be presented. The environmental problems resulting from landscape change will also be explained. We will also briefly present the example of „Agua Zarca“ in Honduras and why and how this project has been halted to date. Together, we will then consider parallels to other (water) struggles and how we can show solidarity.
Speakers: Alejandro Pacheco is the Colombia representative at the ÖkuBüro for Peace and Justice. Lisa Kadel is the hydropower project officer at GegenStrömung.
Water Retention Landscapes – A New Paradigm?
Retaining water more effectively in the landscape is the key mechanism for adapting to the threat of drought and flooding, while simultaneously cooling the regional climate. The cultural community fakt21 will introduce the concept of water retention at this event and present its work with its regeneration trainings. Bernd Schmitz from the Working Group on Rural Agriculture (AbL) will also examine the topic of water and agriculture from a farming perspective. Finally, we will discuss this central topic, its challenges, and opportunities for a future water movement.
Speakers: Bernd Schmitz is an organic farmer from Hennef and chairman of the AbL. Fakt21 is a cultural community and educational organization from Bochum.
Preventing the expansion of the Tesla factory in the water protection area with strategic diversity – Learning from the water protests in Grünheide
First of all, we would like to give everyone interested an insight into our struggles against the expansion of the Tesla factory in Grünheide. We will explain our strategic considerations in building the alliance and reflect on previous actions together. Finally, we will present our further projects and invite you to join us for joint planning.
Speakers: The alliance „Turn off Tesla’s tap“ was founded in 2023 with the goal of preventing the expansion of the Tesla car factory in the water protection area.
6:00 – 7:30 pm – Dinner
7:30 – 9:00 pm – Evening Program
Panel „When we fight, we win – Successful organizing and strategies against the water crisis“
(english, german, french)
According to climate research, Germany is experiencing a water crisis. Droughts, floods, dumped waterways, and poisoned groundwater are already affecting people around the world – but water struggles are also increasingly occurring worldwide. On the panel, activists from different regions will demonstrate why their local water struggles are part of a global movement for water justice. They will share successful strategies and offer encouragement on how we can all fight for water, the foundation of our life.
Participating in the discussion:
- Karolina Drzewo established the alliance „Turn off Tesla’s tap“ together with other groups from Berlin and Brandenburg. For her, the fight for water justice in Grünheide and around the world follows years of struggles for climate justice.
- Rebekka Schwarzbach studied nature conservation and has been working for climate justice in Lusatia with the Cottbus environmental group since 2018. They are fighting for an earlier coal phase-out in Lusatia and for water justice. This year, the focus is primarily on saving a threatened forest in the vicinity of the Nochten open-cast mine.
- Julien Le Guet is one of the spokespersons for the „Bassines Non Merci Sevré“ and „Marais Poitevin“ movements in western France. As a boat captain and nature guide, he is committed to protecting the Poitevin marshes.
- Ruben Castro is an environmental engineer and is writing his master’s thesis in „Integrated Water Resources Management“ at Cologne University of Applied Sciences on urban water justice and Pan-Africanism. He is researching and collaborating with social movements in Kenya, South Africa (Azania), and elsewhere.
- Facilitation: Simon Toewe has long been active in social movements and has helped organize protests against lignite, the IAA, and Tesla, among others. He is co-founder of the Movement Hub, which supports grassroots groups with grants, training, consulting, and other services.
Theater: „Climate Monologues“
The play tells the story of a family’s survival in Bangladesh after Cyclone Aila, a pastoralist’s struggle against hunger due to drought in northern Kenya, a climate activist from Pakistan whose own village at the foot of a glacier was flooded, and a nurse who narrowly escaped the deadliest wildfire in California’s history.
Artists: Michael Ruf, Wort und Herzschlag / Die Klima-Monologe & Ensemble
10:00 pm – Party at AZ Köln
The Autonomous Center Cologne is an autonomously managed building on Luxemburger Straße in Cologne’s Neustadt-Süd district.
Stop: Eifelwall (Line 18) or Train Station: Köln Süd (RB26)
Address: Luxemburger Str. 93, 50939 Köln
Website: https://az-koeln.org/
SUNDAY, MARCH 23
10:00 – 10:30 am – Kick-off of the day
10:30 – 1:00 pm – „How we take action“: Upcoming campaigns, actions, and strategies
In this slot, we want to look back and forward together. Back on an exciting and successful conference weekend, our conclusions and lessons from the numerous workshops. And forward to the perspectives of an emerging water movement, on common goals, actions, and stories to be told. On how we can become more and bigger, and how we can win together.
This two-and-a-half-hour session on networking, strategy discussions, and action and campaign planning is a central component of the conference. It serves to put knowledge, experiences, and ideas into practice. It will be designed in a mix of small and large groups with interactive visualization methods.
11:00 – 12:00 am – Parallel Program: Strategy Workshops
Workshop #1: „A handfull of principles for creative resistance with the Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination“ by Jay Jordan
(english)
Every form of resistance, from the strike to the lockon, the boycott to the barricade, was conceived via people’s imagination. Movements often get stuck in ‘classic’ forms and we don’t give ourselves time to reinvent effective actions. Jay Jordan (they/them) from the Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination, will share stories and principles of creative resistance learnt from 3O years of fighting for LIFE! Since 2004 The Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination, has brought artists and activists together to co-design and deploy tools of disobedience. Infamous for is pirate rafts, hacker ants, bikes swarms, upsetting the tate gallery and sabotaging the Petro-Patriarchy with joy, it is now based on the zad of Notre-dame-des-landes, ‚a territory lost to the republic,‘ according to the French government, where an airport project was abandoned after a 40 years of struggle.
1:00 – 1:45 pm – Closing ritual
(english)
To mark the end of the conference we will be holding a short ceremony. The ritual will help us move back into this world on fire with the fluidity required to fight. Ritual reminds us of what is sacred, and that we want to defend, they nourish our ties to each other and are containers for moments of transition.
To enable this ritual to take place, we ask you to bring a small amount of water from the watershed that you are inhabiting at the moment. It can be from a spring, river, pond, sea, puddle, tap, bath whatever you wish.
The ritual will be facilitated by Jay Jordan (they/them), member of the Cellule D’action Rituelle, from the zad of Notre-Dame-des-Landes. Jay is also co-founder of the Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination (labofii) based at the zad of Notre-Dame-des-Landes. labofii brings artist and activists together since 2004 to co-design and deploy creative forms of direct action.
13:45 – 14:15 pm – Closing of the Conference
(english, german)
14:15 pm — Lunch & Departure
Thematic focus
The program is divided into three strands, which are shaped by various workshops, panels and cultural events:
1. Water Knowledge: Scientific basics, conflicts and approaches to solutions
Preview: We are looking forward to Annika Joeres, among others, who will read excerpts from her book “Durstiges Land”. We will also be showing the exhibition “Alles im Fluss” by the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation.
2. Solidary resilience: practices for the (water) crises
Preview: There will be workshops on community organizing in flood regions, among others, as well as a panel on the question of possible water councils.
3. Movement building & networking
Preview: We will learn about local conflicts, identify needs and develop overarching strategies & actions in various workshops.
Key questions:
At the “Water.Climate.Justice.” conference, we want to to formulate goals, develop strategies and narratives jointly and network actors in order to take action.
Our key questions:
- How can we organize ourselves to be capable of acting when the next drought or flood disaster strikes, so that we can seize the opportunity to demand more climate protection and fair adaptation?
- How can we manage to forge effective alliances that enforce flood protection and safeguard our water supply? Which actors need to come together?
- How can we strengthen the polluter-pays-principle and hold the fossil industries accountable – both for the damage caused by drought and floods and for the costs of adaptation measures?
- Which narratives need to be shifted? What is our vision of a climate- and water-friendly future?
- How can illusory water solutions be prevented to create space for real nature-based solutions?
- What options do we have to help in solidarity and practically when the next disaster strikes?