We are the River

On the 4th and the 5th of July, the programme ’THE NIGHT OF IDEAS: We are the RIVER / Wir sind der FLUSS’ will take place in Berlin with the aim of reflecting on the ‘legal uprising’ of the elements of nature.

Since Christopher Stone, in 1972, had the idea of changing the status of trees, from “objects”, to “subjects”, in order for them to be able to go to court and defend their non-human perspectives and values, the movement for giving rights to non-human entities has grown around the world. 

It is a silent revolution, where rivers, lakes, lagoons, oceans… are gradually gaining the status of “legal persons” and are granted rights like in Ecuador with the Pachamama entering the constitution (2008) and the Whanganui river being legally recognized (2017) among others. How are European rivers and natural entities being voiced? Which tools, stories, perspectives, and paradigms do we manipulate to operate an ontological and legal shift?
The festival seeks to create a space for thought and collective discussions on the rights of nature establishing a framework where the arts, sciences, legal work, theoretical knowledge as well as manual and embodied practices help us connect with the rivers as «persons/entities”, and particularly the Spree, allowing us to reflect and imagine a more inclusive, sustainable and habitable future.

The festival is co-organized by Institut Français Deutschland and members of Floating e.V. (Garance Maurer, Jeanne Astrup-Chauvaux and Silja Teresa Huppertz) in co-curation with the artist and writer Camille de Toledo.