SPREE EDITION, BERLIN 3-6 SEPTEMBER 2026 / Hosted by River Spree, FLUSSBAD Campus Berlin, SPORE Initiative, Spreepark Art Space, and Floating University Berlin
From 3-6 September 2026, the River Spree will host the fourth Confluence of European Water Bodies in Berlin. For four days, rivers, lakes, lagoons, glaciers, seas and wetlands from across Europe will gather to explore a set of questions: How can we live with water differently? What responsibilities emerge when we recognise aquatic ecosystems as living entities? How do we build cultures of care around water?
FOUR LOCATIONS
This year’s edition unfolds across four locations in Berlin: FLUSSBAD Campus, SPORE Initiative, Spreepark Art Space and Floating University Berlin. Over four days, participants will gather through workshops, performances, collective meals, rituals, listening sessions, artistic interventions, public conversations and a multispecies parliament. The programme also features a keynote by renowned hydrofeminist philosopher and cultural theorist Astrida Neimanis.
The Confluence is a growing pan-European network and campaign of over 50 water bodies and their communities, working across art, ecology, law, activism, research and public engagement. It calls for the legal and cultural recognition of water bodies as living and political actors, while creating spaces to experiment with new forms of water, stewardship, democracy, and ecological coexistence. Read our manifesto here.
YOUR CHANCE TO MEET THE WATER BODIES OF EUROPE!
Some events, programmes and workshops are for Confluence members only, some are open to all. Your chance to meet the water bodies of Europe!
—Read more about the free public programme at SPORE Initiative and register here – 04.09.26
— Read more about the free public programme at Floating University Berlin and register here – 06.09.26
FULL PROGRAMME
— DAY 01: FLUSSBAD CAMPUS / Thursday, 03 September | 16:00–22:00
“Attuning to the waters” / Opening with a keynote by hydrofeminist theorist Astrida Neimanis, sound performance, collective singing, and a shared gathering by the River Spree.
Closed / Sold Out
— DAY 02: SPORE INITIATIVE / Friday, 04 September | 09:30–21:00
“Confluencing Minds” / Full day of workshops and panels, Rights of Nature, Indigenous perspectives on water stewardship, lessons from the Mar Menor, collective meals, artistic interventions and evening celebrations.
Open to the public – register here
— DAY 03: SPREEPARK ART SPACE / Saturday, 05 September | 09:30–22:00
“Sensing the River” / Day by the water with kayaking expeditions, microscopy and painting workshops, rainwater knowledge, river food practices, collective cooking, artistic interventions, exhibitions, and water ceremony
Closed / Sold Out
— DAY 04: FLOATING UNIVERSITY BERLIN × ON WATER PARCOURS / Sunday, 06 September | 10:00–20:00
“Multispecies Realities” / Closing day including a Spree Species Parliament, multispecies workshops, water listening sessions, performances, children’s activities and a collective closing.
Open to the public – register here!
ABOUT THE CONFLUENCE 2026
Launched in 2023 by the Embassy of the North Sea, TBA21–Academy, and ILP Mar Menor, the Spree Confluence is curated by Léon Gross and Jakob Kukula of the Berlin-based ecological design studio Symbiotic Lab. The programME is developed in close collaboration with local partners including the Rights of the Spree initiative, the Berlin University Alliance and the Confluence “Stream” team, a coordination group organizing the network’s long-term development and continuity across Europe.
Host Institutions: FLUSSBAD Campus · SPORE Initiative · Spreepark Art Space · Floating University Berlin
Co-hosts & Co-coordinators: Netzwerk Stadtraumkultur · Berlin University Alliance · On Water | WasserWissen in Berlin · Bildungswerk der Heinrich-Böll-Bildungswerk Berlin · Berliner Landeszentrale für politische Bildung
Collaborators: Bildungswerk Berlin der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung · JUA Foundation · Okeanos Foundation · Berlin University Alliance · On Water | WasserWissen in Berlin · IVU Stiftung · Stiftung Living Rivers / GRÜNE LIGA · Goethe-Institut · Campus Stadtnatur Berlin · Hochschule Darmstadt · Rechte der Natur e.V.· Netzwerk Rechte der Natur · Backstagetourism
Rights of the Spree Initiative · Confluence STREAM · Embassy of the North Sea · TBA21–Academy · ILP Mar MenorSupported by / Funded by
In partnership with: Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN) · OCEAN SPACE · Organismendemokratie e.V. · buero gross · River Collective · Polypshere · SpreeBerlin · Freddy Adelmann · Theresa Maria Forthaus
CONTACT:
Léon Gross, Curatorial Lead, Confluence of European Water Bodies 2026 / leon@symbiotic-lab.com
Jakob Kukula, Curatorial Lead, Confluence of European Water Bodies 2026 / jakob@symbiotic-lab.com
WE ARE
Akerselva (NO), AntarcticaBaltic Sea (SE, FI, LV), Caspian Sea (NEW), Danube / Donau (AT), Deep Sea, Dogger Bank (NL, DE, DK, UK), Dreisam (DE) (NEW), Drina (SRB), Elbe (DE) (NEW), Euphrates (NEW), Genova Waters (IT), Gudenå (DK) (NEW), Irish Sea (UK), Klarälven (SE/NO), Laguna De La Janda (ES), Lake Inari (FI), (NEW), Loire (FR) (NEW), Loisach (DE) (NEW), Manzanares (ES), Mar Menor (ES), MediterraneanMeuse / Maas (NL), Modau (DE), Mtkvari (GE), North Sea (NL), Odra (PL/CZ), Oslo Fjord (NO), Ouse (UK), Pek (SRB), Piave (IT), Reuss (CH), Reva (SRB), Rhine (NL), Rhône (CH), River Avon (UK) (NEW), River Dôn (UK), River Liffey (UK), Scheldt / Schelde (NL/BE), Seine (FR)Snæfellsjökull (IS), Spree (DE), Storsjön (SE), Tagliamento (IT), Tara (ME), Tavignanu (FR/Corsica), Tay (UK), Tejo (PT), Ticino (CH), Tigris (NEW), Topčiderka (SRB)(NEW), Vättern (SE), Venice Lagoon (IT), Viskan (SE), Vistula (PL), Wattenmeer / Wadden Sea (NL/DE), Zenne (BE)