From September 22 – 24, 2023, the first Conference of European Water Bodies will take place at the Mar Menor in Murcia, Spain. During the conference, water bodies from all over Europe will meet for an intercultural exchange on the representation of water in Europe’s cultural, political and legal realm. The sessions and workshops on Friday and Saturday are only accessible for the participating waters, on Sunday there is a public programme and ceremony open to all.
Political space for water emancipation
Today’s most pressing ecological and technological issues transcend borders and species, but we still approach them from a narrow, nation-state perspective. The largest mass extinction has been going on since 65 million years, but which country, politician or company feels responsible? Countries are only accountable to one another, politicians only to their electors, and captains of industry only to their shareholders. One of the reasons for the lack of accountability is that non human lives are insufficiently and ineffectively represented in politics, which jeopardises the lives of future humans and nonhumans alike.
To put the representation crisis in our democracy on the agenda in Europe, we are organizing the Conference of European Water Bodies. Water Bodies from all over Europe will gather to take crucial steps towards water emancipation. The conference will take place at the Spanish lagoon the Mar Menor, the first European ecosystem that was granted legal personality in September 2022.
Participating water bodies
The conference is organised by the Venice Lagoon, represented by TBA21/ Ocean Space; the Mar Menor, represented by the ILP Mar Menor and the North Sea, represented by the Embassy of the North Sea.
Participating waters are: Akerselva (NO), Drina (RSP), Klarälven (SE), Loire (FR), Mar Menor (ES), Mediterranean Sea, Mlava (SRB), Moraca and Tara rivers (ME), North Sea (NL), Rhône (CH), Senne (BE), Spree (DE), Tejo (PRT), Venice Lagoon (IT) en Vistula (PL)
Symbolic journey
The symbolic starting point of the journey to Mar Menor is Brussels. Here, the waters will gather to present a collective manifesto to the European Parliament. In Barcelona, we make a stop to visit the Llobregat Delta. Recently the Embassy of the North Sea started explorations on this water body on invitation by the nomadic European biennial Manifesta #15. The Llobregat Delta suffers from drought and salinization which has major consequences for all human and non-human inhabitants of Catalonia. The Embassy of the North Sea’s research, which began in June 2023 with fieldwork by artists Sheng Wen Lo and Leon Lapa Pereira, will result in interventions aimed at reconnecting with the river. Read more about this project here.
Diplomatic Suitcase
During the conference days, which will take place partly in Los Alcazares City Hall, partly in the field, the focus will be on the curation of the diplomatic suitcase, a design concept representing the waters through artefacts, documentation, images, data and stories. After the conference, the diplomatic suitcase will go on tour throughout Europe. On each location, it will be unpacked and exhibited in various scales and variations.
Ceremony & public finnisage
On Sunday, September 24, we will conclude the conference on the Plaza de Espejo of Los Alcazares with a public programme, open to all. In the morning, there will be a river / sea walk led by the Natural Contract Lab, delegates from the Tejo River (Portugal), the Rhône (Switzerland) and the Senne(Belgium). In the afternoon, the Hermanamiento (sisterhood) begins with a ritual by the Rivers Sisters, a collective of activists and artists representing the Vistula River in Poland.
Read more about the network of waters here..
