Robert Macfarlane opens third Confluence in Amsterdam
The third edition of the Confluence of European Water Bodies will take place in the Netherlands, from 21 – 24 September 2025. Famous author Robert Macfarlane will open the Confluence, Sunday afternoon September 21 2025 in De Balie Amsterdam, with a talk about his new book Is A River Alive?
Whether it’s the Amazon or Amstel, our language, laws, and economies still treat rivers as resources — channels to be dredged, diverted, and controlled. In Is A River Alive?, Macfarlane explores the deep cultural, ecological, and spiritual bonds between people and waterways. Recognizing rivers as living entities, he argues, is essential to restoring our damaged ecosystems. It calls for a radical reimagining of law, language, and land — a shift from dominion to kinship. Organised by the Embassy of the North Sea, in collaboration with De Balie and the Confluence of European Water Bodies, we explore how the Rights of Nature can reshape Europe’s legal, cultural, and political landscapes.
Drop, Ripple, Puddle, O
On September 21st, we will open with a choral ritual titled Drop, Ripple, Puddle, O (shortened as O). O is a participatory composition that explores the sensorial materials of languages—visual, sonic, gestural. As the Confluence joins 35 grassroots movements advocating for the representation of regional waterbodies, O will thread the many represented human languages into our invocation. The composition will follow the lead of our host waterbody, brackish water from Singelgracht, which will be present within a cymatic sound sculpture. The collective Snæfellsjökul fyrir forseta (Glacier for president) has devised the opening ritual for the 2025 Confluence. Snæfellsjökul fyrir forseta is Iceland’s first rights of nature movement, having nominated Snæfellsjökull for the 2024 Icelandic presidency.
we are: Akerselva, Baltic Sea, Deep Sea, Dogger Bank, Drina, Genova waters, Irish Sea & Liffey, Klarälven, Laguna de la Janda, Loire, Maas, Mar Menor, Mediterranean, North Sea, Odra, Os_lo Fjord, Ouse, Pek, Piave, Reuss, Reva, Rhine, Rhône, Snæfellsjökul, Spree, Tara, Tagliamento, Tavignanu, Tejo, Ticino, Vättern, Venice lagoon, Viskan, Vistula, Wattenmeer and Zenne
Tickets & Info
Sunday 21 September 2025 / 15.00 – 17.00
De Balie, independent platform for contemporary art, politics, and science. Kleine Gartmanplantsoen 10, 1017 RR Amsterdam. Editor and moderator De Balie: Kees Foekema. In collaboration with the Embassy of the North Sea and Uitgeverij Athenaeum.
Register Here
The Confluence of European Water Bodies was founded in 2023 by the Embassy of the North Sea, ILP Mar Menor and TBA21–Academy. The edition 2025 is supported by Cultuurfonds, VriendenLoterij Fonds, Forest Peace and Chalmer University Sweden.
