The Water Festival Freiburg is an international innovation and cultural event. This will be provided by the Freiburg-based Change Management Consulting “Zukunftsmoderation!” by Henrik Langholf & Friends in collaboration with the London-based NGO Plastic Oceans UK founded by Jo Ruxton, the future trauma therapist Ann Forker and other partners from business, science, politics and civil society.
The Water Festival Freiburg is part of the “global heartbeat” of committed people, innovative entrepreneurs, deep-diving scientists, environmental education organizations, echo-producing media and change-oriented politicians who feel called upon to embark on the sweeping “plastic crisis” not just with dismay but with concrete change and innovation.
The festival shares knowledge, intelligence, connections and passion in the green city Freiburg every year discussing burning questions concerning the guiding theme “Transforming Ocean Plastics”. With the help of inspiring and integrating facilitation these questions are explored and answers can be found in five fields of action:
1.Garbage out
How does the plastic get out of the sea and out of our regional waters or not in at all in the first place? The challenge with macroplastic is big enough: how do we come up with promising approaches for this and even more also for microplastics and nanoplastics?
2.Recycling
What are the process innovations and political decision-making processes to ensure that (marine) plastic can be recycled in the best possible way, regionally, nationally and internationally? Which prototypes are already in place?
3.Bio-based Plastics
What are the latest trends in the development of degradable plastics? For which products is bio-based plastic suitable, for which not? What is needed for further scaling?
4.New Lifestyle
What approaches are there for a life “without plastic”, what are the alternatives? What kind of attitude is needed and possible to reduce the “plastic footprint”?
5.Transformation Management
How to transform complex social and industrial challenges? Which examples can be inspiring? What kind of awareness and tools promote “open innovation” and successful change?
Together we develop a “Change Roadmap 2050” for these five fields of action that make a difference that we can only dream of today.