ANTHROPO
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An introduction to the festival’s background, program, and key ideas, followed by a keynote lecture by Prof. Dr. Margreet Zwarteveen (IHE Delft) on transformative approaches to water research, care, and knowledge exchange. Introduction: Tobias Krüger, Rossella Alba, and Emmanuell Fantini will welcome participants and present the background of Fluid Interdisciplinarities, the involved institutes, and the three-day schedule. Pauline Münch and Regina Hügli will introduce the conceptual framework of the festival and the Sediment Pad: a notebook offered at registration for participants to capture thoughts, sketches, and reflections during the sessions. The historic Tieranatomisches Theater (TA T) and Gerlach Haus — originally spaces for veterinary anatomy and one-directional teaching — will also be introduced. Over the past two decades, these spaces have been transformed by TA T and the Knowledge Exchange with Society team at ZfK into hubs for multidirectional knowledge exchange. Practical information on accessibility, facilities, and refreshments will also be shared. Keynote Lecture — Prof. Dr. Margreet Zwarteveen: In her keynote, Margreet Zwarteveen mobilises feminist thinkers (Butler, Haraway, Gibson-Graham, Barad) to propose two ideas: - Even the most stable-seeming water-related structures — social, ecological, or infrastructural — depend on ongoing acts of care, repair, and maintenance. - The world is made up of multiple co-existing ways of organising and relating, sometimes resonant, sometimes in tension. From this perspective, transformative change requires embracing situated, collaborative, and experimental forms of knowledge. Margreet invites participants to reflect on how different disciplines, communities, and non-human actors relate to water, which voices are included or excluded, and what forms of care and learning can emerge.

An Oportunity to recharge and connect before the next session.

The first session of the World Café presents an interactive format combining short project presentations, artistic practices, and cross-disciplinary discussions. Participants rotate between speakers to exchange perspectives, explore guiding questions, and collectively generate new insights about water-related research and practice. The World Café creates a space for collaborative exchange between researchers, artists, and practitioners. Sessions begin with Flash Talks — six speakers introducing their projects in two-minute pitches — followed by small-group discussions. Participants rotate through two 20-minute discussion rounds, engaging with each speaker’s guiding questions, encouraging cross-disciplinary learning. The session concludes with a Harvest Round, where collective insights are shared among all participants.

Lunch break with the festival community. Enjoy a meal together.

A guided exploration of nearby streams and rivers through situated encounters, stories, and reflections. Participants are invited to visit different stations across Campus Nord, each introducing unique perspectives on Berlin’s hydrosocial landscapes: A street water pump with historian Timothy Moss Urban ecology insights with Beate Witzel (Stadtmuseum Berlin) The “Sinking Wall” at Invalidenpark with human geographer Friederike Landau-Donnelly, including a collective poetry exercise Hydrological insights at Südpanke Park with Tobias Krüger Maps will be provided to guide participants to each station.

An afternoon pause to rest, enjoy a coffee and informal conversations before the next reflective session.

A reflective space for settling impressions and ideas gathered throughout the day. The session ends with a gentle walk along the Spree to open space for informal exchange and contemplation. Participants are invited to capture thoughts in their Sediment Pads: through writing, drawing, or other creative forms. The session concludes with a reflection walk along the Spree River, offering space for exchange and quiet contemplation.

Guided visit to the upcoming exhibition at the Humboldt Labor, showcasing water-related research from Berlin’s universities. Participants explore interdisciplinary approaches and new perspectives on water in science, art, and society. Opening in October 2025, the exhibition highlights interdisciplinary projects on water conducted at the four universities of the Berlin University Alliance. Participants will explore the exhibition together, connecting research, practice, and public engagement.

Dinner with the festival community. An opportunity to unwind, share insights, and connect with fellow participants over a warm meal.