The Water Festival Freiburg from the 11th to the 13th of July 2019 is an international event of innovation and culture, which is organised by the Freiburg change management consultancy, Zukunftsmoderation! in conjunction with the English film and project team Plasticoceans.uk and additional partners from the fields of industry, science and politics. The aim is to make a contribution to coming closer to a solution to some of the weighty and difficult questions concerning the pollution of the oceans by microplastics and macroplastics.

The agents of four spheres of activity are invited to contribute to this:

1. Garbage out: How can plastics be removed from the sea or stopped from entering it in the first place? What are the most promising approaches?

2. Recycling: What are the processes like for enabling recycling of ocean plastics on an industrial scale and thereby contributing to the conservation of resources? What prototypes are there? What products is ocean plastic suitable for?

3. Bio-based Plastics: What are the latest trends in the development of degradable plastic? For which products is bio-based plastic suitable or not suitable? What does it require for further scaling?

4. New Lifestyle: What approaches are there for life without plastics, what do the alternatives look like? What type of attitude is possible and necessary for reducing the plastic footprint?

In addition to getting to know one another and networking, the first day, the Inspiration Day, involves viewing the solutions already available and jointly identifying the larger and subsequent issues about which the Community is concerned. The second day, the Impact Day, involves developing new steps for the burning issues in the four topic areas named the day before together with the pool of knowledge and creativity assembled at the location, and also in conjunction with the global network, in moderated theme labs.

On the third day, the special event is open to the public and people are invited to visit the “market place” and cultural/creative events (films, concerts, exhibitions, workshops).

The Water Festival Freiburg is supported by Environet, an international network of 100 prize winners who were honoured for their trailblazing ecological commitment (Patron: Klaus Töpfer) and by the Startup-Accelerator Grünhof/Kreativpark Lokhalle Freiburg.