How we relate to and engage with ”nature” is a root cause of the environmental multi-crisis – climate breakdown, biodiversity loss, and precarious lives and livelihoods – we are in. There is plenty of critique of the current situations and the paths that has led us to this point, including capitalism, colonisation, and viewing nature as a commodity – but what would be alternatives? In our landscapes many different interests and activities play a role, which calls for addressing trade-offs and synergies. How can we envision a world where humans see themselves as part of nature, and societies are oriented towards cherishing, learning, and making decisions with more than human nature in all its forms – in co-existence?

The two day event is dedicated to envisioning “co-existence” as a way to re-think human-nature relationships and how we can act to guide transformative change for sustainability. It will combine inspirational presentations with collaborative multi-actor workshops to probe, discuss and envision pathways for transforming human-nature relationships. The Netherlands will be a focus example, but the symposium will also substantially draw on and engage with inspiration from Europe and beyond. 

Keynote speakers

Maria Tengö Nature College 

special chair in Human-Nature Relationships in the Anthropocene, Wageningen University.

Amitav Ghosh writer: Imagination and a humanism of people and nature

Elena Bennett Canada Research Chair in Sustainability Science, McGill University:

Seeds of future co-existence in the present 

Workshop

Windows of
opportunity for
amplification 

Workshop 

Concluding session 

A panel with keynote speakers and additional invited guests will share their reflections on the workshop and ways forward with Irene Lippe-Biesterfeld, founder NatuurCollege.

6 February 2027

Masterclass 

Amitav Ghosh 

Session 1 Thursday morning

Inspiration

We start with a set of key speakers to inspire what it could
mean to view nature and ecology, human-nature interactions, and ourselves differently – towards practice and policy for prosperous co-existence. Please note that titles are preliminary.

Maria Tengö

Opening lecture

NatuurCollege Special professor Human Nature Relationships in the Anthropocene.

Amitav Ghosh

Viewing human-nature interactions differently and what it means: vitality of places and implications for policy and practice.

Elena Bennett

Dr. Elena Bennett is Professor and Canada Research Chair in Sustainability Science at McGill University. Her work focuses on the interactions among ecosystem services and how we can manage these interactions for multifunctional working landscapes, using a landscape ecology and systems ecology perspective.

Session 2 Thursday afternoon

Seeds of future co-existence in the present Workshop

The session will include presentations of “seeds of future
co-existence in the present”, existing initiatives based on practices of care, by actors actively involved in implementing and supporting them. In themes of giving agency to nature, farming with nature, stewardship of places, inclusive restoration and reconnecting with nature, workshop participants will discuss and articulate the role and potential of the initiative, challenges, and opportunities for cross-fertilization. Discussions will be anchored in different kinds of landscapes:
– Food production landscapes
– Conservation landscapes
– Inhabited landscapes
– Biocultural landscapes
The outcomes will be captured by a graphical artist.

Session 3 Friday morning

Windows of opportunity for amplification Workshop

The session will facilitate conversations across science-policy-practice-society – what would it mean to ”mainstream” relational values of nature and reciprocal respectful relationships in society? We start with a series of presentation of windows of opportunity for amplifying practices of co-existence across four themes: policy, finance, law, and social movements. In groups, the participants will combine this with insights from day 1 and brainstorm about pathways forward. We will discuss ways of scaling out, scaling up, and scaling deep, changing values and motivations. The ambition is to connect and discuss local to global interactions. The session will end with reporting back of proposed pathways, captured by a graphical artist.

Session 4 Friday afternoon

Concluding session

In the final session we will work towards a shared vision state-
ment on plural pathways for co-existence and prosperity of people and nature. The components of the different session will be brought together. A panel with the keynote speakers, Princess Irene and additional invited guests, will share their reflections on the workshop and ways forward.

6 February 2026

Masterclass by Amitav Ghosh

Following the symposium, the ambitions discussed will be
further developed and reinforced during a masterclass led by Amitav Ghosh on February 6, 2027. Focusing on a new humanism regarding humanity and nature, the session will involve around twenty invited participants drawn from the various target groups.