Festival of Ideas to raise awareness, democratise knowledge about critical ocean-related issues
New Delhi, The Festival of Ideas by the French Institute of India opened here on Saturday with an aim to democratise knowledge, raise awareness about critical ocean-related issues, and provide a platform for public debate on the vital topic.
Previously known as the 'Night of Ideas', the festival in its month-long new avatar is centred around the theme of 'We Are the Ocean' and will bring Indian and French experts together to brainstorm on the issues that have troubled global oceans.
"With 'The Festival of Ideas - We Are the Ocean', France reaffirms its commitment to making the ocean a shared global resource and a driver of Indo-French cooperation. Bringing together experts, artists and citizens, 'We Are the Ocean' adopts a truly multidisciplinary approach to raise awareness about and work toward ocean action in the run-up to UNOC3,' Damien Syed, Chargé d'affaires a.i. of the Embassy of France in India, said.
The theme of this year's festival aligns with the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and leads up to the Third United Nations Ocean Conference .
The conference will be co-hosted by France and Costa Rica from June 9 to 13 in Nice, where global leaders will convene to accelerate ocean action in support of Sustainable Development Goal 14: "Life Below Water".
The festival aligns with the UNOC3 objective 'to mobilise the general public and work hand in hand with the citizenry and civil society to make this major event a milestone in ocean protection'.
Featuring artworks by French artists, the exhibition explores the ocean's environmental, societal, and emotional significance through large-scale photographs, video projections, soundscapes, and interactive installations, including VR experiences.
'Tidal Echoes', an immersive installation by Nicolas Michel, blends visual abstraction with real field recordings and captures the essence of the seaside landscape.
An augmented sound artwork by Elsa Mroziewicz and Cécile Palusinski, 'Floating Cities', investigates the impact of rising sea levels amidst global population growth, continuous sea-level rise, and threats to ecosystems.
'The Mermaid Tears' series by Samuel Bollendorf offers a dialogue between the beauty of the seascapes and the sad reality of the samples taken from the same places.
The French Institute in India and its partners are offering a wide range of engaging and educational activities designed especially for the young.
Several workshops are being offered throughout the festival, including 'The Ocean Collage' that is a collaborative workshop to raise awareness on current ocean issues and the impact of human activities on the marine ecosystems.
Indian and French experts will talk about the ocean's most pressing issues and solutions to them, including a panel discussion on "Saving our Seas: One Solution at a Time" featuring environmentalist Dipani Sutaria, marine conservation scientist Aroon Lobo and wildlife biologist Muralidharan Manoharakrishnan, and moderated by Kundan Pandey from Mongabay India.
The festival will also feature documentaries, including "Bigger Than Us" by Flore Vasseur that follows Indonesian climate activist Melati Wijsen as she travels the world to meet young fellow activists; "Against the Tide' by Sarvnik Kaur which follows Mumbai fishermen Rakesh and Ganesh, inheritors of the Koli knowledge system of harvesting the sea following the moon and the tides.
The festival will also collaborate with schools to organise guided visits and curated programmes, including creative workshops and a collaborative "ocean collage" activity.
The Festival of Ideas will come to an end on May 31.
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