NetworkNature Annual Event 2026
Futures with Nature
3 November 2026Venue: Sorbonne University
Today, many stories about the future focus on societal and ecological collapse. While these narratives resonate with real dramatic events, the excessive focus on them may contribue to a sense of helplessness and limit our ability to imagine and realise futures where people and nature thrive.
The NetworkNature Annual Event 2026, Futures with Nature, will explore what resilient and thriving futures could look like — and how to get there. By highlighting wise, brave and forward-looking ideas, initiatives, policies and projects, the event will showcase responses that make these futures tangible in the present while preparing for future challenges. Throughout dynamic pitches and panel discussions participants will explore the pivotal role of the public sector in enabling these futures.
Taking place during the NbS International Congress 2026 and within the framework of the NetworkNature Week, the event will bring together around 500 researchers, policymakers, practitioners, local and regional authorities, national and transnational representatives, businesses, investors and civil society actors, to turn inspiration and knowledge into action. To accelerate the uptake of these actions, the event and the Future postcards exhibition, both curated through Futures with Nature Open Call, will invite participants to share and spread these possible futures with public authorities and other stakeholders.
The event will be structured around four thematic sessions:
- Future ecosystems | Restoring nature with and for people: This session will explore what healthy, resilient and biodiverse ecosystems could look like, highlighting diverse restoration objectives and approaches that support both nature and people.
- Future governance | Decisions for nature and people: This session will examine how governance and decision-making can evolve to support a future where people and nature thrive together.
- Future lives | Living with nature every day: Focusing on everyday experiences, this session will explore what daily life can look like in a future with nature and how this would shape spaces, cultures, behaviours, communication and innovation.
- Future economies | Working for people and nature: This session will delve into economic systems, as well as financial and business models, that work with and for nature.
📄 PDF available at: NetworkNature Annual Event 2026
Attendance at this event is open to everyone. If you have any questions, email us at nbscongress@sciencesconf.org
In addition to attending the NetworkNature Annual Event, we encourage everyone to sign up for the different events of the NetworkNature Week, to continue their learning and broaden opportunities for exchange
The NetworkNature project has received funding from the European Union's Research Executive agency under grant No. 101082213. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
