Soil Assembly - European edition

Basic data for this project

Description

Soil Assembly is an emergent glocal network dedicated to organise assemblies for soil health literacy, bringing together multiple local stakeholders and experimenting with innovative pedagogies at the intersection of art, science, and community practice. It leverages art & science open labs, artists’ farms, permaculture communities, non-formal education initiatives, and art & design schools to explore new forms of learning rooted in creativity and ecological awareness. Responding to the urgency of rethinking the high carbon footprint of conventional international conferences, the network favors a distributed model: regional in-person assemblies, an active online community, and hybrid international meetings. The Soil Assembly has organized a first hybrid international edition in India (2023), a regional pilot in France (2024), and an international hybrid edition in Ecuador (2025), with a second Indian edition scheduled for January 2026. Building on these experiences, Soil Assembly will take place in Europe in 2026, unfolding as a decentralized series of regional assemblies. These events will experiment with tools and methodologies for raising soil health awareness developed by a strong consortium of European partners. The process will culminate in a hybrid international assembly in Berlin in January 2027, linking European insights with global perspectives. The project contributes to the soil health movement by: - advancing soil literacy, preservation, regeneration, restoration; - strengthening regional networks addressing soil-related challenges; - leveraging the arts to develop living pedagogies; - seeding academia and teaching programs, especially in art & design schools; - and showcasing pioneering laboratories, educational practices, and community-led initiatives at the crossroads of art, soil science, technology and citizen engagement. The work plan begins with a redesign of the SoilAssembly.net platform and a kick-off assembly mapping tools and participatory practices for soil awareness. It then unfolds in two cycles of regional assemblies addressing EU Soil Deal Mission priorities: a first on “Improvement of soil structure to enhance soil biodiversity” and a second on “Reduction of soil pollution and enhancement of restoration.” Insights from both cycles will be shared through the website, culminating in the live streamed final assembly. A soil assembly - as an event and living lab, is also part of the territory where it is organized: a place where the soil embodies the interaction between ecological, cultural, and social dynamics, shaping the identity and resilience of the community. Each assembly celebrates soils as both ecological foundations and cultural connectors, taking root as “territorial schools” for sharing practices and cultivating soil health awareness. The European edition also represents a critical opportunity to test and consolidate the distributed organizational model of the Soil Assembly. It will lay the foundations for the initiative’s long-term sustainability, ensuring that the network continues to thrive as a glocal movement. In 2028, the Soil Assembly will return to India, building on the momentum and platform established through the European edition. Through this process, the Soil Assembly Europe will strengthen ties between local communities and international networks, generate innovative tools for soil health literacy, and model sustainable, low-impact forms of international collaboration.