A participatory gathering exploring the links between culture, care and ecological transition, sharing practices and perspectives to imagine new pathways for action.
Vert le Futur – Alliance Sustainable Culture and art-werk are delighted to invite you to save the date for the first event of the new series Taking Care of the Ecosystem, which will be held as part of a full day of conversations, reflections and collective actions, jointly conceived with SIPI - Swiss Impact & Prosperity Initiative.
Taking Care of the Ecosystem #1 – Pathways to a Sustainable, Purposeful and Prosperous Cultural Sector
Wednesday, October 29, 2026
Maison de l’Avenir, Geneva
1:00 – 5:00 PM | From 5:00 PM: Apero & Networking
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The choice of date is particularly meaningful: 29 October marks the United Nations International Day of Care and Support, which highlights the essential role of care in the sustainability and resilience of our societies and economies.
A detailed programme and further practical information will follow.
Here is a first glimpse of what we have planned for you:
The morning (first part): A B Lab Switzerland/SIPI forum (10:00 AM – 2:30 PM)
The first part of the day will be dedicated to a forum hosted by the Swiss Impact & Prosperity Initiative (SIPI), presenting findings from their nationwide citizen engagement process, including more than 1,000 responses to their open questions on prosperity and wellbeing in Switzerland by 2040, collected in partnership with Monda Futura. SIPI will present the Rethinking Prosperity for 2040: Voices and Questions framework gathered from the streams of input, the narratives and questions that emerged from citizens and SIPI stakeholders across the country, and explore what these findings ask of businesses, institutions, and communities.
The afternoon (second part): Taking Care of the Ecosystem #1 – Pathways to a Sustainable, Purposeful and Prosperous Cultural Sector (1:00 – 5:00 PM | from 5:00 PM: Apero & Networking)
The afternoon continues with a participatory gathering initiated by Vert le Futur and organized in Geneva in cooperation with art-werk: the first chapter of the new event series Taking Care of the Ecosystem. This session brings together cultural practitioners, sustainability networks, and funding organisations in an immersive exploration of care, culture, and ecological transition.
Through workshops, panel discussions, artistic interventions and co-creative processes developed with regional partners, the session holds two main objectives: first, to highlight exemplary tools, projects and approaches to environmental, social and economic sustainability while identifying questions, needs and areas that remain underexplored; and second, to bridge disciplines and networks, make existing knowledge and resources more visible, and collectively identify the challenges and possibilities for action within national and regional ecosystems. It extends the morning's conversation into the creative and cultural sphere, with deep dive workshops and cross-sector exchange.
From 5:00 PM, the evening will continue with an apéritif in an informal and welcoming setting, offering space to deepen the conversations, build new connections and spark future collaborations.
You are welcome to attend the entire day or either of the two events separately. A carefully coordinated transition will connect the two programmes, allowing participants to move from one to the other without the overlap affecting their participation in the full day.
Caring for our cultural ecosystems
The Taking Care of the Ecosystem event series was developed by Vert le Futur to activate the content of the Tatenbank, its free digital platform featuring a curated selection of tools, approaches, and inspiring practices related to ecological and social sustainability, which helps cultural practitioners to turn their intentions into concrete actions.
Taking place across Switzerland’s four linguistic regions, these gatherings seek to deepen our understanding of the diverse ecosystems that shape the cultural sector, while caring for and strengthening the connections within and between them. They will create spaces for mutual learning, trust-building and sustainable cooperation. By bringing together different disciplines, perspectives and networks, the gatherings will make existing knowledge and resources more visible and support participants in collectively identifying the needs, challenges and opportunities for action, both within each regional ecosystem and across the Swiss cultural sector as a whole. The ambition is also to foster alliances beyond the cultural field and to highlight the essential role that art and culture can play in processes of social transformation.
This first event brings together three partners whose approaches complement one another:
Vert le Futur – Alliance Sustainable Culture, a national, multilingual organisation working to strengthen ecological, social and institutional sustainability across the Swiss cultural sector by connecting cultural practitioners, sharing knowledge and supporting concrete action;
art-werk, a non-profit organisation that supports and promotes artistic practices addressing contemporary social and environmental issues, notably through exhibitions, the (re)connecting.earth Biennale, and an educational programme at the intersection of art and environmental science;
SIPI – Swiss Impact & Prosperity Initiative, hosted by B Lab Switzerland and co-founded with inTent, which supports Switzerland’s transition towards regenerative, inclusive prosperity within planetary boundaries.
Two events, one day, one shared question: what does it mean to take care?
A formal invitation with full programme details and registration links will follow soon. In the meantime, please hold the date and feel free to share this invitation with colleagues and collaborators.
For any questions, please contact: bureau@vertlefutur.ch
We look forward to welcoming you to Geneva!
Warm regards,
Vert le Futur and art-werk teams
