WDC-Campus: Dialogwerkstätten

MEER Demokratie. Social Design auf und mit dem Meer | Dialogwerkstatt

The Okeanos Foundation has developed a method for teaching cooperative interaction and collective teamwork while the team is on a sailing trip.

Our quality of life and the future development of democracy depend not least on the preservation of ecosystems – fundamentally sustained by the global ocean. How we, from the perspective of the Main River, keep the sea and its demands on us in view is conveyed by design students from Hochschule Darmstadt, accompanied by greenD and supported by the Okeanos Stiftung. We are developing and testing new sustainable, cooperative, and self-empowered forms of living together and will make them tangible at the WDC-Campus.

Registration from mid-April.

Programme

Wednesday, 15 July 2026, 11:00 am–3:00 pm

Summer Camp at the Museum: How Far Will a Bottle Travel If It Ends Up in the River Main?
Design workshop for students aged 10 and above

How do our actions in Frankfurt affect the ocean, and how does the ocean influence us and the way we live together? Through design, we invite participants on a journey onto the water. Together, we will ask questions, explore connections, and create our own responses through collaborative design.

Wednesday, 15 July 2026, 6:00–8:00 pm

Social Design On and With the Sea

Experiencing environmental action and collective responsibility through direct contact with the world's largest ecosystem can transform our perspective. What new impulses can emerge for the future of design, environmental education, and democratic participation?

Workshop and discussion with Kurt Friedrich (Dipl. Designer, greenD), Josephine Gerhardt (Dipl. Scenographer, greenD), Jana Steingässer (Okeanos), Paul Abendschein, Miriam Josephine Benders, Elias Khater, Fabianna Manthey, Emi Reidelbacher, and Prof. Dr. Gesa Foken (Department of Design, Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences).