Help build alliances for the protection & rights of nature
in the Nordic countries! An invitation to the
Conference on the Rights of Nature and the
Future of Democracy in the Nordic Region
4th-6th of June, 2026
Himmelbjerggården, Ry, Denmark
Our democracies have failed to safeguard their most fundamental constituents: the multitude of species that create and sustain our natural environment. Across the Nordic region our oceans, rivers, lands and forests are suffering under the weight of human exploitation. Plant and animal species are losing foothold at an alarming rate, the health of soils is squandered and our waters are polluted and depleted in oxygen. The legal framework for balancing the protection of nature against human needs has proven to be a failure. In order to ensure that coming generations have a foundation to build their lives on, we now need to develop our democratic institutions and ensure that the natural world receives legal rights and recognition as a living entity.
The Conference on the Rights of Nature and the Future of Democracy in the Nordic Region seeks to create a necessary and courageous space for new thinking and doing — a place where academia, art, politics, activism and the animate world can meet to create a new path for our juridical and cultural understanding of nature. By bringing together actors from across the Nordic region, the conference aims to inspire a new democratic culture in which nature is no longer seen merely as a resource but as co-creator in the development society.
The first Nordic assembly addressing the absence of the rights of nature in our legislation will take place at Himmelbjerggården – a few hundred meters from Himmelbjerget where Danish democracy took its first steps. We dream of gathering a core group of people who wish to take an active part in nurturing and bringing forth a deeper ecological consciousness in our democracies. We want to establish a broader conversation across Nordic actors and organizations about how we can support each other and open new paths for democracy to evolve.
The gathering unfolds in two phases:
June 4th–6th is reserved for conference participants only.
On June 7th the annual Nature’s Constitutional Assembly (Naturens Grundlovsmøde) will take place as a public event.
We offer a truly unique, nature-based setting for this gathering: a blend of folk high school (a small manor house) and a nature camp with good facilities, located on the edge of a state forest on the southern shore of Lake Julsø in the Lake District, Søhøjlandet.
We call this gathering in the spirit of co-creation, of kinship and of reciprocity. We wish to plant seeds for a democracy of species and to water the relationships between us. This gathering is not as much a conference as it is a council of people who want to build alliances that help protect and nurture the animate Earth. While we have a place to meet and a program of events, we do not seek to control what will happen when we meet. We aim to be good hosts and to steward meaningful conversations and collaborations that will continue to develop beyond the conference. This will not be your typical conference experience. With limited means, participants are asked to take part in practical tasks related to meals and various logistical arrangements throughout the gathering. With limited space, we will have to make room for each other. But we have a hunch that we might create something truly new and beautiful together, that this gathering could be the seed for many more to come and for new ways of relating to nature and each other.
Program overview
Arrival (Thursday June 4th): Check-in between 16-18, welcome and dinner.
Conference Day 1 (Friday June 5th): Inaugural council, keynote talk by Pella Thiel, world café and space for building network and alliances. The day ends with a Council of All Beings*.
Conference Day 2 (Saturday June 6th): Keynote talks and workshops by Martin Lee Mueller and Lotte Tauber Lassen followed by a whole conference council and break out sessions.
Nature’s Constitutional Assembly (Sunday June 7th): Nature’s Constitutional Assembly (public event) with workshops hosted by conference participants.
More details on the program and practical information will be shared after registration. You can register your place on the conference via this link. The fee covers all meals during the conference. The price is differentiated according to your financial situation and we offer a limited number of bursaries to those who are unable to pay the full fee. There are different options for lodging depending on your needs and you are also welcome to book your own accommodation.
The conference is supported by Folkesparekassens Fond and Himmelbjerggården. We are working to secure additional funding to cover the cost of travel and participation for participants coming from further away. If you would like to apply to have your travel and conference costs covered this way – or have any other questions regarding your booking – write to us on info@earthways.dk.
The conference is organized by EarthWays, an independent association working for the regeneration of nature, and builds on our experience with hosting Nature’s Constitutional Assembly the last 4 years.
*A Council of All Beings is a communal ritual where participants step aside from their human identity and allow themselves to be chosen by another life-form, for whom they speak in Council.
This event is organised by:
And supported by: