The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation held the fourth edition of its Green Shift Festival at the Yacht Club de Monaco from 9th to 11th April, bringing together climate sociologists, transition town pioneers, committed athletes and visionary architects for three evenings of free public programming around ecological transition.
The festival, part of the Foundation’s Green Shift Initiative launched in 2023, moved to a new venue this year — the Meeting Room on Quai Louis II — and expanded its programme while maintaining its founding ambition: to open spaces for dialogue and imagination around sustainable futures.
“The Green Shift Festival is an invitation to imagine desirable futures,” said Romain Ciarlet, Vice-President and CEO of the Foundation. “By bringing together the perspectives of artists, researchers, athletes and frontline actors, it opens spaces for dialogue and emotion that help us transform our relationship with the living world.”
Three evenings, three themes
The opening evening on Thursday 9th April explored how storytelling shapes collective visions of the future, with historian and futurist Mathieu Baudin hosting a conversation between climate sociologist Stéphane La Branche and writer Jeanne Hénin, who facilitates workshops on the power of language.
Friday 10th April turned to cities and territories, in a bilingual evening, with Rob Hopkins, founder of the International Transition Towns movement, joining visionary marine architect and explorer Jacques Rougerie to discuss how we might rethink the way we inhabit the world.
Saturday 11th April gave the floor to athletes committed to environmental causes — wingfoiler Flora Artzner, freediver and underwater dancer Julie Gautier, climber Nolwen Berthier, athlete Younès Nezar, sailor Arthur Le Vaillant and mountain biker Yannis Pelé — with closing remarks from big wave surf champion Sebastian Steudtner.
Beyond the panels
Running alongside the evening discussions was a full programme of activities open to all: wellness sessions including qigong, yoga and sound healing, creative writing workshops, family activities, a bicycle repair area with Munegu Repair Biçiclëta, and a series of Happy Hours spotlighting local ecological initiatives.
Three exhibition spaces accompanied the festival. Inside the venue, visitors encountered extracts from Jeanne Hénin’s poetic dictionary Les mots qu’il nous faut, drawings by Jacques Rougerie, and photographs from Yannis Pelé’s World Tour project. On the Yacht Club quay, a selection of projects from the Jacques Rougerie Foundation’s International Innovation and Architecture Competition was on display, while the Healing Flags collective installation — created by the Aleksandr Savchuk Cancer Charity — was presented on the Lucciana jetty.
The festival also dedicated sessions to cultural institutions in the Principality, including two Culture Fresk workshops and a conference for cultural administrators led by Laurence Ghestem, founder of Culture Demain. School groups participated in a writing workshop with Jeanne Hénin, a Climate Workout with Younès Nezar, a masterclass by Rob Hopkins and a discussion with Jacques Rougerie.
The three days concluded with a concert by Bobbie, singer, songwriter and folk-americana guitarist.
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Main photo of Prince Albert II with Rob Hopkins, credit: Philippe Fitte / FPA2