Monaco’s Green Shift Festival is set to return for its fourth edition from 9th to 11th April at the Yacht Club de Monaco. The free event, organised by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, will again gather scientists, artists, writers and athletes to explore what a genuine shift towards sustainability might look and feel like.
This year’s programme is built around three themed evening sessions, each running from 7pm to 8:30pm.
Thursday opens with a conversation about narrative and change, specifically, whether the way we collectively tell our story about the future can itself become a driver of action. Historian Mathieu Baudin will chair the discussion, joined by climate sociologist Stéphane La Branche and writer Jeanne Hénin, who runs workshops on the transformative potential of words.
Friday’s bilingual session shifts to bricks and water. Rob Hopkins, who helped launch the international Transition Towns movement, and Jacques Rougerie, an architect fascinated by life beneath the sea, will discuss how radically different our built environment could become.
Then, Saturday is dedicated to sport. Six athletes including freediver Julie Gautier, wingfoil champion Flora Artzner, climber Nolwen Berthier, sprinter Younès Nezar, sailor Arthur Le Vaillant and mountain biker Yannis Pelé will talk about how competition and environmental commitment became inseparable for them. Big wave surfer Sebastian Steudtner closes the evening before artist Bobbie takes to the stage for the festival’s closing concert.
Romain Ciarlet, Vice-President and CEO of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, sums up the ambition: “The Green Shift Festival is an invitation to imagine desirable futures. 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 and build positive transitions.”
Daytime schedule
The daytime schedule offers something across all three days. Wellness sessions kick things off each morning: qigong on Thursday at 5pm, yin yoga on Friday at 9am, sound healing on Saturday at 9m.
Saturday, however, is an interesting day featuring a coral reef show for young children at 11am, a bike repair stand from 2pm to 5pm, a literary afternoon with three authors at 2pm, a bioplastic flower-making workshop for families at 3:30pm, and a breathwork session at 5pm.
A guided tour of the ‘Le sentiment de la nature’ exhibition at Villa Paloma is also scheduled on Friday, organised in partnership with the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco, and running at 12:30pm.
The festival operates under a green charter, working with partners each year to reduce its environmental footprint. All evening sessions are free with no booking required. However, some daytime workshops need advance registration which can be made at the Green Shift’s Festival website.
Stay updated with Monaco Life: sign up for our free newsletter, catch our podcast on Spotify, and follow us across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Tik Tok.
Green Shift Festival 2025, photo credit: Monaco Life