Following the success of its inaugural edition, journalist Riccardo Luna and Future Food Institute founder Sara Roversi will officially present the upcoming Venice Climate Week 2026 (VCW26) during the Climate Week NYC 2025. The next edition will take place in Venice from June 3–8, 2026, with a central focus on water as a critical climate and geopolitical resource.
The announcement comes just months after the signing of the Venice Water Declaration, a landmark document positioning Venice as a global hub for water-centered sustainability and diplomacy. The declaration calls for the recognition of the hydrosphere as a primary ecological infrastructure and the development of a new pact uniting territories, institutions, science, and active citizenship.
“Renaming our home ‘Planet Aqua’ is not just rhetoric. It represents a radical shift in our species’ planetary orientation.”
— Jeremy Rifkin, Economist & Theorist of the Third Industrial Revolution
Riccardo Luna, creator of Venice Climate Week, will present the vision behind VCW26, highlighting the pivotal role of cities — and particularly fragile water cities like Venice — as laboratories of innovation, diplomacy, and regeneration. Venice aims to lead the global discourse by turning vulnerability into opportunity, shaping international alliances and scalable models for urban resilience.
“Venice Climate Week is more than an event — it is an invitation to rethink our relationship with water and the future of our cities. Launching the second edition in New York underscores the urgency to turn Venice’s lessons into a global movement for resilience and sustainability.”
— Riccardo Luna
Sara Roversi will outline the educational and civic engagement programs leading up to VCW26. These include initiatives such as Cosmopolites, an interdisciplinary curriculum designed for teachers and students to explore contemporary “frontiers” — environmental, digital, geographic, and cultural. Thousands of young people will engage in civic education tied to the 2030 Agenda, culminating in a call to action and active participation in VCW26 and the Paideia Campus of Pollica.
Stefano Pisani, Mayor of Pollica and ANCI delegate, will share progress on the “Blue Communities” initiative developed in collaboration with IUAV and local municipalities. This initiative is the legacy of the first Venice Climate Week and now serves as a platform for co-designing policies for water cities and high-potential marginal areas.
Looking ahead, a special meeting between Jeremy Rifkin and Italian mayors is scheduled for November during the ANCI National Assembly in Bologna, laying the groundwork for the Global Summit of Mayors of Planet Aqua on June 7–8, 2026. This capstone event will convene coastal, river, and lagoon city leaders to co-develop a shared governance framework for blue resources, backed by the international scientific and academic community.
From the fragile beauty of Venice emerges a bold proposal for a European Blue Deal: a strategy complementing the Green Deal by promoting sustainable water innovation, resilient business ecosystems, and participatory water governance.
VCW26 Highlights Include:
- Global Summit of Mayors of Water Cities (June 7–8, 2026)
- Major international climate photography exhibition
- Talks and collaborations with top universities and research centers
- Citywide activations: labs, performances, installations in synergy with the Venice Biennale
- Youth-led philosophical debates and critical thinking labs
- Cross-sector dialogues: artists, climate scientists, youth, policymakers
- Policy labs and territorial pacts to position communities as stewards of natural and water heritage
Join the movement. Contribute, propose initiatives, or request more information:
🌐 www.veniceclimateweek.org
📧 secretariat@veniceclimateweek.org