On 24 November 2020, Bruno Latour will be awarded the Spinozalens prize, in Amsterdam. The Spinozalens is awarded every two years to a thinker who through his or her work has made an important contribution to society. According to the Spinozalens jury, Latour was a pioneer who placed the relationship between technology, human behaviour and sustainability clearly on the agenda. As far back as the early ninety nineties, he formulated the highly innovative principle that non-humans (animals, plants, rivers, seas, etc.) also deserve a voice in our democracy. Since that time, he has regularly called for the establishment of a ‘parliament of things’.

In the runup to this presentation ceremony, the Embassy of the North Sea is organising the educational- and public programme Welcome to the Parliament of Things together with the International Spinozaprijs Foundation. Part of the programme is a design competition at universities and academies in collaboration with the DesignLab/PhilosophyLab of the University of Twente and a programme for senior secondary general and pre-university education (havo and vwo) in collaboration with Building Conversation. Also we are calling upon public stages and museums to elaborate a programme in the runup to the presentation of the Spinozalens on 24 November 2020. Read more about Welcome to the Parliament of Things here..