On Wednesday 27 March, the Embassy of the North Sea will kick off its 2019 annual program with a symposium in Museum Beelden aan Zee and on the beach of Scheveningen. With work and presentations by artists Carmen Schabracq, Frank Bloem, Valerie van Leersum, designer Axel Coumans and marine biologist Maarten Erich, and contributions from employees of the Embassy of the North Sea; Anne van Leeuwen, Harpo ‘t Hart and Thijs Middeldorp.

In 2019 we will be listening to the North Sea. We will use hydrophones and underwater noise data, but will also inventorise the scents of the sea, the sounds of the sea and the many telling stories that the sea holds. The Embassy of the North Sea attempts to build a more inclusive political system with collectives of humans and non-humans.

Which things and beings share the same territory or interests, whether they like it or not, and how could they find ways of living together in the long-term? When engaging in such inquiries and conversations, self-reflection is inevitable. Suddenly you become aware of all these different perspectives and how they form us and the world we live in. We see self-reflection as the starting point for an improved relationship between people and the North Sea. When people engage through non-humans in conversation with themselves, humanity, citizenship and democracy can receive a substantial new impulse.