Students and young professionals from all backgrounds, the international workshop on the Seine basin as a Grand Garden, taking place in September 2025 in Cergy and around the Seine, is still accepting applications until June 15.
Les Ateliers invites you to take part in this international and multidisciplinary adventure: explore and discover the territory, collaborate in teams with diverse skills, and creatively propose sustainable ways to inhabit the Seine!
In the face of simultaneous threats—water scarcity and flooding risks linked to climate change—Les Ateliers de Cergy is offering a fresh perspective on the Seine's watershed. Water, the essence of life, becomes the foundation of connections between geography, landscape, living organisms, and minerals. How can we bring to life this "Great Garden," based on the hydrographic network, the symbolism of water, and the narrative power of a garden?
The workshop aims to help design this River Seine Garden, creating stories of desirable, resilient, and supportive territories for the inhabitants of this vast living basin. Following the river from its sources to its estuary, the 43rd session focuses on the Upper Seine Valley—Seine Amont segment.
The workshop challenges
Fostering a shared water culture: What actions can balance uses, reduce conflicts, and protect the water resource?
Imagining elements of a territorial narrative: How can storytelling devices inspire collective imagination? On what foundations, and how can they be embodied and shared?
Leveraging knowledge for territorial development: How can tested strategies be implemented into local development projects?
Raising awareness of hydrosolidarity: How can interdependencies translate into new forms of action and governance?
Innovation, Creativity, Prospective, and Collective Thinking
Each September, Les Ateliers gathers around fifteen students and young professionals from diverse nationalities and disciplines in Île-de-France. They work in multidisciplinary teams and, at the end of the workshop, present their proposals and strategies before an international jury chaired by local authorities. These proposals combine long-term territorial visions with concrete, illustrated action ideas, offering a range of projects for local decision-makers.
Apply online and join this human adventure shaping the future of our rivers and territories.
Applications are extended until June 15. Find all the details on the workshop page, and feel free to contact us with any questions: seine@ateliers.org
