Emergence
Festival of Future Cities
Reimagine India’s small and medium cities
29
30
& 31
October 2026
Panjim, Goa
About the festival
Hundreds of small cities across India are poised on the edge of transformation: this is where the next phase of urbanisation will unfold.
Through this festival, we will explore and reimagine small cities as living systems that evolve through interconnected decisions. Because when the different aspects of the city are addressed together, the result is bigger than just individual improvements: it is transformative.
Not just another climate convening
01
Collective Intelligence
Participatory learning clinics with key partners working on cities to exchange knowledge, build solutions, and shape futures
02
Climate as Culture
Narrative sprints, theatre plays, storybuilding, music and film screenings to highlight how climate is changing our way of being
03
City and the Citizen
Engaging one of the most important stakeholders of the city – its citizens, through walks, games and more
04
City Governance and Leadership
Engaging city officials, mayors and decision makers in shaping the future of cities.
Partners
Knowledge & Culture
Venue
Schedule
Sessions and registration, listed by day.
29ThursdayOctober 2026
All day
Venue: Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts
Scorched: Exhibition on Heat
In collaboration with Asar
Climate as Culture
All day
Venue: Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts
Exhibition on Wetlands
In collaboration with Biopod+Co.
Climate as Culture
All day
Venue: Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts
Playable Panjim (Arcade)
In collaboration with Storiculture
City and the Citizen
to
Venue: Vivanta Goa, Panaji
Opening Ceremony: Keynote & Panaji Net Zero Roadmap Launch
City Governance and Leadership
to
Venue: Vivanta Goa, Panaji
From Climate Plans to City Action: Building Resilient Cities
In collaboration with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES)
City Governance and Leadership
to
Venue: Kala Academy
People Within the System
In collaboration with Charles Correa Foundation
Climate as Culture
to
Venue: IPSCDL
24/7 Power – A City Imagined on Renewables
In collaboration with CSTEP
Collective Intelligence
to
Venue: IPSCDL
EDGE Expert Training Program
In collaboration with International Finance Corporation (IFC)
City and the Citizen
to
Venue: IPSCDL
AI and the Future of Cities
In collaboration with AI Knowledge Consortium
Collective Intelligence
to
Venue: Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts
Make your own Climate Recipes on Multispecies Co-existence
In collaboration with Socratus Collective Wisdom Corporation
City and the Citizen
to
Venue: Central Library
The Great Indian Ukada (theatre/play)
In collaboration with Asar
Climate as Culture
No sessions match the current filters on this day.
30FridayOctober 2026
All day
Venue: Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts
Scorched: Exhibition on Heat
In collaboration with Asar
Climate as Culture
All day
Venue: Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts
Exhibition on Wetlands
In collaboration with Biopod+Co.
Climate as Culture
All day
Venue: Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts
Playable Panjim (Arcade)
In collaboration with Storiculture
City and the Citizen
to
Venue: IPSCDL
The Emerging Panjim: Rethinking Buildings, Business & Urban Life
In collaboration with International Finance Corporation (IFC)
Collective Intelligence
to
to
Venue: Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts
Solutioning on Social Crises: Solver Jam
In collaboration with ReapBenefit
City and the Citizen
to
Venue: Kala Academy
The City We Build, the Lives We Overlook
In collaboration with Charles Correa Foundation
Climate as Culture
to
Venue: IPSCDL
Cities in Dialogue: Lessons on Managing Wet Waste
In collaboration with Global Methane Hub
Collective Intelligence
to
Venue: IPSCDL
Thermocene: Speculations on Warmer Worlds
In collaboration with Socratus Collective Wisdom Corporation
City and the Citizen
to
Venue: Kala Academy
Welcome to Kachra Crisis Housing Society
In collaboration with Purpose
City and the Citizen
to
Venue: IPSCDL
When Extremes Collide: Planning for Heat and Flood Risk in Indian Cities
Collective Intelligence
to
Venue: IPSCDL
Mental Wellbeing & Collective Agency in an Emerging City
City and the Citizen
Invite only
to
Venue: Kala Academy
Who Shapes the Story of Our Cities?
In collaboration with Momentum Shifts
Climate as Culture
to
Venue: Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts
Small City Narratives
In collaboration with Storiculture
Climate as Culture
Invite only
to
Venue: IPSCDL
Clean Air by Design: Rethinking Air Quality in Emerging Cities
In collaboration with Clean Air Fund
Collective Intelligence
to
Venue: Kala Academy
Earth, Unplugged: Music Show + Street Play on Waste
In collaboration with Momentum Shifts | Jyoti Mhapsekar
Climate as Culture
to
No sessions match the current filters on this day.
31SaturdayOctober 2026
All day
Venue: Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts
Scorched: Exhibition on Heat
In collaboration with Asar
Climate as Culture
All day
Venue: Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts
Exhibition on Wetlands
In collaboration with Biopod+Co.
Climate as Culture
All day
Venue: Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts
Playable Panjim (Arcade)
In collaboration with Storiculture
City and the Citizen
to
Venue: IPSCDL
Liveable cities: Can you make them?
In collaboration with UCAN / Janagraha
Collective Intelligence
to
Venue: Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts
Playable Panjim Session
In collaboration with Storiculture
City and the Citizen
to
Venue: IPSCDL
A Commons (and Commoning) Lens to Urban Planning and Policy for the Indian City
In collaboration with Sattva Trust (Integrated Design)
Collective Intelligence
to
Venue: IPSCDL
City Minds: The Emotional Life of an Emerging City
In collaboration with Sangath
City and the Citizen
to
Venue: IPSCDL
WISE Cities: Panjim Reimagined
In collaboration with Blue Ribbon Movement
City and the Citizen
to
to
to
to
Venue: IPSCDL
Make Your City: Designing for Local Production and Urban Resilience
In collaboration with Makers Asylum
Collective Intelligence
to
Venue: Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts
Designing with Nature: Wetland Walk & Community hour
In collaboration with Biopod+Co.
City and the Citizen
to
Venue: Wineyard, Sadhana Dell 'Arte
Goa Climate Party
In collaboration with The Climate Party
Climate as Culture
No sessions match the current filters on this day.
Festival map
Panjim, Goa — six festival venues. Select one to jump to its sessions.
Panjim
A gathering for the future of our small cities
Small and medium cities of India are not merely immature versions of large metros. They are living urban systems with their own histories, cultures, ecologies, and patterns of growth. Like evolving organisms, they are growing through countless interactions between people, institutions, infrastructure, nature, and economies.
Through this festival, we hope to spark a chain reaction that transforms the networks, narratives, and relationships that define our cities, creating a better quality of life than our current urban systems offer.