International leading figures such as physicist and ecofeminist Vandana Shiva, Harvard neurologist Álvaro Pascual-Leone, activist Rokhaya Diallo and young environmentalist Francisco Vera will lead the four sessions scheduled by Fundación Exodus.
The Teatre Municipal de Benicàssim will serve as the festival’s satellite stage and will open its doors from August 17 to 20 with four major debates with free access.
The Social Forum Bookshop returns as a meeting point with the public.
Rototom Sunsplash’s Social Forum will once again turn the Teatre Municipal de Benicàssim into a space open to critical thinking, dialogue and collective reflection. From August 17 to 20, this satellite stage of the festival will host a new edition of one of the most emblematic spaces in Rototom’s cultural programme, bringing the debate on today’s major challenges beyond the concert venue and strengthening the festival’s bond with society through these free-access sessions.
Organised by Fundación Exodus CV in collaboration with the Exodus Cultural Association and the festival Rototom Sunsplash and the Benicasim City Council, Social Forum 2026 will bring together some of the most relevant voices on the international scientific, social, environmental and journalistic scene, such as neuroscientist Álvaro Pascual-Leone; physicist, philosopher and ecofeminist activist Vandana Shiva; or journalist, writer and human rights advocate Rokhaya Diallo, to address, through an agenda structured around four thematic pillars, the crossroads of our time: the transformative power of culture; access to housing as a fundamental right; the ecofeminist perspective on the climate crisis; and the geopolitical map shaped by wars but also by peaceful resistance.
As in previous editions, Rototom’s audience will be able to travel between the concert venue and the centre of Benicàssim via a special bus service, free of charge and with a return route, making it easier to take part in sessions designed to open the festival to everyone. As a new feature, this edition brings back the Social Forum Bookshop, a space developed in collaboration with Librería Noviembre in Benicàssim that will once again accompany the sessions, extending the Forum experience beyond the debates.
Culture as a driver of hope in a polarised society to open the agenda
The first session will take place on Monday, August 17 at 6:00 PM under the title ‘Culture, music and wellbeing: tools to build hope’. In a context marked by uncertainty, polarisation and collective emotional distress, this meeting will bring together perspectives from neuroscience, psychology and artistic creation to analyse how creativity and cultural participation help build more resilient, cohesive and hopeful communities in the face of crises.
To explore this approach, the Teatre Municipal stage will feature Dr Álvaro Pascual-Leone, neurologist and professor at Harvard Medical School, a world leader in non-invasive brain stimulation and neuro-rights, and Betty Roca Hubbauer, a community psychologist specialising in humanitarian emergencies and director of Psychologists Without Borders. The debate will be moderated by journalist Sergi Pitarch, director of eldiario.es in the Valencian Community, and will be rounded off with a live musical performance by Congolese artist Doudou Nganga, highlighting the unifying role of music.
Decent housing as a non-negotiable right
On Tuesday, August 18 at 6:00 PM, the Social Forum will tackle one of today’s biggest material problems with the session ‘A place to live: housing as a right’. Securing a liveable home has become a major social challenge, affecting younger generations in particular and pushing vulnerable groups into greater precarity. The round table will break down the causes of this housing crisis, assessing the responsibilities of public administrations, market dynamics and civil society proposals. The panel will bring together leading specialists at the forefront of activism and public management: María Prado, head of Greenpeace’s housing campaign; Isabel Vergara, communications director at Oxfam Intermón; and Elga Molina, Director General for Housing of the Government of Navarre. Journalist, writer and activist Moha Gerehou will moderate the meeting.
Climate justice and ecofeminism for Pachamama
On Wednesday, August 19 at 5:00 PM, the Social Forum will focus on the environmental emergency with the session ‘Defending Pachamama: a global and collective challenge’. The meeting argues that today’s climate crisis is already a cross-cutting issue of social justice, survival and human rights. This debate will foster a key intergenerational encounter connecting wisdom and scientific ecofeminism with the drive of new generations. It will feature a headline online appearance by Vandana Shiva, Indian physicist, philosopher and writer, a leading figure in the global environmental and ecofeminist movement, and winner of the Right Livelihood Award in 1993. Alongside Vandana Shiva, the young and influential Colombian activist Francisco Vera, founder of the Guardians for Life Movement, will take part. The dialogue will be led by journalist María José Parejo, director of Radio 3’s programme El Bosque Habitado.
To facilitate international follow-up of the festival day, the session will include simultaneous interpretation from English into Spanish.
Geopolitics versus the law of the strongest
The closing session of the edition, on Thursday, August 20 at 6:00 PM, will analyse the drift of international relations under the title ‘The law of the strongest: empires, wars and resistance’. In an international landscape shaped by escalating conflicts, the erosion of international law and the rise of authoritarianism, this session—which will also provide simultaneous translation from English into Spanish—will examine the vital role of civil society, cooperation and activism.
The voices guiding this critical analysis will be Rokhaya Diallo, a renowned French journalist and regular contributor to the British newspaper The Guardian, writer, award-winning film director and human rights advocate; and Juan Bordera, journalist, screenwriter, member of Les Corts Valencianes and representative of the Global Sumud Flotilla, an international initiative for peaceful direct action in conflict zones.
With this programme, “from Rototom Sunsplash’s Social Forum we renew our unwavering founding commitment to human rights, peace and sustainability, showing that a festival’s culture can transcend music stages to shape spaces for civic action,” say Fundación Exodus.
Social Forum 2026 is sponsored by:
