Seit Montag, 15. Juli 2024, ist unsere neue internationale Initiative "Swimmable Cities" und die druckfrische "Swimmable Cities Charta" online!
Gemeinsam mit Unterzeichner:innen aus 31 Städten, 16 Ländern und 4 Kontinenten setzt sich Flussbad Berlin e.V. als Teil der wachsenden und globalen „Swimmable Cities“ Bewegung für die Rückgewinnung der innerstädtischen Flüsse ein.
Flüsse sollen als natürliche Lebensadern und als beschwimmbare Erholungsräume gestärkt werden, als Beitrag für den Gewässerschutz und für das Wohlergehen der Menschen.
Weiter in Englisch...eine deutsche Übersetzung folgt in Kürze.
In the lead up to the Paris Olympics, a set of common principles have been published to empower decision-makers, actors and grassroots activists in the international Swimmable Cities movement. These principles have already been adopted by a diverse group of founding Signatories, representing 30 cities and 16 countries around the world.
Facilitated by the Swimmable Cities steering group, comprising leaders from Australia, Europe and the UK; the purpose of the Swimmable Cities Charter is recognising the interconnections between the Rights of Nature and the Right to Swim (human rights).
Positive ripple effects are already being seen with municipalities like the City of Rotterdam (Netherlands) aligning the Charter to their urban waterfront redevelopments, City of Yarra (Melbourne) linking the Charter to community climate action, and not to mention +Pool (New York) harnessing the Charter in their water policy leadership.
The diversity of signatories shows the power of grassroots movements to bring people together around a simple but visionary goal. This includes a range of stakeholders, including local municipalities, government agencies, civil society organisations, community groups, private enterprises, universities and cultural institutions.
Despite the urban swimming movement currently being dominated by Global North and Euro-centric worldviews, the Charter is hoped to spark new intersectional conversations and meaningful action that creates greater diversity and representation. An example of the embracing Indigenous Peoples’ rich ecological knowledge is the Charter’s inclusion of ‘Mother Earth’, mirroring the Kunming-Montreal UN Global Biodiversity Framework.
The Charter builds upon recommendations within the Swimmable Cities Handbook (2023), which was published by Melbourne-based consultancy Regeneration Projects as part of their role as an Actor in the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
Leaders within the Swimmable Cities movement, such as the members of the Pan European Urban Bathing Network (self-proclaimed ‘water nerds’), are showing the world that building climate resilience and achieving Nature Positive goals requires a ‘whole of society’ approach, well beyond the traditional silos of the conservation sector.
Swimmable Cities is now focused on celebrating river swimming during the Paris Olympics, and planning an international Summit in Paris during the northern Spring, 2025.
Aspiring signatories can express interest at the alliance’s website: swimmablecities.org.
Swimmable Cities Charter
10 PRINCIPLES:
[FOUNDATIONAL VALUES]
1. THE RIGHT TO SWIM:
Safe, healthy and swimmable waterways should be accessible to all people. 2. ONE HEALTH, MANY SWIMMERS:
Earth.
3. URBAN SWIMMING CULTURE:
4. WATER IS SACRED:
[ENABLING CONDITIONS]
5. REWRITING THE RULES:
6. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION IN SWIMMING PLACES:
7. RECONNECTION & RESILIENCE:
[SHARING BENEFITS]
8. NEW ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES
9. SHARING WELLBEING BENEFITS, CULTURE & KNOWLEDGE:
[CATCH ALL]
10. STEWARDSHIP FOR TODAY, TOMORROW & FUTURE GENERATIONS:
Swimmable urban waterways are vital to the liveability of cities and communities, as shared civic
places that promote the health of people (physically, mentally, spiritually) and the health of Mother
Urban swimming culture is a unique expression of life in cities and communities, reflecting the distinct
interplay of sports, recreation and tourism in each given place, as well as natural and cultural
heritage.
Urban swimming should celebrate natural waterways as living, integrated entities that nurture
communities, promoting universal accessibility and peaceful coexistence inclusive of religious, cultural
and gender diversity.
Urban waterway swimming should become part of a new status quo in public access standards,
challenging accepted conventions such as industrial uses and stormwater pollution, with governing
authorities swiftly amending legal and regulatory frameworks to enable citizens access to its benefits.
Urban swimming places and experiences should be planned, designed, made and operated through
inclusive, integrated water management approaches; with managers ensuring universal access via
community-led programs for learning how to swim in natural waterways and ecological literacy.
Urban swimming places and experiences should be invested in as an innovative way to enable
resilient communities to adapt and thrive in a changing global climate, environment and economy.
Urban swimming development models should balance social, cultural, ecological and economic
values, creating new jobs, careers and livelihoods in regenerative professions and industries.
Urban swimming should create wellbeing benefits to local citizens, ecosystems and economies;
enhanced by the respectful sharing of Indigenous, traditional and Western water culture knowledge.
Urban swimmers are stewards responsible for protecting the health of their local waterways, working
alongside Mother Earth’s closest carers, such as Indigenous peoples, rangers and waterkeepers as
well as urbanists, architects, social changemakers, educators and policy-makers.
Swimmable Cities, alliance Steering Group
Matt Sykes, Regeneration Projects - Convenor
Ana Mumladze Detering, Pan European Urban Bathing Network & SVDK Vienna Chris Romer-Lee, Studio Octopi, Thames Baths & Future Lidos
Sibylle van der Walt, Metz Ville d'Eau
Tim Edler, Flussbad Berlin e.V.
Jerome Castex, Libres Nageurs
Media Contacts
GENERAL: Matt Sykes (Alliance Convenor) –
Europe - Ana Mumladze Detering –
UK - Chris Romer-Lee -
North America – Gabriel Einsohn -
Founding Signatories
AUSTRALIA
City of Yarra Sydney Water
Parramatta River Catchment Group, Sydney
Regen Melbourne
Regeneration Projects, Melbourne
Löyly Studio, Melbourne
Nicole Larkin Design, Sydney
Yarra Pools, Melbourne
AUSTRIA
Forschungsbereich Hochbau – Konstruktion und Entwerfen, Institut für Architektur und Entwerfen, TU Wien
IG Architektur, Vienna
Schimmverein Donaukanal, Vienna
BELGIUM
Outdoor Swimming Belgium vzw
Pool Is Cool, Brussels Waterland vzw
Zwembarestad, Ghent (& Amsterdam)
CANADA
Swim Drink Fish, Toronto
CHILE
La Loyka
CHINA
College of Architecture & Landscape Architecture, Peking University, Beijing
DENMARK
Foundation for Environmental Education - Blue Flag programme, Copenhagen
Pond Cph, Copenhagen
FRANCE
Les Ourcq Polaires, Paris Nageurs du Prado, Marseille Les Libres Nageurs, Marseille Metz Ville d’Eau, Metz GERMANY
Design Campus, Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden
Flussbad Berlin e.V., Berlin Isarlust e.V., Munich HUNGARY
Valyo, Budapest
IRELAND
Cork Lido CLG
NETHERLANDS
City of Rotterdam
World Waternet, Amsterdam
Foundation Amsterdam City Swim
Leisurelands, Arnhem
Swimmable Rivers, Amsterdam
SOUTH AFRICA
Water for the Future, Johannesburg
SWITZERLAND
S AM Schweizerisches Architekturmuseum, Basel
UK
The Outdoor Swimming Society
Lewis Pugh, Plymouth
Studio Octopi, London
Thames Baths, London
Oxford Bathing Places Coalition, Oxford
The People’s Pool, Liverpool Future Lidos
River & Rowing Musuem, Henley-on-Thames
USA
Waterkeeper Alliance (global), New York
Urban Rivers, Chicago +Pool, New York
Human Access Project, Portland
Charles River Conservancy, Cambridge MA
Timeline
October 2023 – Swimmable Cities Handbook published by Regeneration Projects as an introductory tool for decision-makers, actors and activists. This includes a mix of recommendations to further the movement, including a Summit in Paris in 2025.
Feb 14 – Swimmable Cities alliance ‘Steering Group’ organically emerged amongst actors in UK, Europe and Australia to start implementing Handbook recommendations. Decision was made to start with a Charter of core principles to empower communities.
March 22 2024 – World Water Day – Online exchange between leaders in Melbourne and Toronto shows potential for wider inter-city collaboration and knowledge-sharing.
June 5 – World Environment Day – 20+ Movement actors united online to hear updates from Paris and share its ripple-effects, to Johannesburg and beyond.
June 22-30 – World Bathing Day – SPLASH with Paris!!! Synchronizing with the much talked about inauguration swim of Anne Hidalgo (Mayor of Paris) in the River Seine, international actors are invited to swim with politicians and journalists - to promote global peace and unity, to provide visibility for their own local urban waterways and to energise the Swimmable Cities movement
July 14 – swimmablecities.org – A new alliance website goes live, media embargo lifts. July 16 – Official ONLINE Launch event – the Founding Charter signatories announced,
supporting a new wave of action for the urban swimming movement.
July 26-Aug 11 – Paris Summer Olympics – Open water swimmers and triathletes to swim in the River Seine. Key dates: July 30, 31, Aug 5.
Apr / May 2025 – Swimmable Cities Summit, Paris – plans are now underway to run the inaugural international Summit in Paris (after the Olympics), with the purpose of supporting knowledge-sharing, relationship-building and innovation exchange between leaders in the movement.
WHY THE PARIS OLYMPICS IS SO SIGNIFICANT?
The Games will mark a turning point in the relationship between major cities and their waterways. Two milestones will create a lasting memory for a whole generation!
- Athletes swimming in the River Seine (for the first time in around 100 years) and,
- 2. Three natural river baths to be made on the Seine (for the wider public in 2025).
To make this possible, the City of Paris, Mayor Anne Hidalgo and the wider Paris region have mobilized over 1.4 Billion Euros, enormous administrative and technical efforts for over ten years to clean up the River Seine, restore water quality and constantly monitor it by using digital technologies. These efforts are likely to change the perception of rivers, ports, beaches, lakes and wetlands in cities all over the world - Urban waterways are more than stormwater drains or open sewage pipes! When ecologically restored and regenerated, urban waterways provide biodiversity and health (mental, physical & spiritual) for citizens in this time of global warming.
