World Aquatics was represented at the inaugural Swimmable Cities European Forum, held in Basel, Switzerland from 11-12 August 2026, joining urban leaders, policymakers and changemakers to explore how cities can make their waterways safer, cleaner and more accessible for swimming.
Held in partnership with the City of Basel, a city where the Rhine is woven into daily life, the Forum brought together participants for an immersive knowledge exchange centred on four innovation streams: Urban Strategy, Water Safety, Waterfront Investment and Sponge Cities.
World Aquatics was represented at the Forum by Senior Development Manager Vita Balsyte, who joined discussions on how cities can accelerate the next wave of urban swimming infrastructure while keeping water safety at the centre of that growth.
A recurring message throughout the Forum was that swimmable cities are built as much on education and behaviour as they are on infrastructure. Participants pointed to the importance of integrating open water swimming into school programmes from an early age, teaching children how to swim and how to understand, navigate and respect natural water bodies.
These are habits that help to build a genuine community connection to urban waterways. Alongside that, speakers stressed that swimmable cities depend on a broader culture of respect for rivers, lakes and coastal zones, discouraging risky behaviour and encouraging people to treat shared water spaces responsibly.
Continuous water quality monitoring and real-time communication were highlighted as essential to giving residents the confidence to make safe decisions and trust their city's management of its waterways.
Discussions also turned to the specific hazards of open water, including currents, contamination after rainfall, debris and seasonal changes. It was stressed that cities need to invest properly in risk and benefit communication so people understand when and how they can swim safely.
Underpinning all of this was a simple idea that cities thrive when water becomes part of active everyday life, in terms of physical, mental and social health. Guided swims, educational events, community activities and citizen science initiatives were all raised as ways to help residents reconnect with their local waterways and stay engaged with them long-term.
Much of this reflects the same thinking behind World Aquatics' own Discover Water programme, which equips children and communities around the world with the aquatic skills and safety awareness to engage with water confidently – whether a pool, a river or the open sea.
As more cities follow Basel's lead in opening up their waterways for swimming, the combination of building water literacy early, embedding a culture of respect and backing it up with clear, real-time safety information serve as the kind of foundation Discover Water is designed to help create.
World Aquatics looks forward to building further on these discussions ahead of the next Swimmable Cities Summit in Ottawa-Gatineau, Canada in 2027.