This article is originally by Swimmale Cities.

125 diverse organisations across 72 cities and towns, and 27 countries have now signed the Swimmable Cities Charter, a set of common principles that promote the cleaning up of urban waterways and communities’ Right to Swim.

The fourth intake, comprising 20 new Signatories, notably includes the municipalities of Budapest (HUN), Vilnius (LTU) and Sheboygan (USA), which join Rotterdam (NL), Yarra (Melbourne, AUS), Alsergrund (Vienna, AUT), and Annapolis (USA).

Latin American connections are also growing, through the Guanabara Bay Basin Committee in Rio de Janeiro (BRA) and Neopictonic, a research initiative in Cartagena (COL). Private sector engagement is also accelerating, with the inclusion of SPISEA and WEARTH Group from France, which specialise in floating structures and waterfront development solutions respectively.

Finally, true to Swimmable Cities’ grassroots origins, the Masters Swimming Sudbury community from Ontario (CAN) and the artist-led I AM WATER from Ljubljana (SVN) are showing that urban swimming is a growing ‘whole of society’ movement.

Looking ahead to 2025, highlights include:

  • The much-anticipated inaugural Swimmable Cities Summit in Rotterdam, June 22-24, will bring together 100 experts, advocates, practitioners and decision-makers from around the world to raise awareness and exchange knowledge.
  • The launch of a new Cities Program as a community of practice for municipalities and government organisations which are either already managing ‘swimmable’ cities, making substantial progress or interested to start and learn from others.

More info:

Swimmable Cities Charter Signatories
It takes a global village to grow a movement! Our signatories represent an incredible diversity of stakeholders - from local activists and community swimming groups to municipalities and government agencies, civil society organisations, businesses, universities and cultural institutions.

Our alliance is made up of 125 organisations across, 72 cities and towns, across 27 countries:
AUSTRALIA (Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney), AUSTRIA (Vienna, Zwerndorf), BELGIUM (Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent), BRAZIL (Rio de Janeiro), CANADA (Hamilton, Oakville, Sudbury, Toronto), CHILE (Santiago), CHINA (Beijing), COLOMBIA (Cartagena), CZECH REPUBLIC (Prague), DENMARK (Copenhagen), ENGLAND (Brighton, Bromsgrove, Cambridge, Liverpool, London, Newcastle upon Tyne, Norwich, Plymouth, Oxford, Stroud, Swansea), FINLAND (Helsinki, Lohja), FRANCE (Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Metz, Paris, Port), GERMANY (Berlin, Dresden, Esslingen am Neckar, Munich, Stuttgart), HUNGARY (Budapest), INDIA (Goa), IRELAND (Cork, Dublin), ITALY (Imola, Rome), LITHUANIA (Vilnius), NETHERLANDS (Amsterdam, Arnhem, The Hague, Rotterdam), SLOVAKIA (Bratislava), SLOVENIA (Ljubljana), SOUTH AFRICA (Johannesburg), SOUTH KOREA (Seoul), SWITZERLAND (Basel), USA (Annapolis, Baltimore, Cambridge, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York, Portland, San Francisco, Sheboygan, St Paul, Washington DC), WALES (Swansea)

Swimmers jumped off of a dock during sanctioned swimming in the Charles River.
Swimmers jumped off of a dock during sanctioned swimming in the Charles River. / JESSICA RINALDI/GLOBE STAFF

 

About the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030 , led by the United Nations Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and its partners, covers terrestrial as well as coastal and marine ecosystems. As a global call to action, it will draw together political support, scientific research and financial muscle to massively scale up restoration. Find out how you can contribute to the UN Decade . Follow #GenerationRestoration.