The 2022 Annual Meeting of the World Surf Cities Network (WSCN) took place on December 1st and 2nd in the coastal towns of Salinas and Montañita (Ecuador), with the support of the Municipality of Santa Elena and local city councils.

It was the network's first in-person meeting since 2019, marking the reunion of member cities after two years of digital sessions.

Cities Present

Representatives from nine member cities of the network participated — Arica, Donostia / San Sebastián, Ericeira, Miraflores, Montañita, Salinas, Santos and Viana do Castelo — as well as an invited delegation from the Peruvian city of San Bartolo.

In total, 30 participants, including municipal authorities, technicians, and surfing agents, took part in the working sessions.

Meeting Objectives

The main objective of the 2022 Assembly was to approve the Network's new Statutes and implement the new rotating governance model, establishing annual presidencies and vice-presidencies.

Furthermore, the results of the 2020–2022 Strategic Plan were evaluated, and reports were presented on the four work areas of the WSCN:

• Economic Development

• Environment

• Sports & Social

• Marketing and Communication

Review of the 2022 Annual Plan

During the sessions, the work developed by the network's commissions in the following areas was analyzed:

• Management and Governance – coordination of the statutory review process and leadership transition;

• Marketing – strengthening the network's visibility at events and improving the institutional website;

• Economic Development – exchanges between surf schools, including training courses conducted by Cisco Araña (Santos, Brazil) in Montañita and Salinas;

• Sports and Social – presentation of good practices such as Inclusea (Viana do Castelo), Surfing4Inclusion (Ericeira) and The Social Project (Montañita);

• Environment – highlighting laws protecting surfing in Ecuador and Chile and the Ericeira WSR+10 project, focused on sustainability and healthy communities.

Approval of the New Statutes

The new Statutes of the World Surf Cities Network were approved by a qualified majority, with 11 votes in favor and 4 abstentions, after four revisions and several working sessions.

The most relevant changes include:

• Elimination of the annual limit on admissions of new cities;

• Creation of a model for an annual rotating presidency, in which the Vice-Presidency succeeds the Presidency in the following cycle;

• Establishing a requirement for each city to present at least one good practice per year;

• Strengthening the presence of municipal public representatives at annual meetings.

Elections and New Governance

Following a formal vote, the new WSCN leader cities were elected:

• Presidency: Viana do Castelo (Portugal)

• Vice Presidency: Arica (Chile)

The nominations were approved with 12 votes in favor and 3 abstentions.

The Assembly also approved the schedule for the next annual meetings:

• 2023: Viana do Castelo (Portugal)

• 2024: Arica (Chile)

Strategic Guidelines for 2023

Viana do Castelo and Arica presented their preliminary work plan for 2023, focusing on:

• Alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);

• Promoting best practices and talent exchange between cities;

• Creation of the WSCN Awards, annual awards to recognize the most active cities;

• Implementation of a new six-phase city admission process;

• Management of membership fees and creation of a Network Expert Council;

• Strengthening institutional communication and public visibility of WSCN.

Conclusions

The 2022 General Assembly was considered a historic milestone in the history of WSCN, as it formalized the new governance structure, approved the new statutes, and paved the way for a more participatory and sustainable network.

After two years of virtual meetings, the return to the in-person format demonstrated the positive impact of direct contact between cities, with technical sessions, workshops, adapted surfing, local visits, and ceremonies that reinforced the network's role as a global platform for sustainable surfing.

The meeting concluded with a note of thanks to the Municipality of Santa Elena, the cities of Salinas and Montañita, and especially to Felipe “Pachín” Rodríguez, for their exemplary work in organizing the meeting.

Meeting Data

• Location: Salinas & Montañita, Ecuador

• Dates: December 1–2, 2022

• Locations: Hotel Colón and municipal spaces in Santa Elena

• President-Elect: Viana do Castelo (Portugal)

• Vice-President-Elect: Arica (Chile)

• New Statutes: Approved by 11 votes in favor and 4 abstentions.

• Participating Cities: Arica, Donostia / San Sebastián, Ericeira, Miraflores, Montañita, Salinas, Santos, Viana do Castelo and San Bartolo (guest)