24/10/2025

This forum explores the educational, cultural and community role of swimming pools

Swimming pools’ social value leads debate at Pool Horizons Summit in Piscina Barcelona

Piscina Barcelona 2025 will host a new edition of the Pool Horizons Summit, the international forum that brings together executives, experts and organizations from the global pool industry to reflect on the social value of aquatic facilities in everyday life. Global industry leaders such as Eloi Planes and Jaime Ramírez (Fluidra), Jerome Pedretti (Pentair) and Kevin Holleran (Hayward) will take part.

Swimming pools are spaces for connection and wellbeing, where health, education and enjoyment converge. In a sector advancing rapidly in innovation and technology, Pool Horizons Summit invites participants to explore the human and community dimension of pools—as places that connect people, cultures and generations. The third edition of this forum will take place on 17 November as part of Piscina Barcelona 2025, held at the Gran Via venue of Fira de Barcelona.

Launched in 2023, Pool Horizons is a global initiative that highlights swimming pools as spaces for social cohesion. Through collaboration among professionals, organizations and projects from around the world, it fosters a conversation that celebrates the educational, health and cultural value of water, as well as its essential role in community safety and sustainability.

“Talking about pools means talking about people, wellbeing and coexistence. Innovation and sustainability are essential, but so is remembering that water holds deep human value: it teaches, protects and connects. Pool Horizons wants the industry and society to talk about that,” says Ricard Madurell, director of Pool Horizons.

Water as a social and cultural connector
Through international case studies, the forum will showcase how aquatic facilities can serve as spaces for learning, inclusion and cultural expression—and how their presence enhances community quality of life.

Emily McNeill, Global Partnerships Director at the International Swim Schools Association (ISSA), Cyrena Yong, founder of D Swim Academy (DSA), and Jerome Pedretti, Executive Vice President and CEO of Pool, Pentair, will share how swimming education in Asia is becoming a basic right that saves lives and strengthens social cohesion.

Meanwhile, Patricia Abreu, General Director of the Mexican Association of Pool Professionals (APPAC), and Jaime Ramírez, CEO of Fluidra, will explore Mexico’s tradition of diving as a cultural expression and symbol of connection between people, water and the natural environment.

The program will also include an update on Pool Horizons’ inaugural best-in-class projects, presented by Ricard Madurell and Christopher Pound, director and coordinator of the forum respectively. They will share progress and results from three initiatives introduced at the first forum in 2023: Nager à Paris (France), focused on democratizing urban swimming; Survival Swimming Centres (South Africa), which teaches thousands of children to swim in rural areas; +POOL (New York, USA), a floating pool that cleans the East River while promoting public access to water in the heart of the city; and POOL, an exhibition exploring how water, social justice and wellbeing intersect through art, history and storytelling.

A shared vision
Professional associations in the pool industry will also contribute their perspectives on how collaboration can strengthen the human dimension of the sector. Agustí Ferrer, General Director of the Spanish Association of Pool Professionals (ASOFAP), and Sabeena Hickman, President and CEO of the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA), will discuss the role of professional networks in building a more open, collaborative and socially engaged industry.

The forum will open with a welcome from Eloi Planes, Executive President of Fluidra and President of Piscina Barcelona, and close with remarks from Kevin Holleran, President and CEO of Hayward Holdings, Inc.

The event will conclude with a networking session, designed to share experiences and build new partnerships that place people and communities at the heart of the pool ecosystem.

About Piscina Barcelona 2025
Piscina Barcelona will take place from 17 to 20 November at the Gran Via venue of Fira de Barcelona. With a surface area of over 45,000 m², 22% larger than the 2023 edition, it will bring together more than 400 exhibitors from 30 countries and expects to welcome over 15,000 professional visitors. The show will feature more than 30 activities, conferences, showrooms and professional meetings that reinforce its position as a global benchmark in the sector.

Barcelona, October 2025

Further information
Christopher Pound
Pool Horizons
+34 932 723 430
secretariat@poolhorizons.com
Maria Dolors Herranz / Gloria Dilluvio
Piscina Barcelona 2025
Tel. 93 233 25 41 – 2172
mdherranz@firabarcelona.com
gdilluvio@firabarcelona.com

Swimming pools’ social value leads debate at Pool Horizons Summit in Piscina Barcelona

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