Professional Round Tables
Institutional • Scientific • Federal Cooperation
Institutional • Scientific • Federal Cooperation
How do you build a lasting structure for surf in a country? France and Morocco offer two complementary institutional answers, shaped by different histories and territories. This round table brings them together around concrete questions that run through the sport in both countries: training coaches, judges and instructors; supporting elite athletes in the Olympic era and the digital tools that back this up; the mobility and circulation of athletes and expertise between the two shores; surf spot management and localism; and the interplay between surf development, technology and coastal tourism.
Beyond sharing experiences, the meeting aims at operational dynamics: joint training sessions, exchanges of expertise between delegations and a shared coach-training programme. It aspires to conclude with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU), formalising this cooperation and paving the way for fruitful, lasting exchanges between the structures of both countries.
Thanks to the involvement of the Australian Ambassador to Morocco, Taghazout Surf Expo will welcome Mark Flintoff, who has devoted thirty years to volunteer coastal lifesaving in Australia. He will share his experience of beach patrol, team training and rescue organisation.
The Royal Moroccan Surfing Federation will take part in this meeting. A representative of Civil Protection will be invited, alongside local authorities and territorial associations. The French Surfing Federation and the Souss-Massa Regional Tourism Development Company are also expected to attend.
This round table will offer a chance to discover Australian practices, to discuss them against the needs expressed by Moroccan stakeholders, and to explore opportunities for collaboration around prevention, training and coastal lifesaving in the years to come.
This round table will bring together municipality presidents and institutional partners around the "Surf Territories Morocco" Label project. It will be a moment of institutional and territorial co-building, aiming to present the labelling approach, share the main challenges identified across surf territories, and gather the priorities, expectations and points of vigilance of the municipalities.
Through discussions, scenario exercises and a participatory prioritisation workshop, participants will be invited to discuss the major areas of the future framework: environment and sustainable development, local economy, urban planning and landscape, social inclusion and gender, and territorial governance. The results will directly feed the work of the scientific and technical committee and the next steps in building and piloting the label.
