In 2025, global leaders in canal and inland waterway management and innovation will gather in Buffalo, NY, USA for the World Canals Conference. The 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal provides a powerful backdrop for discussions, reflections, and critical calls to action around the significance and impacts of inland waterways around the world, the shared challenges faced for 21st-century canal maintenance, and visions for transforming them for the future.
We invite you to submit a proposal to present your expertise, passions, and big ideas before this unique audience.
The theme of WCC 2025 is ‘Sustaining Our Multidimensional Inland Waterways.’ We invite presentations that encourage conversations aligned with this theme through diverse lenses, including:
Each presenter will have 15 minutes and is encouraged to include PowerPoint slides. There will be five minutes of audience Q&A for each presentation. Conference organizers will group presentations around similar topics or themes in a panel discussion format.
Consider presentations related to:
These longer sessions allow time for in-depth presentations on projects related to conference themes.
A group of no more than three presenters may submit a proposal for a presentation around a common theme. The presenters are expected to work together to ensure a cohesive presentation.
Please fill out the form below to propose your presentation at WCC 2025. The strongest proposals will address success in responding to significant challenges in operating canals and inland waterways, present case studies of innovation and creativity, include diverse perspectives, encourage discussion, and foster collaboration amongst participants. If you are proposing to share academic research, please ensure that you present it engagingly for a general audience of canal enthusiasts and experts.
For group presentations, please submit information for all presenters in a single proposal.
All proposals must be submitted in English.
The deadline for proposals is Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST. Early submissions are encouraged. Any proposal submitted by November 30, 2024 will receive feedback from the Review Committee prior to the final deadline.
If you have any questions about presentation formats or proposal submissions, please contact our Program Committee Chair.
All proposals must be submitted in English.