May 14-17, 2018, Grand Rapids, MI
The National Working Waterfronts & Waterways Symposium is the crown jewel of the National Working Waterfront Network. People from across the United States attend the symposium to connect with one another and showcase (and initiate) innovative solutions to their waterfront issues. The ultimate goal of the symposium, and the Network, is to increase the capacity of saltwater- and freshwater-based coastal communities and for stakeholders to make informed decisions, balance diverse uses, ensure access, and plan for the future of their working waterfronts. Working waterfronts include waterfront lands, waterfront infrastructure, and waterways that are used for water-dependent activities, such as ports, marinas, small recreational boat harbors, fishing docks, and hundreds of other places across the country where people use and access the water.
Michigan Sea Grant is hosting the 5th National Symposium. By design, the triennial symposium moves around the country to highlight the diversity of our nation’s working waterfronts; to foster a cross-fertilization of ideas, knowledge, and solutions; and to generate strategic partnerships.
Purpose of the Symposium
- To connect and unite stakeholders from across the U.S., and to showcase (and initiate) innovative, successful, and timely solutions to waterfront and waterway issues.
- To provide attendees an opportunity to network with others who are involved in the same types of professional issues and, together, develop strategies, timelines, funding sources, and regional alliances to address them.
The 2018 Symposium will use several presentation formats to create an educational and interactive forum where emerging ideas, best practices, and information may be shared.
Program Structure
The symposium will consist of:
- Plenary Sessions, which will feature leaders and keynote presenters from the working waterfronts and waterways community.
- Traditional Concurrent Sessions, which will be comprised of 15-20-minute speaker talks accompanied by PowerPoint presentations. Concurrent sessions will be arranged from individual abstracts submitted on similar topics.
- Formal Poster Session, which will feature all NWWW Symposium poster presentations.
- Strategic Planning Meeting, which will take advantage of our time together to collaborate and develop strategic plans for the working waterfronts and waterways community moving forward.
Learn more about the symposium
About NWWN
The National Working Waterfront Network (NWWN) is a nationwide network of businesses, industry associations, nonprofits, local governments and communities, state and federal agencies, universities, Sea Grant programs, and individuals dedicated to supporting, preserving, and enhancing our nation’s working waterfronts and waterways. Participation in the NWWN is open to all individuals and organizations involved in working waterfront issues at the federal, state, and local level. Our mission is to increase the capacity of coastal communities and stakeholders to make informed decisions, balance diverse uses, ensure access, and plan for the future of their working waterfronts and waterways.
