World Canals Conference

The World Canals Conference (WCC) is an annual conference about canals and other waterways worldwide. The first conference took place in 1988, and the 2008 conference will be the twenty-first. People with an interest in canals gather together to learn more about them, to exchange views, and to enjoy and celebrate successful canal restoration projects.

The organisation has undergone some name changes. The initial conference in 1988 was known as the "First National Conference on Historic Canals". In 1990, the "national" gave way to the "International Conference on Historic Canals", and in 1996 it became the World Canals Conference.

Attendees

The conferences are attended by large numbers of canal professionals, tourism experts and academics, as well as many canal enthusiasts and boaters, from all over the world. Their particular concerns and interests include:

* preservation
* restoration
* urban and rural economic regeneration
* sustainable development
* ways of attracting tourists
* education and interpretation
* involvement of volunteers and the community

The Conference programme duly addresses these interests by providing a varied lecture programme and relevant excursions to local canal projects.

The prospectus of the 2007 Conference in Liverpool (see external link below) offers not only lectures, including on the Anderton Boat Lift, the Tate Liverpool canal warehouse conversion to a museum, the Liverpool Canal Link and the Roubaix Canal, but also local excursions and site visits, e.g. Manchester's Castlefield canals, Stalybridge on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, and the Barton Swing Aqueduct on the Manchester Ship Canal.

Further afield, there were trips to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, the Chirk Aqueduct, the Llangollen Canal and the Montgomery Canal restoration project.

Year, location and theme

*Currently, in odd numbered years, the conference takes place in a European country, whilst in even numbered years it is held in North America.

*1988 Illinois & Michigan Canal
*1989 Delaware Canal
*1990 Rideau Canal, National Historic Site of Canada
*1991 Ohio & Erie Canal, a National Heritage Corridor in the US
*1992 Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, a National Historic Park in the US
*1993 Shubenacadie Canal, Nova Scotia, Canada
*1994 Trent-Severn Waterway, England, United Kingdom
*1995 Augusta Canal, a National Heritage Area
*1996 Birmingham, England, United Kingdom
*1997 Blackstone River Valley, a National Heritage Corridor in the US
*1998 Illinois & Michigan Canal
*1999 Lille, France and La Louvière, Belgium
*2000 New York State Canal System, Rochester, NY
*2001 Dublin, Republic of Ireland, and Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
*2002 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
*2003 Scottish canals, Scotland, United Kingdom
*2004 Welland Canal, Ontario, Canada
*2005 Sweden Theme: "Six Canals in Six Days"
*2006 Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, US Theme: "Industry to recreation: Greening the Coal Canals"
*2007 Liverpool, England, United Kingdom
*2008 Rideau Canal, Kingston, Canada - Theme: "Managing Canal Corridors in the 21st Century"

Future conferences: 2009 Serbia, and 2010 Rochester, New York

External links

* [http://www.worldcanalsconference.org/ WCC's Official website]

World Canals Conferences 1999,2001,2003,2005,2007
* [http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/6034/tow_0999.html Towpath Topics - Report on 1999 Conference in Lille and La Louvière]
* [http://iwn.iwai.ie/v27i4/wcc.PDF PDF document on 2001 WCC Ireland]
* [http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2003/09/4172 Report in WCC 2003 by Scottish Government]
* [http://welland.library.on.ca/digital/CLIPPING/World%20Canal%20Conference.htm Clippings from the 2003 WCC in Ontario]
* [http://www5.auderis.se/wcc2005/ WCC 2005 Sweden website]
* [http://www.waterways.org.uk/News/Pressreleases/Pressrelease-1 Report by IWA on the 2007 WCC at Liverpool]
* [http://www.pianc.org.uk/documents/WCC_booking%20form_Jun07.pdf Prospectus of the 2007 WCC at Liverpool]

World Canals Conference 2008
* [http://www.intertaskconferences.com/canals2008/ Official website of The World Canals Conference 2008 in Canada (Colloque international sur les canaux 2008)]
* [http://pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/on/rideau/ne/ne6_e.asp Site of the Rideau Canal National Historic Site of Canada]

World Canals Conference 2009 in Serbia
* [http://dpc-belgrade.co.yu/download/Danube_News_Web_Bulletin_05.doc Danube News reporting on the 2009 WCC]

World Canals Conference 2010 in New York State
* [http://www.ci.rochester.ny.us/mayor/newsreleases/index.cfm?Release=2722 WCC 2010 website, Rochester, NY]