Keeping History Above Water: Looking Back, Moving Forward
Keeping History Above Water: Looking Back, Moving Forward
Returning to Newport on October 21-23, 2026, this symposium leverages a decade of heritage resilience advocacy and action from 11 successful national and international KHAW events and collaborations with host communities.
Session proposals are now open
Proposals are welcome related to the theme “Looking Back, Moving Forward.” Speakers are encouraged to bridge planning efforts with creative, action-oriented projects focused on historic resources impacted by sea level rise, recurrent flooding, and climate change. Sessions should consider current barriers and opportunities, messaging and community involvement, and project impact results. The deadline to submit is 5pm on Friday, February 27, 2026.
Submission details & requirements
Please reach out to Symposium Planner Patricia Pettit with questions and for more information.
Partner with us
Sponsorship opportunities are now available for Keeping History Above Water: Looking Back, Moving Forward.
Please contact Sue Battle, Development & Donor Relations Manager for more information.
Registration information coming soon
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Submission Details & Requirements
Thank you for your interest in submitting a symposium session and/or site visit for Keeping History Above Water: Looking Back, Moving Forward.
Keeping History Above Water (KHAW) was founded by the Newport Restoration Foundation (NRF) to foster a national conversation focused on the increasing and varied risks posed by sea-level rise to historic coastal communities.
Returning to Newport in 2026, Keeping History Above Water: Looking Back, Moving Forward leverages a decade of heritage resilience advocacy and action from 11 successful national and international KHAW events and collaborations with host communities. Highlighting the growth, opportunities, and challenges faced by Newport, KHAW: Looking Back, Moving Forward will look to the Newport community and NRF’s portfolio of over 80 historic properties for actionable solutions.
Proposals are welcome related to the theme “Looking Back, Moving Forward.” Speakers are encouraged to bridge planning efforts with creative, action-oriented projects focused on historic resources impacted by sea level rise, recurrent flooding, and climate change. Sessions should consider current barriers and opportunities, messaging and community involvement, and project impact results.
The Planning Committee is looking for submissions that:
- Highlight active climate change adaptation and resilience projects to protect historic resources
- Address creative solutions to barriers to project implementation such as financing, collaborative partnerships, and equitable access
- Employ new technologies and practices to document, memorialize, or otherwise record vulnerable sites or important community practices
- Consider climate anxiety and unknown futures through the project planning process
- Highlight policy, advocacy, and funding successes, challenges, and opportunities for resiliency and cultural heritage projects
- Engage the next generation of preservation and resiliency practitioners
The success of Keeping History Above Water stems from its passionate field of practitioners. The Planning Committee specifically encourages previous speakers to submit project updates from past KHAW conferences: What worked? What changed? What barriers were overcome? How have changes in the field, federal government, or funding impacted your work?
Sessions may be individual presentations, panel discussions, or workshops, and will generally be scheduled to last 30 or 45 minutes. Site visits in the Newport region will be for 1-2 hour blocks of time.
The deadline to submit is 5pm on Friday, February 27, 2026.
Proposals will be reviewed by the Planning Committee and selected by the end of April 2026.
Submit Proposal
