DEIJAB Statement

The Minnesota Water Resources Conference exists to immerse participants in innovative, practical, and applied water resource engineering solutions, management techniques, and current research about Minnesota’s water resources. The conference is a platform to present current research, identify emerging issues, and share learnings and best practices to achieve desired water quality or quantity responses. The conference strives to facilitate interaction among a variety of water resource professionals and students.

To achieve the mission of the conference as stated above the conference planning committee  commits to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, access, and belonging (DEIJAB) within all aspects of this annual event. It is critical that the conference planning committee serves all communities equitably, without bias or discrimination, in both its programming and physical environment.

The committee will call upon and use our collective skills to prioritize:

  • Diversity by working to remove systemic and institutional barriers that add layers of disadvantage and environmental injustice to Black, Indigenous, Hispanic/Latino, Asian and other people of color, LGBTQIA+ communities, persons with disabilities, and other historically excluded groups. This includes incorporating diverse perspectives and experiences from groups across the region.
  • Equity and Access by working to attain an environment that facilitates equitable participation and engagement among all attendees, equitable access to funds and resources for attendance, and equitable access to information shared in presentations and discussions.
  • Inclusivity and Belonging by valuing and respecting all participants and their contributions so that everyone has a voice, fully participates, and benefits from the conference.
  • Justice by acknowledging past inequalities related to water protection and management, naming inequitable policies and practices, contributing to change, and ensuring new wrongs do not occur.

We acknowledge that our efforts are a work-in-progress and commit to training and educating our members on implicit biases and historical environmental injustices so that we may continuously improve how we amplify underrepresented voices and support opportunities for the broader water community.