On the heels of American’s Great Outdoor initiative launched by President Obama and in celebration of Earth Day 2010; Outdoor Foundation announced Outdoor Nation Youth Summit and Festival presented by The North Face, in partnership with Backpacker magazine and New York City Parks and Recreation’s Adventure NYC in Central Park, Manhattan’s largest urban playground.
Outdoor Nation Youth Summit and Festival is the first national for youth, by youth festival and summit that will convene in New York City’s Central Park June 19-20th, 2010 to encourage, engage and empower youth leaders to Get outdoors, ‘stand out amongst their peers and ‘speak out to elected officials, business and community leaders to reconnect youth to the outdoors.
“The North Face is proud to support such a ground-breaking initiative,” said Steve Rendle, President of The North Face and VF Corporation’s Outdoor Americas Coalition. “This event will be an impactful and empowering vehicle for engaging with our nation’s youth as we look for new and relevant ways to enable them to connect with the outdoor environment we are so passionate about.”
Through its for youth, by youth driven agenda and platform, Outdoor Nation Youth Festival and Summit will help youth delegates create a national agenda, list top priorities, provide solutions and deliver their message to elected officials, business and community leaders; while sharing a peer-to-peer experience. Through combined outdoor activities, advocacy, workshops and a career fair; Outdoor Nation Youth Summit and Festival will, also work with youth leaders to raise awareness amongst their peers, strengthen an outdoor youth movement by encouraging fresh ideas by utilizing youth skills to activate action-driven agendas to spearhead youth correlations to impact local, regional and national outdoor initiatives that increase interests in outdoor career opportunities and youth outdoor participation combating childhood obesity, while increasing healthy lifestyles.
“The Parks Department is proud to partner with Backpacker Magazine and the Outdoor Foundation to expand Adventures NYC, our annual outdoor sports celebration, to children from all over the country,” said NYC Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe. “Adventures NYC and the Outdoor Nation Youth Summit and Festival showcase some of the most exciting activities New York City has to offer from kayaking to mountain biking to rock climbing. These sports and many more help fight obesity and encourage a lifetime of fitness, health and enjoying parks.”
Outdoor Nation Youth Summit and Festival is free for youth delegates to attend. Youth delegates will receive a travel scholarship to attend the two-day summit and festival to use for travel and hotel accommodations. Youth delegates are chosen based on their interest and passion for the outdoors and their ability to lead local, regional and national initiatives to increase outdoor activities and encourage healthy lifestyles lead by peer-to-peer interactions. Youth interested in delegation can apply to attend for Outdoor Nation Youth Summit and Festival through OutdoorNation.org., and continue to apply through May 21, 2010, online.
“There is a crisis in our country today. Young people are increasingly disconnected from the outdoors resulting in unprecedented levels of child obesity, depression, diabetes and ADHD. We need a new American revolution where young Outsiders lead the way toward a healthier generation,” said Chris Fanning, executive director of The Outdoor Foundation. “The Outdoor Nation Youth Summit and Festival will bring leaders together for the first time to develop a national outdoor agenda, discuss youth-led solutions and receive the tools, training and resources to champion change on campuses and in communities.”
Outdoor Nation Youth Summit and Festival’s mission is to empower youth leaders to build an outdoor nation that increases youth participation in the outdoors for this and future generations. Delegates attending the event will be charged with developing future opportunities in their local cities and communities and are eligible to apply for $100,000 in grant funding to support their individual causes, expanded outreach and initiatives.
“The goal of the Summit is to motivate and mobilize hundreds of thousands of young people nationwide to reclaim, redefine and rediscover the outdoors” said Larry Selzer, President of The Conservation Fund. “What we are after is, cultural change at a massive scale where a whole new generation is engaged with the natural world around them – for their health and the health of our nation’s legacy of land and water resources.”
According to the Interior Department, American youth spend half as much time outdoors as their parents did, and the country loses 2 million acres a year to development. Outdoor Foundation’s special report found that outdoor participation amongst youth is plummeting, with the steepest rate amongst the youngest age groups in the country.
“Protecting and preserving the environment is a top priority for Millennials around our country,” said Maya Enista, CEO of Mobilize.org, an all-partisan organization, built and led by Millennials. “Mobilize.org is excited to engage this group of youth and young adults in Democracy 2.0 and to help develop a national agenda Millennials can use while advocating for the environment in our communities and on our campuses.”
Outdoor Nation Youth Summit and Festival, presented by The North Face is sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, CIGNA, Wilderness Systems, Dagger, Eastern Mountain Sports, Merrell, SmartWool, Mountain Hardwear and Paddle Advisory Council, in partnership with Backpacker Magazine and New York City Parks and Recreation’s Adventure NYC in Central Park, Manhattan’s largest urban playground.
“Adventures NYC showcases The Outdoors at Your Doorstep in the world’s greatest urban Parks,” says Kent Ebersole, Publisher of Backpacker magazine. “This year’s youth focus is a natural evolution of the festival, emphasizing the importance of reconnecting today’s youth with the great outdoors.”
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