The North Face, REI Foundation and The Conservation Fund have signed on as presenting sponsors of the Outdoor Nation summit series for the third straight year. In 2010, the companies helped to create and establish Outdoor Nation, which has evolved from a single summit to a powerful millennial-led movement that is activating tens of thousands of outdoor enthusiasts.
At The North Face we believe that if you provide the opportunity for people to spend time outside, they will develop a passion for the experience and ultimately a desire to protect the wild places we know as our playgrounds, said Todd Spaletto, president of The North Face. These powerful summits will connect young people to the outdoors, and also provide them with the leadership tools they need to activate their programs in their communities.
Outdoor Nation is now accepting applications for the 2013 Outdoor Nation Summits held this summer and fall in 15 cities across the United States. Each Summit will convene outdoor activists and leaders – ages 16 to 28 – to identify the most urgent issues preventing peers from getting outside, brainstorm solutions to these barriers, and commit to taking action together. At each Summit, teams will develop hundreds of innovative ideas that get Americans outdoors and active. Outdoor Nation will provide funding to at least 50 top projects-empowering thousands of millennials to inspire a new outdoor generation.
Outdoor Nation is a proven model that is empowering a new generation of outdoor enthusiasts, leaders and activists, said Chris Fanning, executive director of the Outdoor Foundation, the organization that started the Outdoor Nation movement. Thanks to the support of our founding partners and presenting sponsors, Outdoor Nation is poised to mobilize millions in the next few years-inspiring, engaging and activating young people across the country to get outdoors.
Outdoor Nation Signature Summits, a proven strategy for engaging a new, diverse and passionate community of young leaders and outdoor champions, will be held in three new markets; Raleigh-Durham, Chicago and Seattle. Outdoor Nation Intensive Trainings, or ON-It Summits, will be held in 2012 cities of Boston, Austin and Los Angeles. ON-It Summit participants will learn more about project development, advocacy, fundraising and community organizing. The Washington DC Summit will challenge Outdoor Nation Ambassadors to set a national outdoor agenda and educate key stakeholders in Congress and the Administration.
New this year, Outdoor Nation will return to the 2011 Summit cities to fund and support millennial-led OWN-It Summits. These powerful one-day Summits will be held in New York, Atlanta, Denver, Minneapolis, Virginia and San Francisco, and spearheaded and organized entirely by local millennial leaders, proving Outdoor Nations for-youth, by-youth philosophy. This final summit strategy will enable Outdoor Nation to exponentially scale its work and impact-reaching millions of young people across the country.
At each Summit, participants will brainstorm project ideas that address the regional issues preventing the Millennial Generation from spending time outdoors, including cultural relevance, access, cost, safety and the environmental health of local outdoor spaces. Participants will select the most creative and impactful projects to receive funding and support from The Outdoor Foundation. Following each Summit, participants will continue to work together in their communities-leading on-the-ground projects, influencing decision-makers and mobilizing people to get active and outdoors.
Outdoor Nation, launched in 2010 by the Outdoor Foundation, is the only national initiative that is engaging, empowering and investing in next-gen outdoor champions and outdoor projects-ensuring the future of outdoor participation. Results include hosting 17 Millennial Summit that empowered more than 3,000 young people; funding 400 projects across the country; engaging 75,000 youth in outdoor recreation; and investing $2 million to inspire a new generation of outdoor enthusiasts and activists.
Passionate young outdoor advocates interested in participating can apply online at www.OutdoorNation.org. The Summits are free to all participants.
