Taking place on April 24-27, 2008 in Washington D.C., the Summit will kick off with an opening session in the historic Great Hall of the U.S. Department of the Interior and continue with an afternoon of conservation service projects at places such as Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Rock Creek Park and other local parks. The next two days will focus on dialogue, debate and decisions in four track area:
· Cooler Heads Prevail: Countering Climate Change
· Unplug and Re-Root: Connecting Youth to Nature
· Answering the Call: Preserving America’s Parks and Public Lands
· Reflecting Nature’s Diversity: Ensuring the Outdoors is Relevant for All
In conjunction with the Summit, SCA, in partnership with Mazda, is sponsoring the SCA/Mazda Conservation in Action Contest. Following the example of SCA Founder Elizabeth C. Titus Putnam, this contest challenges today’s young people to identify the next big idea in conservation. Prizes include a 2008 Mazda3 car and thousands in cash grants. Reviewed by a panel of national experts from conservation, academia, and media, submissions will be judged on engagement of young people, addressing a critical conservation need, action-orientation, creative and presentation. Essays, video, poetry; all are eligible for consideration.
Guidelines
Check the About and Guidelines page for more information. And check back often. We will have official rules and guidelines posted by the Contest launch on July 1, 2007.
· Participants must be between the ages of 15 – 25 on May 1, 2007.
· Participants must be U.S. citizens and residents.
· Deadline for postmark or electronic submission is December 1st, 2007.
· Submissions should take no longer than 10 minutes to read or 20 minutes to view.
· Submissions must be reproducible and not one of a kind.
· Submissions must be entirely original work by the participant and not copied or remixed from any third party.
Tips
· We are looking for practical solutions. We will give preference to submissions that demonstrate how you would implement your idea and what its impact may be.
· We seek ideas. Submissions can offer an innovative vision, outline a creative new program, or propose a new twist on an old model of conservation.
· We especially seek projects that can help build the next generation of conservation leaders by engaging young people in protecting and conserving our natural world.
· The review committee and the judges will give extra points to submissions that are beautifully presented and well thought out.
We will begin to accept submissions for the contest starting July 1st, 2007. Check the website, http://www.thesca.org/contest, for updates and additional information.
Thank you for your commitment to our young people and the future of our planet. We are very grateful that you continue to send your students to SCA. We hope that you are excited about the 50th opportunities and would welcome you sharing the news about the summit and the contest with your students.
