Out Of Eden Walk

EDUCATION, JOURNALISM, GLOBAL AWARENESS.

THE OUT OF EDEN WALK IS A GLOBAL STORYTELLING INITIATIVE FOR CROSS-CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT AMONG ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS, MEDIA PROFESSIONALS, AND GRASSROOTS COMMUNITIES THAT OFFERS A POWERFUL ALTERNATIVE TO TODAY'S EXPLODING YET SHALLOW COVERAGE OF CURRENT EVENTS, AND PROMOTES PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE CONNECTIVITY VIA THE ETHOS OF "SLOW STORYTELLING."BEGINNING AT THE HERTO BOURI FOSSIL SITE IN AFRICA IN JANUARY 2013, THE PHYSICAL WALK BY PAUL SALOPEK WILL COVER ABOUT 24,000 MILES ON FOOT, FOLLOWING THE HUMAN FOSSIL RECORD AND GEOPOLITICAL LANDSCAPES, UNTIL REACHING THE "FINISH LINE" IN SOUTHERN AMERICA PATAGONIA, TIERRA DEL FUEGO, ANTICIPATED DATE 2027. IN AN AGE OF INFORMATION OVERLOAD, WHEN AN ACCELERATING NEWS CYCLE OFTEN STOKES CONFUSION, POLARIZATION AND DIVISION, THE OUT OF EDEN WALK HARNESSES THE POWER OF HUMANE, IN-DEPTH, SCIENCE-BASED, AND CROSS-CULTURAL REPORTING TO ILLUMINATE, THROUGH ALL TYPES OF MEDIA, THE COMPLEX CHALLENGES THAT UNITE HUMANITY AT THE TURN OF A TROUBLED NEW MILLENNIUM: FROM RISING WAVES OF XENOPHOBIA TO RESOURCE DEPLETION, FROM CULTURAL ENDURANCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE, FROM WAR TO HUMAN MASS MIGRATION, FROM TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION, AND MUCH MORE. THE OUT OF EDEN WALK PROJECT IS NOT ONE PERSON'S JOURNEY: IT'S A COLLECTIVE PILGRIMAGE, CONDUCTED AT BOOT LEVEL, THAT GATHERS AND BRAIDS A MULTITUDE OF VOICES TOGETHER TO DESCRIBE THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE ACROSS THE GLOBE AT THE START OF THE 21ST CENTURY. OUT OF EDEN WALK HAS PRODUCED 450+ IN-DEPTH ARTICLES ON TOPICS RANGING FROM CLIMATE CHANGE TO MASS MIGRATION, ARCHEOLOGY TO GRASSROOTS TECHNOLOGY, CULTURAL SURVIVAL TO ENVIRONMENTAL CRISES. ON NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY DIGITAL, OUT OF EDEN WALK HAS PUBLISHED MORE THAN 420,000 WORDS, 2,000 PHOTOS AND 500 VIDEOS, WITH TEXTS TRANSLATED INTO 34 LANGUAGES, WITH AN ARCHIVE OF 90,000 UNPUBLISHED IMAGES. ADDITIONAL EDITORIAL OUTPUTS INCLUDE:A. 9 MAJOR FEATURE ARTICLES FOR NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE, INCLUDING THREE COVER STORIES, IN AN ONGOING SERIES.B. 100+ MAJOR INTERNATIONAL MEDIA OUTLETS COVERING THE WALK, INCLUDING THE NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, THE NEW YORKER, PBS NEWSHOUR, NPR, CNN, BBC, CBC, VICE AND GQ.C. 175,000+ FOLLOWERS WHO ACCESS THE WALK'S STORYTELLING VIA SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS.OUT OF EDEN WALK'S "SLOW STORYTELLING" METHODOLOGY AND PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE EDUCATION PROGRAMMING IMPACTS A VAST AUDIENCE: HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS ARE EXPERIENCING OUT OF EDEN WALK LEARNING RESOURCES THROUGH OUR NETWORK OF BLUE-CHIP PARTNER INSTITUTIONS.OUT OF EDEN WALK'S HOMESTORIES PROGRAM OFFERS A CRITICAL SKILL-BUILDING RESOURCE FOR STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY-BUILDING THROUGH MAP-BASED STORYTELLING. HOMESTORIES IS NOW GLOBAL, REPRESENTING EVERY CONTINENT ON THE FREE, PUBLIC-FACING, AND CROWD-SOURCED STORYTELLING PLATFORM: WWW.HOMESTORYPROJECT.ORG. STUDENTS AND MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC, OF ALL AGES, FROM ANYWHERE ON EARTH, CAN ACCESS AND JOIN THIS HISTORIC JOURNEY. OUT OF EDEN WALK IS HALFWAY THROUGH AN UNPRECEDENTED, COLLABORATIVE WALK ACROSS CHINA, WHICH BEGAN IN FALL 2021. PARTNERSHIPS WITH NGM-CHINA AND DISNEY-CHINA, AND ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS INCLUDING NYU SHANGHAI, WILL ENGAGE A GLOBAL AUDIENCE THROUGH WORKSHOPS AND LECTURES, BOTH IN CHINA AND IN THE UNITED STATES. OUT OF EDEN WALK IS GROWING A NEW GENERATION OF MULTICULTURAL STORYTELLERS WHO, BY SLOWING DOWN THEIR METHODOLOGY, AND TAKING THE TIME TO BURROW BENEATH THE DAY'S SUPERFICIAL HEADLINES, RECORD AND SHARE MORE NUANCED STORIES THAT REVEAL DEEPER TRUTHS ABOUT THE HIDDEN CONNECTIONS AMONG OUR LIVES, THUS ERODING BIGOTRY FUELED BY MISINFORMATION, AND CATALYZING RESPONSIBLE CHANGE AND ACCOUNTABLE BEHAVIORS IN A RAPIDLY GLOBALIZING WORLD.