OUT OF EDEN WALK

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. THE OUT OF EDEN WALK TEAM AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS ARE COMMITTED TO SAFEGUARDING AND ELEVATING THE PROJECT'S EDITORIAL AND EDUCATIONAL IMPACT PROGRAMS FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC DURING THE ACTIVE PHASE OF THE WALK AND AFTER THE CULMINATION OF THE JOURNEY. 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 500+ 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THAN 460,000 WORDS, 2,500 PHOTOS AND 750 VIDEOS, WITH TEXTS TRANSLATED INTO 34 LANGUAGES, WITH AN ARCHIVE OF 100,000 UNPUBLISHED IMAGES. ADDITIONAL EDITORIAL OUTPUTS INCLUDE: -12 MAJOR FEATURE ARTICLES FOR NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE, INCLUDING THREE COVER STORIES, IN AN ONGOING SERIES. -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. -228,000+ 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. STUDENTS AND MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC, OF ALL AGES, FROM ANYWHERE ON EARTH, ACCESS AND JOIN THIS HISTORIC JOURNEY ONLINE.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. IN 2023, STUDENTS WON A STATE-WIDE AWARD FOR THE USE OF TECH IN EDUCATION IN CHICAGO, IL, FOR THEIR WORK WITH OUT OF EDEN WALK HOMESTORIES AND VISITED THE STATE CAPITOL BUILDING TO ACCEPT THE AWARD. IN 2023, PAUL SALOPEK HAS WALKED 3,500 MILES OF AN ANTICIPATED 4,500-MILE WALK ACROSS CHINA. (THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE WALK IS A 24,000 MILE JOURNEY, AND SINCE BEGINNING IN 2013, PAUL HAS WALKED 15,800 MILES.) THIS UNPRECEDENTED, COLLABORATIVE WALK ACROSS CHINA BEGAN IN FALL 2021. PARTNERSHIPS WITH NGM-CHINA AND DISNEY-CHINA, AND ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS INCLUDING NYU SHANGHAI, ENGAGED A GLOBAL AUDIENCE THROUGH WORKSHOPS AND LECTURES, BOTH IN CHINA AND IN THE UNITED STATES, FROM TEACHING WORKSHOPS AT CHINA'S FORESTRY DEPARTMENT TO CO-CURATING AN OUT OF EDEN WALK MUSEUM EXHIBITION AT THE INSTITUTE FOR CONTEMPORARY ARTS AT NYU-SHANGHAI. THE "WALKED CHINA" SHOW OPENED IN MAY 2023 WITH A RECORD NUMBER OF 1,200 VISITORS, AND IMPACTED OVER 10,000 VISITORS AND PARTICIPANTS IN WORKSHOPS DURING ITS THREE-MONTH DURATION. ALSO IN 2023, OUT OF EDEN WALK REACHED OVER 800 MILLION VIEWERS ON CHINA'S DOMESTIC TELEVISION CHANNELS AND STREAMING PLATFORMS. SHANGHAI MEDIA GROUP'S FIRST-TIME DOCUSERIES COVERING THE OUT OF EDEN WALK IN CHINA WILL BE SCHEDULED TO DEBUT IN NEW TERRITORIES IN 2024. 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.