“You Gotta Be It To See It” to Explore Social Media’s Influence on Outdoor Rec

A special component of this year’s SHIFT will explore ways media, and social media in particular, is challenging the prevailing narrative of who’s outside.

Thanks to the assistance of Your Forests, Your Future, which is responsible for the out.LAND.ish podcast, we’re bringing social and other media influencers to this year’s gathering to develop a vision for where they want the outdoor recreation/conservation space to be in ten years—and then take the first step toward that goal at SHIFT.

The following have confirmed their participation:

• Danielle Williams, Founder, Melaninbasecamp(2017 Emerging Leader)
• Aisha Weinhold, Founder, No Man’s Land Film Festival(2017 Emerging Leader)
• Len Necefer, NativesOutdoors(2017 Emerging Leader)
• Allie D’Andrea, Outdoors Allie(2017 Emerging Leader)
• Mitch Breton, video curator, Outside (2017 Emerging Leader)
• Shelma Jun, Flash Foxy (2017 SHIFT Award Official Selection)
• Miho Aida, If She Can Do It You Can Too (2017 SHIFT Award Official Selection)
• Mikhail Martin, Co-founder, Brothers of Climbing(2017 SHIFT Award Official Selection)
• Elizabeth Townley, Founder, out.LAND.ish
• Jenny Bruso, Founder, UnlikelyHikers
• Ambreen Tariq, Founder, Brownpeoplecamping
• Kayle Barnes, Founder, TheGreatOutchea
• Tiffany Hensley, Communications Director, Escalando Fronteras

Participants will workshop the topic throughout the three-day event, beginning on Wednesday, November 1. They’ll present their outcomes on Thursday, November 2, from 5:15-6:45 pm at The Hatch, in a happy hour presentation entitled You Gotta See It To Be It.

The happy hour will be free and open to the public. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.

To start the conversation, panelists are submitting their answers to the following questions. This in turn is being used to frame up what they discuss at SHIFT.

• What do you feel is the predominant narrative of who’s outside in outdoor media today?
• What should it be?
• How can media, social and otherwise, close the gap between the current and the ideal participant?
• What role are you personally playing in representing that ideal?
• Who do you want to see as the face of who’s outside in ten years?
• What is a realistic roadmap to getting there?
• What realistic steps can be taken at SHIFT to start?

In advance of the festival, a conference call will be used to discuss their responses and determine how participants would like to explore them at SHIFT.

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