This month’s guests are Veronica Baker and Dani Dobrot. Veronica and Dani are, respectively, the executive director and director of community engagement of The Climbing Initiative. Both Veronica and Dani are passionate climbers who have traveled to the far reaches of the globe in pursuit of climbing. It was through their world travels that they both noticed an opportunity to engage with the global climbing community to create a more sustainable and equitable world through rock climbing.

The Climbing Initiative is on a mission to support climbing communities worldwide by conducting research, engaging with local communities, and fostering partnerships. What they have found is that climbing is a powerful tool to drive positive change and a force for good, whether that is economically, environmentally, or socially. As the culture around the sport is ever changing and becoming more popular, The Climbing Initiative is filling a very important role in climbing advocacy, using global perspectives to create best practices for local solutions. As the organization continues to grow, be on the lookout for ways to get involved and learn more about their work.

Enjoy!

7:39- Veronica’s intro
8:38- Dani’s intro
15:37-TCI’s mission: Research
20:56- Future case studies
22:21- TCI’s mission: Community engagement
25:08- Ability to advocate
29:57- TCI’s mission: Partnerships
32:23- Partnership: Escalando Fronteras
37:31- Turning research into action
43:28- 2020 Climbing Advocacy Conference
47:29- Climbing as an economic force
50:42- Maintaining culture qualitatively
56:39- Favorite workshops from the conference
1:00:48- The big 3 takeaways
1:10:15- What’s next for TCI?

The Climbing Initiative: https://climbinginitiative.org/

The Climbing Initiative’s Instagram: @theclimbinginitiative

Sign up & view the 2020 Climbing Advocacy Conference Workshops: https://accessfund-workshops.secure-platform.com/a/organizations/main/home

“An FA for Access Fund” - Rock & Ice: https://rockandice.com/climbing-news/an-fa-for-access-fund-the-first-ever-international-climbing-advocacy-conference/

Climbing Advocacy Conference Recap - Rock & Ice article: https://rockandice.com/climbing-news/climbing-advocacy-conference-a-global-perspective-on-local-solutions-recap/

Acceso PanAm: http://accesopanam.org/

Escalando Fronteras: https://escalandofronteras.org/en/

Fundacion Acceso Andino: http://fondoaccesoandino.org/

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