Registration Open: Announcing the 2011 Catalyst Summit!

Last month, I was fortunate to spend some time with the Youth Board members of Catalyst, a statewide movement of young people based in Minnesota working on healthy eating and fighting the tobacco industry. In between cooking competitions and rock climbing, we also managed to work out their plan for hosting the 2011 Catalyst Summit and their strategies for engaging and recruiting others to their movement. Want to support these awesome youth leaders and their powerful work on critical issues? Help spread the word to any high schoolers you know about a great event coming up this April that will allow them to use hands-on activism and advocacy to shape a healthier and more engaged Minnesota!

Announcing the 2010 Catalyst Summit! Date: April 9-10, 2011 Location: Minneapolis, MN Cost: FREE! All you have to do is get there Catalyst is looking for new activists to get involved in a movement to change school food, and get people more physically active. At Catalyst, we look for innovative, interactive ways to get out the message about healthy eating--from guerrilla art, to music, to online media. The annual Catalyst Summit is an opportunity to get trained on the facts, network with other passionate teens, and gain the skills that it takes to be an effective activist. Our summit is for anyone who wants to help get the message out and be part of a movement of passionate leaders looking to make a change. Breakout Sessions: Learn the Facts: The first day of the summit we will cover the basic facts of what we're fighting for. Here are the basics of some of the sessions: School Food Policy? Want to change what's for lunch in your school? We're getting deep in this session to find out how. Guerrilla Art Screenprinting, button making, this hands on session will teach you to a guerrilla activist! Food Marketing Do you know Tony the Tiger? Lucky the Leprechaun? How about the Trix Rabbit? In Food Marketing we'll explore how the food industry markets unhealthy products to youth, and how U.S. advertising compares to countries around the world. Catalyst Cooks Get hands on in the kitchen and learn how to make a variety of afterschool snacks, and easy meals. Spread the word The second day of the summit we will be going to downtown St. Paul to get our message out. We will be doing a huge activism event, and having a press conference. It's going to be mind blowing! Click here for all the information and sign up form