EarthEcho International Unveils Revolutionary 'Water Planet Challenge' at
Clinton Global Initiative's Fifth Annual Meeting
Co-Founder & CEO Philippe Cousteau Joined by President Bill Clinton and Grammy
Award Winner Usher Raymond IV to Announce Unprecedented Service Learning
Program Reaching Millions of U.S. Middle and High School Students
NEW YORK, Sept. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- EarthEcho International, a
nonprofit environmental education and youth leadership organization working to
restore and protect our water planet, today announced its Water Planet
Challenge program at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)'s fifth annual
meeting. The Water Planet Challenge will foster tomorrow's conservation
leaders by filling a critical need in America's classrooms that currently lack
unified ocean and fresh water systems education and service-learning content.
It will revolutionize the environmental movement by pioneering the development
of technologies that measure the collective impact of service experiences.
Discovery Education, the division of Discovery Communications serving more
than half of all U.S. schools with digital curriculum solutions scientifically
shown to improve academic achievement and Planet Green, Discovery's
multiplatform brand devoted to the environment and sustainable living, have
signed on as official partners of the initiative.
"Water is the single most precious substance on the planet. It is not only a
universal entry point to environmental issues, it is also a universal
necessity of our everyday lives," said EarthEcho International Co-Founder and
CEO Philippe Cousteau. "Though the natural environment is a leading interest
of students currently participating in service experiences, there is very
little content that exists to support them. If we truly want to save what my
grandfather called our water planet then we must arm youth with the knowledge,
skills and tools to take action to do so."
Formally launching in January 2010, the Water Planet Challenge will provide
every middle and high school student in the country with access to
service-learning lesson plans created by Youth HandsOn Network that model
multiple service opportunities (volunteerism, consumer campaigns, product
development, and civic action) to support the health of the environment , and
position local action within a global context. Students and teachers will also
have access to standards-aligned, ocean and water-related curriculum
enhancement content for middle and high school students. The collective
results of these projects will be measured through innovative digital tracking
tools designed specifically for this effort by Validifi Technologies.
EarthEcho International is leading a powerful consortium of service-learning
content developers, education distribution organizations, and an innovative
technology provider to create the highest quality experience. Planet Green is
the official media partner for the Challenge, while Discovery Education will
serve as one of the education partners, bringing the Water Planet Challenge to
millions of U.S. high school and middle school students -- making it the
largest environmental service- learning program in the country.
Other partners include America's Promise Alliance, City Year, Validifi
Technologies, Youth HandsOn Network, and Usher's New Look Foundation. New Look
Foundation Chairman and Founder, Usher Raymond IV, joined Philippe Cousteau
and President Bill Clinton on stage during today's CGI plenary session to
discuss the collaboration and how EarthEcho International will be bringing
environmental service to their Powered by Service initiative.
EarthEcho International
EarthEcho International is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded by
siblings Philippe and Alexandra Cousteau in honor of their father Philippe
Cousteau Sr., son of the legendary explorer Jacques Yves Cousteau. EarthEcho
International's mission is to empower youth to take action that restores and
protects our water planet. For more information about EarthEcho International,
visit http://www.earthecho.org.
SOURCE EarthEcho International
Ben Goldstein, Ketchum, +1-202-835-9409, Ben.Goldstein@ketchum.com, for
EarthEcho International; or Bryan Hughes of Discovery Communications,
+1-301-204-7945, Bryan_Hughes@discovery.com
