“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” Goethe
These words capture one of David Brower’s guiding principles and are embodied by the 6 winners of the Earth Island Institute’s Seventh Annual Brower Youth Awards.
Earth Island Institute established the Brower Youth Awards in 2000 to honor David Brower and to call forth a new generation of leaders. This annual national award recognizes six young people for their outstanding activism and achievements in the fields of environmental and social justice advocacy. Each winner is awarded $3000 in cash and flown to San Francisco for the award week and a backcountry camping trip. The Awards not only promote the accomplishments of these new leaders but also invest in their continued success by providing ongoing access to resources, mentors, and opportunities to develop their leadership skills through Earth Island Institute’s New Leaders Initiative.
The Awards ceremony, held at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on 27 October, 2006, featured Adrienne Maree Brown, of the Ruckus Society, as MC, a performance by GRRRL Brigade on taiko drums in a tribute to Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the Green Belt Movement, a short film about David Brower, video presentations of the 6 award winners, and a short speech by each winner. (The videos were produced by Max Harper, 2002 Brower Youth Award recipient and will be posted on YouTube shortly.)
The winners, ranging in age from 16 to 22 are working on safe cosmetics, clean cars, habitat restoration, saving a sacred peak, climate change, and youth leadership training:
- Jessica Assaf, age 16, San Rafael, California. Teens for Safe Cosmetics Campaign.
- May Boeve, age 21, Middlebury, Vermont. The Road to Detroit.
- Karoline Evin McMullen, age 16, Chesterland, Ohio. Save our Streams – SOS.
- Alberta Nihbaa’ Nells, age 16, Flagstaff, Arizona. Youth of the Peaks.
- Elissa Smith, age 21, Vancouver, Canada. Climate change activist.
- Ruben Vogt, age 22, El Paso, Texas. CYnergy Fellowship (Civic.Youth.Energy).
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