The Daily - August 12,2021 - 52

Summer Show 2021
S H O W N E W S
Bridging
Communities
Worldwide
The Climbing Initiative supports sustainable
and equitable growth for climbing in
underrepresented groups.
By Chris Van Leuven
" CLIMBING IS IN A STAGE OF
growth, especially with the Olympics
this year, " Veronica Baker,
founder and executive director of
the Climbing Initiative (TCI), says.
" We have an opportunity with
emerging climbing communities
to get them off on the right foot.
That's how we can shape a more
equitable future for this sport. "
Baker's inspiration to start
her nonprofit came to her while
earning her master's degree in
global affairs from Yale University.
Her qualitative, interview-based
research took her
to the Middle East and Europe,
where she studied the growth of
climbing worldwide. " With the
goals of sharing this research,
providing a platform for voices
not traditionally heard in the
outdoor industry, and support-
ing projects that use climbing
as a force for positive change, "
as she wrote on climbing
initiative.org, she took her
research a step further in 2019
when she founded The Climbing
Initiative. " Through that research,
I concluded that there was a need
for more climbing communities
to be connected and learn from
each other, " she says.
Now in its third year, TCI
researches impacts of the " big
52
three " types of issues affecting
underrepresented groups-economic,
social, and environmental-and
engages climbing communities
from France to Ecuador
to Kenya, where it helps with
building projects, fundraising,
and gear distribution.
At this summer's Outdoor
Retailer Show, TCI volunteers are
meeting with vendors and retail
buyers to make new connections
and source gear. They currently
have equipment support from La
Sportiva, Rab, and The North
Face, and are in discussion with
more. The nonprofit is also accepting
donations via the QR code
found at its booth (41035-UL).
Baker believes her most significant
success since starting The
Climbing Initiative is creating
a web of affiliated organizations.
For years, many groups
have existed, she says, but each
was reinventing the wheel. Her
biggest hurdle is to match each
team's passion with the structure
to make projects sustainable in
countries including Lebanon,
Kenya, and Malawi. To accomplish
this, she shares best practices
and documentation by 100
climbing authors as well as steps
to apply these principles in economic
and social scopes. Today,
/ OUTDOOR RETAILER SUMMER 2021
Veronica
Baker
working together with TCI, these
climbing communities are stronger.
" By sharing experiences and
lessons learned from people who
have gone through these processes,
we are providing applicable
steps and guidelines to use climbing
as a catalyst for economic and
social change, " says Baker.
Joining Baker at the Show is
Nikki Simon, The Climbing Initiative's
senior editor and a climbing-industry
veteran who studied
international affairs at the University
of Nevada, Reno. During
her studies, she began to envision
a space where she could blend her
passions for sustainable development
and climbing to create
positive social impact. With TCI,
she's developing an engagement
strategy to connect companies,
athletes, and other organizations
in the industry to the international
climbing community. " I've
made some great connections at
the Show so far with companies
that have similar values, " she says.
" Before the Show, we've achieved
this through Zoom meetings. Now
that we're able to travel again, we
can work directly with dozens of
communities around the world. "
Baker and Simon's highlights
from the Summer Show include
connecting with all climbers and
friends of climbers. " We're able to
engage with them in this growing
sport, and we're really excited
about that, " says Baker.
Photograph by Carlo Nasisse
http://www.initiative.org
The Daily - August 12,2021

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