Climbing Advocacy Conference: A Global Perspective on Local Solutions [Recap!]
A recap of this year’s Climbing Advocacy Conference, organized by Access Fund and The Climbing Initiative, which brought together over 650 registrants from 36 different countries
By Nicki Simon for Rock and Ice | November 23, 2020
Climb Like A Woman is an organization that empowers Indian women through climbing. Photo by Kopal Goyal.
India, Lebanon, Germany, Australia, the United States, Ecuador, Iran, Canada.
These are just a handful of countries that participated in the Climbing Advocacy Conference last weekend. Each year, Access Fund hosts a summit of local climbing organizations to discuss different topics about conservation and climbing accessibility. Historically, this annual conference has been limited to U.S.-based organizations. This year, however, they decided to take it to the next level and invite attendees from around the world. In order to achieve this, Access Fund enlisted the help of The Climbing Initiative (TCI), an organization dedicated to supporting climbing communities worldwide.
“TCI was absolutely critical in organizing the international community—it was like the magnet that attracted folks from around the world to this event,” said Access Fund Executive Director Chris Winter. “We were thrilled to be able to bring together people from all over the world to share stories and celebrate climbing advocacy.”