S03E09 Eco-activism through films and travel with Simon Straetker

Young Changemakers Podcast

Simon Straetker is a filmmaker, tireless explorer and eco-activist known for creating inspiring short films at the furthest corners of earth. He is widely recognized for shooting elusive subjects—extreme adventurers, wildlife, boundless landscapes—and for asking pressing questions. Namely, how can we compel people to fall in love with nature again?

For the past five years, Simon has been searching for the answer. In 2012, he co-founded the Pangaea Project e.V., an international youth network dedicated to ecological change, which organises conservation projects for curious youth in Brazil, Serbia and South Africa. In 2013, Simon’s visually stunning short film about Germany’s Black Forest, his home, propelled him forward in the filmmaking world. He was awarded the German Conservation Award, Google Zeitgeist Award, and has recently been included in Forbes’ 30 under 30. Then he leveraged this newfound success to co-found Abenteuer Schwarzwald, a multimedia brand that seeks to combine his two greatest passions—eco-stewardship and film making. The project’s humble aim is to inspire young people in Germany about the Black Forest, using youth camps and social media to show them that you don’t have to hop on a plane to experience nature, and that grand adventures can be found in whatever slice of wilderness is closest to home.

Get in touch with our guest Simon Straetker via his website: http://www.simonstraetker.com/contact

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