Conrad Foundation & “We” Campaign Announce Partnership

Jan. 8, 2009 - PRLog -- The Conrad Foundation announced a partnership with the Alliance for Climate Protection’s “We” Campaign to challenge high school students throughout the nation to address the climate crisis.

Focusing this year on Vice President and Nobel laureate Al Gore’s recent “Repower America” challenge, the Foundation’s annual education competition, the Pete Conrad “Spirit of Innovation Awards” will challenge teams of high school students to create innovative products for use in various fields of science and technology. Teams vie for $120,000 in prize money and the opportunity to commercialize their products for general market use.

“Through our partnership with the We Campaign,” said Conrad Foundation Chair Nancy Conrad, “we are addressing the Repower America challenge with some of the greatest untapped minds out there – high school students. Teams will be able to tap into the We Campaign for the information and expertise they need to create products that conquer global warming and end our dependency on dirty fossil fuel sources.”

The We Campaign will support the competition by providing students educational information on climate and renewable energy policies, answering questions, as well as assist with judging entries in the renewable energy category.

“In much the same way Vice President Gore issued the Repower America challenge to inspire all Americans to meet the goal of 100 percent clean electricity within ten years, we are challenging our youth to use creative thinking and activism to develop real-world solutions to the climate crisis through the Spirit of Innovation Awards,” said Alliance for Climate Protection CEO Cathy Zoi. “Through their learning, we hope to inspire the students, as well as teachers and parents to take action in their local communities to help stop global warming.”

The Pete Conrad “Spirit of Innovation” Awards competition also targets two other categories:  lunar exploration, and personal spaceflight.  For more information and full list of contest rules, visit www.conradawards.org

About Charles “Pete” Conrad
Pete Conrad’s accomplishments span the entire history of manned space flight. Conrad flew Gemini V and Gemini XI and became the third man to walk on the Moon on Apollo XII. He also flew the Skylab II mission, in which his emergency spacewalk saved the entire station and earned him a Congressional Space Medal of Honor. After retiring from NASA, Conrad returned to space, no longer as an explorer, but as an entrepreneur. He was a key participant in the ventures that created the beginning of the commercial space industry. Conrad tragically passed away in 1999.

About The Conrad Foundation
The Conrad Foundation is a not-for-profit foundation designed to energize and engage students in science and technology through unique entrepreneurial opportunities. The Foundation builds upon the legacy of heroes in our past to nurture the heroes of our future. By enabling young minds to connect education, innovation and entrepreneurship, the Conrad Foundation provides a bold platform for enriching human capital. For more information, visit www.conradfoundation.org.

About the We Campaign
Unprecedented in scale for a public policy issue, the Alliance for Climate Protection’s “We” Campaign draws from the best practices of successful commercial, social marketing and political campaigns. The We Campaign combines advertising, online organizing and partnerships with a diverse and growing group of grassroots organizations, to educate the American public on the urgent need to solve the climate crisis and activate them to demand real solutions from elected officials -- in part through repowering America with 100 percent of its electricity from clean carbon-free sources within 10 years.

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The Conrad Foundation is a not-for-profit foundation designed to energize and engage students in science and technology through unique entrepreneurial opportunities. The Foundation builds upon the legacy of heroes in our past to nurture the heroes of our future. By enabling young minds to connect education, innovation and entrepreneurship, the Conrad Foundation provides a bold platform for enriching human capital. For more information, visit www.conradfoundation.org.