The Work
The Aspen Challenge builds future generations of engaged and equitable leaders by providing tools and a platform for young people to play critical roles in identifying, designing, and implementing solutions to their community’s biggest needs.
Featured Challenges
CHALLENGE
I challenge you to design a cross-sector system that gets fresh, nutrient dense food to everyone in your neighborhood during times of instability by using local resources like urban farms, grocery stores, restaurants, and/or existing city programs and community groups.
CHALLENGE
We challenge you to lead a student-driven listening project that uncovers where student voices are disconnected from district policies and design a solution that elevates your peer’s voices and strengthens authentic student engagement in district decision-making policies and practices.
CHALLENGE
I challenge you to design and lead a youth-powered initiative that reduces vaping and marijuana use among Detroit high school students by strengthening community accountability, reducing access, and reshaping norms around substance use.
CHALLENGE
We challenge you to partner with your neighbors to define what safety truly means in your community and to design a bold initiative that creates a culture of peace and strengthens the health and well-being of Detroit’s neighborhoods.
CHALLENGE
I challenge you to add friction to the digital experiences that are designed to keep you scrolling, comparing, and stressed – by creating tools, practices, or interventions that help you and your peers reclaim time, attention, and space to prioritize human connection.
CHALLENGE
We challenge you to mobilize your community around practical, on-the-ground strategies that prevent community violence and help young people feel safe where they live, learn and vote.
Featured Solutions
SOLUTION
We are transforming our school yard into a space that is fun and welcoming for everybody in our community, and that is created by the community. We believe intentionally designed space will help address climate change and improve the environment while acting as an event space, and resource hub for homeless youth.
SOLUTION
We envision a community where young people acknowledge toxic traits within relationships and are able to take toxic traits as warning signs. We want young people to continue this initiative with their peers, families and younger generations, so that they can all understand and remember the healthy definition of love.
SOLUTION
Using advertising to connect people to affordable childcare services will allow ALICE families to spend less of their income on childcare, which allows them to have more freedom when allocating their earnings.
SOLUTION
Wildcat Outreach provides hygiene products to women facing homelessness as a way to respect each person's dignity and promote healthy communities.
SOLUTION
wholeheARTed is disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline through education, mentoring, and collaborative artistic expression. Utilizing mobile, student-created art installations, and social media, we engage the larger community in restorative justice.
SOLUTION
By offering mentoring, special events, and little food pantries, SUPERFood aims to encourage families, peers, communities, and each other to eat real food and lessen the reliance on junk food.
Special Guests and Judges
Judge
Troy Johnson
Owner & Content Chief, San Diego Magazine
Judge
Dr. LaShyra Nolen
Founding Executive Director, We Got Us
Speaker
Nadia Lopez
Chief Impact Officer, College and Community Fellowship
Judge
Kia Robinson Hatfield
Director of Programs, Marketing, and Communications, The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc.
Speaker
Misty Copeland
Principal Dancer, American Ballet Theatre
Speaker
John Lewis
Former U.S. Representative for Georgia's 5th District
Speaker
Komal Ahmad
Founder and CEO of Copia
Speaker
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Drummer, DJ, Producer, Culinary Entrepreneur, Designer, New York Times Best-Selling Author, and Member of The Roots
Speaker
M. Night Shyamalan
Screenwriter, Director and Producer
