The 2018 Project Play Summit takes place October 16 in Washington, DC. Speakers include Kobe Bryant, Tony Hawk, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and Mary Carillo
October 16 | 8 a.m.–4:45 p.m.
Knight Conference Center at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC
The Project Play Summit, organized by the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program, is the nation’s premier gathering of leaders at the intersection of youth, sport and health. It’s where game-changers from the eight sectors that touch the lives of children take next steps in building healthy communities through sports. Major new initiatives will be announced, and new tools released.
Speakers include NBA legend Kobe Bryant, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, Olympic track and field champion Jackie Joyner-Kersee, NBC Sports broadcaster Mary Carillo, and other domestic as well as international trailblazers who can help U.S. leaders identify opportunities for innovation.
The Summit follows the recent release of the Healthy Sports Index
by the Sports & Society Program, the only tool of its kind to help high school students pick the right sports for them. Learn more in this Time Magazine article: http://time.com/5422342/best-sport-kids/
The full agenda for the summit can be viewed here: https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/2018-project-play-summit-event-page
For press inquiries, please contact Jon.Purves@aspeninstitute.org. Last-minute applications to cover the Summit in person will be considered on a case by case basis.
For those not attending in person, there will be a livestream broadcast of all plenary sessions. View all the Project Play Summit livestreams here, or click the links below to access specific sessions.
Morning Plenary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otDXcU_rZHg
- 8:25 a.m.: Welcome remarks with Mary Carillo, Broadcaster, NBC Olympics, and Dan Porterfield, President and CEO, Aspen Institute
- 8:35 a.m.: Tom Farrey, Executive Director of Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program, assesses the “State of Play” in 2018.
- 8:55 a.m.: Kobe Bryant asks a panel of young athletes, what if youth designed youth sports?
Midday Plenary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohSxj_o3gwg
- 11:10 a.m.: Ludovic Debru, Head of Institutional Affairs, French Football Federation and Nico Romeijn, Chief Sport Development Officer, U.S. Soccer Federation, examine where U.S. soccer is headed for the 2026 World Cup.
- 11:40 a.m.: Kobe Bryant discusses the meaning of play for kids.
Afternoon Plenary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esDrzPDkcb8
- 2:30 p.m.: Project Play Announcements. Learn more about the wider Project Play initiative here: https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/
- 2:50 p.m.: Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. discusses Saturday Night Lights, a signature youth-development and violence prevention program.
- 3:15 p.m.: Olympic champion Jackie Joyner-Kersee on the topic, “many sports for all.”
- 3:30 pm: How to empower parents as agents of change, with Joe Figini, Washington D.C. parent of an 11-year-old son; Andi Nielsen, Communications and Marketing Director, Target; Jessica Berman, Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility, NHL; and Jenny Storms, Chief Marketing Officer, NBC Sports.
- 4:10 p.m. Project Play Announcements
- 4:20 p.m. Tony Hawk on “landing with impact”
If you would like to broadcast/embed a livestream, use recorded content, or access photos from the summit, please contact Jon.Purves@aspeninstitute.org. Recorded content from additional sessions will also be available after the Summit.
For regular updates from the Summit, follow the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program on Twitter at @AspenInstSports. Join the conversation using #ProjectPlay.