UPTOWNflavor

Social entrepreneur and championship mentality speaker Osiris James partners with eco-equity movement leaders, WEACT, Sustainable South Bronx, Earth Day New York, The Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative, USPartnership.org and MetroPlus Health Plan, to launch the UrbanGoGreen Tour and Expo (urbangogreen.com) at the 369th Harlem Armory on Saturday, October 25, 2008.

“Go Green, Get Green” is the slogan and theme song for the national tour which combines a sustainable product expo with a concert, eco-equity symposium and green jobs fair.  The October 25 Harlem launch will focus heavily on green employment opportunities, introduce a green sales and marketing training program, and feature panel discussions on topics including: The Effects of Climate Change on urban America;  Green Building and Infrastructure Development;  Urban Media’s role in Promoting the Emerging Green Economy; and Strategies for Going Green in Urban America.

“In addition to promoting sustainability, recycling and carbon footprint reduction in urban America, we focus on what today’s under-served urban dwellers really need, jobs and opportunities to make and save money.” says Duval Osiris James, founder and CEO of UrbanGoGreen, who created UrbanGoGreen after attending a green collar jobs conference at the United Nations where he was one of few African-Americans in attendance. He says, “If the African-American and Hispanic community does not get in the loop fast on the emerging green economy, we will be left behind yet again, just as in the technology era.”  With unemployment rates steadily climbing as a result of the current Wall Street crisis and the emerging green economy projected to generate billions in revenue and create thousands of new jobs over the next ten years, the UrbanGoGreen Tour and Expo could not come at a better time for many in New York and the nation.

Having premiered UrbanGoGreen Magazine and the infectious “Go Green, Get Green” theme song written and performed by tour spokesperson, IHSAN, at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Osiris is making good on his promise to use his media, entertainment and marketing company, UM Media Group (ummediagroup.com) to “popularize the eco-consciousness and sustainability marketplace in the hearts of America’s cities.”

“Everybody has to get involved if this eco-consciousness movement is going to work. We are presenting green employment and savings opportunities to parents and working adults and using socially responsible hip-hop and pop culture elements to attract and inspire the youth,” says Osiris. Culminating in the summer of 2009, the UrbanGoGreen Tour and Expo will visit several of the nation’s largest and most under-served urban centers with the “Go Green, Get Green” message including: Newark, N.J., Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, G.A.. The tour will also make several stops on university and college campuses in these cities. Other events injected into UrbanGoGreen Tour along the way include a sustainable fashion show and a celebrity basketball tournament.

The October 25, UrbanGoGreen launch will be presented at the Harlem Armory at 40 West 143 Street in Harlem, N.Y. The event runs from 10am- 6pm and is free for youth under 18 and students with ID and $10.00 for adults.  High school and college students, job seekers, professionals, entrepreneurs, parents and all those interested in learning more about eco-living and the green economy are invited to attend. Attendees are encouraged to bring their resumes to this event as there will be opportunities to apply for jobs on the spot.