Paul Salopek (born February 9, 1962)[1] is an American journalist and writer raised in central Mexico.[2][3][4] He is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner.[5]
In January 2013, Salopek founded the IRS-classified nonprofit organization Out of Eden Walk,[7] originally projected to be a seven-year walk along one of the routes taken by early humans to migrate out of Africa. As of January2025[update], the project is ongoing.[8] The transcontinental walking journey plans to cover 24,000 miles. In addition to public donations, Out of Eden Walk is partially funded by the National Geographic Society, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, and the Abundance Foundation.
Salopek was a general-assignment reporter on the Chicago Tribune's metropolitan staff, reporting on immigration, the environment, and urban affairs. He spent several years as the Tribune's bureau chief in Johannesburg, South Africa. While on freelance assignment for National Geographic in Darfur, Sudan, he was ambushed and imprisoned for more than a month in 2006 by pro-government military forces.[5]
Out of Eden Walk
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In January 2013, Salopek embarked on a walk along one of the routes taken by early humans to migrate out of Africa, initially scheduled to last seven years. The transcontinental foot journey is meant to cover 24,000 miles, beginning in Ethiopia, across the Middle East, and through Asia, via Alaska, and down the western edge of the Americas, to the southern tip of Chile.[13] The project, entitled Out of Eden Walk, is an independent IRS-classified 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization.[14] Media and funding partners include the nonprofit's primary sponsor, National Geographic Society, as well as the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, and the Abundance Foundation. As a nonprofit, the Out of Eden Walk project relies on public support and donations to survive.[15][16][17][18][19][20] Salopek has walked with hundreds of local people along the route thus far,[21] including writer and photographer Arati Kumar-Rao in India.[22] In October 2021, after a 20-month hiatus in Myanmar due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Salopek reached China, before continuing on his walk.[23]
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