Debby Ryan et al to Join Disney Kids and Nature Celebration at Disney World

Disney Channel stars Debby Ryan ("Jessie"), Bella Thorne and Zendaya ("Shake It Up"), Ross Lynch and Laura Marano ("Austin & Ally") will join more than 100 youth leaders from around the world for the Disney Kids and Nature Celebration APRIL 13-14 at the Walt Disney World Resort. The two-day celebration recognizes youth efforts to help protect the planet and organizations that work to connect kids to nature.

The celebration begins FRIDAY, APRIL 13 with remarks by Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company Robert A. Iger at the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund Awards Ceremony. The event honors five organizations for their efforts to create experiences and opportunities for kids to connect with nature. They are: Children and Nature Network, Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots, National Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy and Youth Service of America.

At the ceremony, Hollywood Records' McClain Sisters will perform their hit song "Rise," this year's Disney Friends for Change anthem, as featured in Disneynature's "Chimpanzee." The film will make its world premiere later that day.

As part of the weekend, Disney Channel stars will participate in workshops and discussions, alongside kids, during Disney Friends for Change Youth Summit.

On SATURDAY, APRIL 14, Disney Channel stars will help galvanize kids to make a difference during Disney's Friends for Change Youth Summit, a day-long event designed to inspire kids to think of creative ideas and solutions that generate positive change in the world. Through a series of panels, workshops and discussions, youth leaders, between the ages of 10-18, are encouraged to imagine their planet's future and discuss conservation efforts in order to return home with new ideas to put into action in their own communities. Radio Disney's lead on air personality Ernie D will host the event.

Activities include:

Friends for Change's Disney Planet Challenge Ceremony

Ross Lynch and Laura Marano will recognize the grand prize winners of Disney's Planet Challenge, a national project-based environmental science competition for 3rd-8th grade students and the in-school edition of Friends for Change.

Inspiring and Adventurous Careers Panel

Kids will engage with key Disney leaders whose careers merge creativity with stewardship of the planet.

Send Your Message On Workshop

Youth participants will learn what it takes to reach audiences, encourage people to take action for the planet, and workshop the best practices for sharing messages through social media. Kids will come up with creative ways to tell their story in two minutes. Debby Ryan, Bella Thorne and Zendaya, Ross Lynch and Laura Marano will rotate through groups to help kids create their own messages.

Imagine Our Planet Youth Discussion

Youth leaders will facilitate small-group discussions about what each participant plans to do once they return home. Students will present their "Conservation Charters." Debby Ryan, Bella Thorne and Zendaya, Ross Lynch and Laura Marano will divide among teams to help develop action plans.

Disney's Friends for Change is a multi-platform initiative that inspires kids and families to join together and make a positive impact on their world by helping people, communities and the planet. Activities are united by an overarching emphasis on fostering creativity, conservation and compassion. Through on-air PSAs and online action kits, the program provides useful resources to encourage kids to make small changes that add up to big differences. To date, Friends for Change kids in 33 countries around the world have taken almost five million actions, and $4.5 million dollars has been awarded to nonprofits with Friends for Change projects. For more information, please visit Disney.com/friends.

Disney Channel is a 24-hour kid-driven, family inclusive television network that taps into the world of kids and families through original series and movies. Currently available on basic cable in over 99 million U.S. homes and to millions of other viewers on Disney Channels around the world, Disney Channel is part of the Disney/ABC Television Group.

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