One of the best things about the World Wide Wander weekend is that it gives us the opportunity to galvanise our community from all over the world. It reignites conversations and acts as a reminder for people to slow down and escape their normal routine. It’s a 3-day celebration to get Wanderers, old and new, together – to get inspired and to find answers.
Last year was our inaugural World Wide Wander and it was a resounding success. We planned to go even bigger, more worldwide and wanderful this year and we were definitely not disappointed with a whopping 50 volunteer-led events and hundreds of people taking part by using our audioguide.
We were delighted, for the second year running, to have the support of Psychologies Magazine and also from some incredible non-profit partners including Action for Happiness, The RSA and A Plastic Planet. We were joined by like-minded organisations all over the world who rallied their communities to try something new, groups who used Street Wisdom as a tool to find their next steps and even individuals who took part on their lunch break from work.
Street Wisdom founder, David Pearl kicked things off with a Facebook Live video with Suzy Walker of Psychologies Magazine (you can watch here) before leading an event with Sian and Frederikke, co-founders of A Plastic Planet, they led a session with the focus on how we can individually turn off the plastic tap. The wandering continued all across Europe, over to South Africa, South and North America, finishing up in Asia. WOW!
We’ve really loved watching the videos, seeing where you’ve been wandering and hearing about all the inspiration from streets across the world. There have been lots of stories of connecting with strangers – chatting with someone on a park bench or getting into conversation with a street trader – something we often don’t have the time or headspace to do but can be really profound. This is what the World Wide Wander is all about – bringing people together, connecting and learning.
A huge thank you to everyone who made it happen, for running events, downloading our audioguide and spreading the word. You can see highlights from many of the events on our #WorldWideWander film below as well as some feedback from an incredible weekend. We’d love to hear your experiences in the comments below too.
Until next time, keep wandering!
The Street Wisdom team x
P.S. The #WorldWideWander 2019 is taking place 20-22 September 2019. Save the date!
“The Wander was so effective, the answers to two questions came to my mind on the session. A powerful technique that will prove hugely beneficial going forward.”
“I was reminded that even though the world and our city is filled with people of so many nationalities, languages, cultures and creeds, there is a place for us all; we all have a contribution to make; we all matter; our stories matter and together we are crafting the world we live in day by day.We need to create more times to wander mindfully, quietly and receptive.It is amazing what one notices when you slow down!”
“ They were reminded of the joy of walking and getting out of their usual routines and neighbourhoods.”
“It’s clarity.You know that feeling of presence you feel when on holiday, when you’re taking in a wondrous moment, when your mind seems to clear and you find inspiration? It’s getting that feeling from an environment that’s easily accessible to you.”
