FAQs
What is the World Wide Wander?
The World Wide Wander was founded almost ten years ago by David Pearl and Street Wisdom as a global day of wandering and wonder. It’s taken different forms across that time. Last year we wandered from Sunset to Sunrise, creating a 12-hour Wanderthon from 8am UK time to 8pm UK time. This year, we’re going to host as many in-person Walkshops as possible, while still keeping a central online element so we can all connect and share our stories. It’s all day, all around the world. What’s not to love?
What is a Walkshop?
A Walkshop is a guided walking workshop, led by a Street Wisdom facilitator who coaches you through the wonder-sparking practice. You can use your phone out on the street (camera facing outwards if you can) or inside your home if outside isn’t feasible.
A Walkshop has three parts:
TUNE-UP. A series of short exercises that are designed to “tune-up” your senses so you can tune in to the world around you.
QUEST. Here you choose a question you would like some fresh thinking on and then set off in search of insights, ideas and answers, looking for signs and signals from the streets or space you explore.
SHARE. Everyone gathers back together again and shares insights or listens to others.
Once you’ve learnt the technique, you can use the practice again and again on your own!*
Who it’s for?
A Walkshop is for anyone and everyone! It’s also especially good for you if you:
🚶♂️ Have tried mindfulness and love it but also want to go a bit further (or are sometimes a bit fidgety)
🚶♀️ Love being outdoors and walking for the joy of it, while also being curious and outward facing
🚶♂️ Want to boost your wonder and awe, knowing it's a vital way to keep generous and empathic
🚶🏽♂️ Run a business, or lead projects, or work freelance or as part of a team and want some innovative ideas to get one step ahead
🚶♀️ Want to not just survive but also thrive and take control of your wellbeing and future
🚶🏽♂️ Love connecting with strangers and making new connections - #netwalking not #networking!
🚶♂️ Are not quite sure what's round the corner for you in life more generally and would love some fresh inspiration
🚶🏽♂️ Love practising a tried-and-tested technique that's informed by the latest neuroscience, creativity and wellness theory and easy to build into everyday life
So is it online or in-person, or both?
The World Wide Wander is both online and in-person! All the sessions for the online live-streamed programme run via Zoom (you will be sent a link nearer the day). You can join as many online Walkshops as you like across the day. But it’s also an in-person event and in 2024 we’re aiming to host as many in-person Walkshops as possible, all day, all around the world!
And when do I join?
Check out the programme and find the session that’s best for you, whether it’s one of our in-person Walkshops near you, or one of our online sessions, which anyone can join from anywhere.
OK, I want to take part in the Online Programme out on the streets… so I’II use my phone?
Yes, great! Make sure you’ve got the Zoom app on your phone. And remember to fully charge your phone! At the relevant time, click on the link we’ll send you just before, and you’re off. It’s lovely if you can share your camera - so we can see your world. It’s also of course absolutely fine to join with your camera off. It’s worth checking it works beforehand if you’re new to Zoom on your phone.
I want to take part in the Online Programme, but from indoors - is that OK?
More than OK! You are so welcome to join the World Wide Wander from indoors. The Street Wisdom practice applies to indoors as much as it does outdoors (and as much to natural settings as it does urban ones). There’s so much wisdom all around us, if we stop and notice. Join from your phone or laptop, again make sure you’re OK with Zoom. It’s lovely to share your camera so we can see you, but also no problem if not.
Can I start indoors and then go outdoors?
Absolutely, yes you can! That’s a great way to save on mobile phone battery too. You can start indoors on your laptop, say, and then - during the Quest part of the Walkshop (about half way in) - move over to your phone to do that bit outdoors. It’s all super flexible!
I want to take part in the In-Person Programme!
Great! Sign up for one of our many in-person Walkshops as part of this year’s programme, and you’ll receive all the info you need - where to go, what time it starts etc. On the day, simply turn up a few minutes before the meeting time at the meeting point and get curious! If you do take part in an in-person Walkshop, we’d really appreciate it if you could share your experience on social media, or tell a friend. We rely on word of mouth to help spread the curiosity!
I’m interested in being a in-person Walkshop host, what does it involve?
We’d love you host an in-person Walkshop as part of the World Wide Wander! This involves setting up a time and place for your Walkshop (in an area you know and love ideally, and that’s got lots of potential inspiration all around!). We’ll create a booking page for you so that people can book onto your Walkshop. On the day, you’ll then greet your participants, introduce them to Street Wisdom and the World Wide Wander, before setting them off on the three-part Walkshop process (the Tune Ups, the Quest, the Sharing). Don’t worry, we’ll equip you with all the info you need and we’ll have online sessions you can join led by the Street Wisdom team to connect and learn how to facilitate a Walkshop.
If you’d like to host a Walkshop as part of this year’s World Wide Wander, contact Philip.
I’m interested in hosting a Gathering for the online programme, what’s that?
We pioneered this last year with our partner, Choose To Be Curious, and it worked really well. This is where, like an in-person Walkshop, you host a group of people, in-person, in an area you know and love and which you think will provide rich stimulus. But rather than you leading the Walkshop, you gather your group, bring everyone together with a warm introduction, and then help everyone switch on their phones, pop on their headphones/airpods and make sure everyone is able to sign into the online Walkshop you’re all joining as part of the World Wide Wander programme using Zoom. (You don’t need to be a technical whizz as we’ll help people get prepared before the Walkshop.)
Your group then participates in the online Walkshop from the start to finish, just like anyone else online, the difference being most people online are in separate places, whereas you and your group are in the same place! Once the online Walkshop is over, you then gather your group back and have your own in-person Sharing to reflect on the experience.
If you’d like to host a Gathering, please contact Philip.
Why are you doing the World Wide Wander? And how is it free?
Ha, good question! The World Wide Wander’s mission is to help people all over the world find solutions to some of the big hairy challenges we’re all facing right now…and we believe that by using the power of our collective imaginations, we can all find fresh insight and make better choices in life. Helping our planet become a happier and healthier place for everyone. This mission powers the World Wide Wander team to dedicate their time for free.
Are you hopeful about the state of the world?
Even though at times we all feel despair at the state of the world, the World Wide Wander believes that we must hold onto hope. And by coming together to celebrate the power of creativity and firing up our imaginations, we have an opportunity to create impactful change. We really believe in the power of walking for imagination, which is to say, walking that not only does us good, makes us feel good, and connects us with people and the environment around us, but walking - or as we like to say wandering - that helps us find fresh answers, source inspiration, solve longstanding problems, find new insights. Going for a walk today might be one of the most meaningful things we can do!
What is Street Wisdom about?
Street Wisdom is an everyday creative practice you use as you walk. A smart fusion of mindfulness, neuroscience and wellness, it unlocks our minds and unblocks our creativity with every step. The brainchild of David Pearl, an innovator in business, the arts and social change, David spent years exploring how our urban environment can deliver fresh insight, and in 2013 he set up the first Street Wisdom WalkShop in London.
Since then, the movement has grown to 73 countries and counting, led by volunteers sharing the power of Street Wisdom free of charge through communities across the globe.
*And finally…keeping everyone safe…all World Wide Wander events are run by volunteers and participants take part at their own risk. Whilst any personal injury or loss is unlikely, we encourage participants to remain vigilant when out on the streets, the World Wide Wander is not liable for any injury or loss caused when taking part in a World Wide Wander activity.