Last week, my colleague Vanessa and I were lucky enough to be invited to attend the UK premiere hosted at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
As well as showing the film, the night also hosted talks on the importance of educating girls in developing countries; emphasising the incredible adversity and barriers that are still alarmingly rife in the developing world.

Did you know?

• Globally, 66 million girls are out of school. (UNESCO)
• 80% of all human trafficking victims are girls. (UNFPA)
• There are 33 million fewer girls than boys in primary school (Education First)

These harrowing figures, coupled with the films touching portrayal of nine true stories about girls struggling against poverty, compelled me to share this message:

What does education mean to you?
This question was on the lips of most in attendance, or if not on their lips, then certainly in their minds.

What does it mean to me?
It means opportunity. It means the foundation of how I understand the world and interact with it: who I am as a person.
To think that these basic rights are denied to some, through adversity, poverty and, worst of all, exploitation and inequality should move all who see this film into action.

This film and the girl’s stories offer inspiration and an education to us, the lucky ones, to use this insight as a springboard to take action; to share our new understanding of these issues with the world and make a difference.

Girl Rising can come to your local Cinema!
Take action! Utilise social media, create a group and invite friends who want to watch this film and support the cause. If you can pull together 100 people then Girl rising can come to your local cinema and you too, can make a difference and start to change the world.

This article was written by Richard Mason, Senior Account Manager at WAYN

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Hey guys,

A supercharged adventure is up for grabs!

WAYN has teamed up with our friends at  General Assembly, 3beards and Twilio to give away a trip to visit CERN, the world’s largest particle physics laboratory.

The winner and a friend will receive round-trip airfare, two nights’ accommodation in Geneva, Switzerland, and a tour of the Large Hadron Collider.

For you those of you who love all things scientific, here is some more information…

The Large Hadron Collider is considered by many to be one of the greatest engineering achievements in human history. A creation of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the world’s largest and highest-energy particle accelerator took a decade to build, aided by the collaborative efforts of over 10,000 scientists and engineers from over 100 countries. It is one of the world’s foremost centers dedicated to advancing our understanding of physical laws, in addition to being one of the largest and most complex experimental facilities ever built.

Go big, or stay home.

Have a great week

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We’re excited to announce that WAYN has revealed the top seven dream destinations in the world as chosen by our 21 million users worldwide. The destinations will fight it out for pole position in a user vote this month.

The seven global hot spots are Indonesia, Fiji, South Africa, Dubai, India, Brazil and Turkey.  The nominated destinations (both cities and countries) were selected by employing a combination of market research data and tracking user engagement on WAYN.com.

“Most recently, India saw an increase number of interest, both for business and leisure travels in destinations such as Delhi, Punjab, Uttrakhand and Kashmir” said Jerome Touze, co-founder of WAYN.com.

He added: ‘’Brazil was also voted favorite destinations in Latin America, with 40% of respondents from a panel of 38,000 users saying it would be their first choice in South America. It will be interesting to see which destination ends up number one but being nominated in the top seven is already a great recognition of the work these destinations are doing’’

Dubai is in a very strong position with over 10 million tourists having travelled there in 2012, its highest ever annual visitor figure. The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) revealed a 9.3% increase in the number of visitors to the Emirate in 2012.

Our 21 million users will have the chance to vote for their favourite destination in the next two weeks, out of the seven listed, with prizes up for grabs for those who vote. Additionally, each nominee will receive US$70,000 of marketing promotion globally, out of a US$500,000 marketing contribution from Where Are You Now Ltd.

Touze said ‘I’m extremely excited about this campaign. We are in a unique position whereby we have data on over 21 million users in over 193 countries who communicate regularly with one another about their trip plans – where in the world they want to go and what they want to do when they get there… Going forward, we intend to roll out more leading award recognitions for the travel and tourism industry, so watch this space! ’

An exclusive microsite has been developed for the campaign, which goes live today. The nominated destinations will receive exposure on WAYN, media coverage and further market research insight for their destinations.

WAYN has recently undergone a complete transformation of its platform, generating over 70,000 tips, reviews, trips and activities daily. The site partners with over 50 global tourist boards, airlines, hotels and travel operators as partners and has become one of the world’s leading platforms for driving user engagement and influencing travel decisions.

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We’re really excited to announce that WAYN has teamed up with 10×10 to support Girl Rising, a global action campaign for girls’ education.

At the centre of the campaign is Girl Rising, a feature film which uses the power of storytelling to deliver the key message: Educate Girls and you will change the world. The groundbreaking film tells the stories of 9 extraordinary girls from 9 countries, written by 9 celebrated writers and narrated by 9 renowned actresses. The hugely powerful film will be showing in cinemas around the world, so keep your eyes peeled and visit http://www.wayn.com/profiles/girlsrising to find out if the film is showing near you.

Check out the trailer here:

We are delighted to be supporting this campaign which we believe will resonate with all our users, please visit the Girl Rising profile page on WAYN for more information and to find out how you can show your support for this phenomenal cause!

Best wishes,

The WAYN Team

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Press release, 11 March 2013: Just 24 hours after one of the UK’s biggest travel agents announced closure of hundreds of its high street stores, holiday advice platform WAYN has released results of a recent survey showing that 48% of travellers would not use a traditional travel agent.

WAYN, the world’s largest travel social media platform with over 21 million users, posed questions about holiday habit to over 38,000 members.

 The survey reveals that 48% now use social media when researching holidays and looking for advice on destinations, compared to just 14% who said they would still use a travel agent or guide books.

Traditional guided tours appear to be falling from favour with 49% of travellers opting to make their own sightseeing plans rather than join a specific tour.  Travellers seem to trust social media and other web research tools to arm them with enough detail to plan their trips, without the need of a guide.

Peter Ward from WAYN said: “These results clearly show that traditional methods of researching and organising holidays are falling from favour.  The majority of our members and respondents are aged 25 to 44, showing that social media which historically has been linked to younger travellers is becoming increasingly popular with a slightly older audience.

Ward continues “It is fair to say that the Internet has revolutionised the way that Brits buy travel services. It allows travel companies to publish much more detailed information about resorts, consumers to access the cheapest prices, and sites like ours make it far easier for the public to find out directly what it’s like to holiday in a particular location. All this means that the average Internet user now has more information at their disposal than a typical travel agent could access just five years ago.”

WAYN is the brainchild of Jerome Touze and Peter Ward who came up with the idea after returning from backpacking in 2002.  It is currently the world’s largest travel and lifestyle social media platform with 21 million members in 193 countries.  The focus of WAYN is to assist individuals with making the most out of life by discovering where to go, what to do and who to meet.

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1) We can see on your WAYN profile that you’re going to travel through almost a half of the world on your bike!  Where did this idea come from?

As youngsters, my wife and I were both told we had ‘frivolous imaginations’, always dreaming up wonderful adventures. When we met in Genoa, Italy the birthplace of Christopher Columbus, we could only be expected to keep the tradition going!  As our individual passions lay in athletics and water sports, we wanted to find a sport to pursue together. In 2009, we went on our very first bike ride together; 1,500 miles around the British Isles. Having discovered the ultimate means to travel anywhere in the world, for extended periods and relatively cheaply, we immediately realized the unlimited possibilities that cycle touring can offer.

2) Wow! 18 months sounds like a long trip.  Will you have any companion during your journey?

I will have my beautiful wife Holly alongside me for the whole journey and whoever would like to join us for a stint on the road.

3) You mentioned that WAYN has helped you in realizing some of your plans.  Which of the functionalities have helped you the most?

The ‘who’s around’ function on WAYN has been incredibly helpful in allowing me to contact people from all walks of life. I am fascinated to hear from people from around the world and learn about their culture and local recommendations. I believe WAYN is a fantastic hub for like-minded travelers to share their knowledge and experience.

4) The number of destinations you have marked on your profile as “visited” is outstanding!  What was the best local food you have tested?

I have been lucky enough to have tried so many mouth-watering foods around the world, that this is a particularly difficult choice! However, I think the prize goes to a wonderful tavern that Holly and I came across in Pošćenje, near Šavnik, Montenegro on the edge of the Durmitor National Park. When we asked the owner to recommend the local specialty, we were told to try the ‘hippy lamb’ and the fresh-water trout (caught with bare hands).

“What makes them hippy lambs?” we ask.

The owner replies; “They are happy lambs, they do what they want, eat what they like and roam where ever they wish, it is a very hippy lifestyle!”

The local, authentic cuisine and spectacular surroundings made this an unforgettable find.

5) You also mentioned that you’ve been on the road for the past five years.  Surely, it is a great opportunity for meeting new people. What was the nicest thing you have experienced from a total stranger, if there was any?

During our bicycle tour around the British Isles, after a tough day on the road, we arrived in the city of Kilmarnock, Scotland, slightly disheveled and looking for a place to camp.  Along came a couple of whom later became known as Danny and Eileen.  The ex-publicans offered us to stay with them at their home in Troon, another 15km from Kilmarnock.  We could not resist such a wonderful offer, so we pedaled ferociously to make it before dark.  Upon arrival we had hot soup, red wine and an offer to the local beer festival that was celebrating Robert Burn’s 250^th anniversary! We had a fabulous evening of dancing, local ales and great company, with a warm bed to boot.

6) Here at WAYN we love fancy gadgets.  Are you going to use any during your trip?

YES!  Please check the ‘Equipment and Reviews’ page on our website for tech spec on all the gadgets that we are taking with us.

Our favorite gadgets are ‘The Plug’ by Supernova, which is a USB charging device, powered by a front dynamo hub. Creating our own electricity by cycling, that’s how we roll!

We are also loving the super light and super small ‘Omni-fuel stove’ from Primus. This little gem can burn any kind of fuel you can get your hands on!

Also, we can not bypass our Enigma custom steel bike frames being meticulously hand-crafted as we speak. We look forward to putting them to the challenge!

7) This is sounds like challenge to be followed with bated breath! Do you think we could expect some updates on your WAYN profile?

YES!  We shall be offering live updates throughout our journey, here on WAYN and also via our blog on our website.

We wish David and his wife, Holly all the best on their amazing adventure, we look forward to reading their updates from the road!!

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 18 February 2013: WAYN, the world’s largest travel and lifestyle social network that re-launched last week, has some good news for lovebirds recovering from Valentine’s Day: the majority of 15,310 of the website’s members polled this month claim they would never cheat on their partner. The survey questioned WAYN users in 176 countries and the results suggest that French and Italian men are more likely to cheat than their British neighbours, and most people regard sending flirty texts as worse than sharing emotional closeness.

Almost half of Italian men claimed to have cheated on their partner – with more admitting to multiple cheats than a one-off. In France, over 30% of men responded to say they had cheated on their partner at least once. Closer to home, women can take heart, perhaps, that 73% of men in the UK said they had never cheated.

But beware those of you who have strayed as the survey shows that 32% of people would never forgive their partner if they cheated, while 56% would forgive but never forget.

Peter Ward, Co-founder of WAYN, said: “Our survey proves that it if you stray from your partner whether through sex texting, kissing or confiding emotionally, you’re unlikely to be forgiven, so it’s best to avoid straying if you value your relationship!”

The majority of respondents claim to be faithful and believe their partner to be, too. However, once cheated upon – four times as many men admit to it than women – many seek revenge, and whilst some have taken the extreme step of cutting up their partner’s clothes, most of the broken hearted find that breaking up to move on is the best step.

The survey revealed that partners should perhaps be most wary when their lover travels abroad for business or on holiday, as more than half of respondents admit they’d consider cheating when in a different country. And bad news for ladies: 48% of men claim they would cheat while on a stag do…their own or a friend’s!

Ward said: “Our light-hearted survey suggests that people around the world have different attitudes to fidelity in relationships, with the Latin lovers of Europe living up to their lothario reputations and flirty texts being seen as more of a betrayal than sharing emotional closeness. Here at WAYN travellers love sharing views – whether about relationships, cultural nuances, business etiquette or specific events and locations – and as a result benefit from gaining a global perspective.”

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The new site helps users on a journey of “destination discovery”, provoking inspiration on where to travel to next as well as what to do when you get there and who to connect with to make the most of your experience.

Peter Ward, CEO and Co-Founder of WAYN said: “We are extremely proud of the new platform, which whilst only 10% of the vision, is designed to encourage users to share their experiences, meet people and discover the best places to go to as well as what to do once they get there. We have re-built parts of the site from the ground up, consulting our users at every stage. A selection of current and new users have had the opportunity to test the site in advance, to ensure that we get the first version of the new vision, absolutely right. Now, engaging with locals, experienced travellers who’ve been and budding jet-setters who want to go to any destination, has never been easier. ”

The platform includes a Pinterest-style wall, in the context of every destination around the world, showcasing not only pictures added by users of that destination, but also who lives there, who has been and who wants to go, as well as tips and questions added by users, places to visit and more. Members of the platform can search or browse any destination and filter it by their WAYN, Facebook and Foursquare networks with a click of a button, so that they can quickly find recommendations on where to go and what to do, based on what others have already experienced. Users can also filter the results by people or content type, making it easy to find what they are looking for, by destination. Content that they like can be pinned to their profile and eventually, they will be able to create customised collections of their favourite things and share them with others.

WAYN currently has over 50 global tourist boards, airlines, hotels and travel operators as partners and has become one of the world’s leading platforms for driving user engagement and influencing travel decisions. The re-launch of the platform has drawn interest in the industry from reputable brands, the launch partners include the likes of Gauteng Tourism, Indonesia Tourism, Roomwise and Topdeck Travel to name but a few.

With headquarters in London and a team in Poland, WAYN now has a global network of offices in Cape Town; New York and most recently in Delhi, via its partnership with India Today Group (ITG). WAYN currently boasts over 21 million members, 15 million visits per month while 70,000 trips and activities are added each day, establishing the site as the world’s largest travel and lifestyle social media platform.

Peter Ward said “We believe that we are on the road to developing the next generation social travel platform. The re-launch is the first step; we have numerous exciting features still to be released over the coming months. Our focus in the past has been on connecting people, whereas our focus is now on building a recommendation engine for where to go and what to do, as well as who to meet”

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We hope that those of you who indulged in pancakes last night enjoyed them, check out WAYN blogger V-Dog’s take on Pancake Day here: All Hail Pancake Day – How Do You Eat Yours?

Pancake Day also signals the start of lent, which lasts for six weeks/40 days, leading up to Easter. Lent is traditionally a time for giving things up and is very much a test of self-disciple. We did a quick poll in the the WAYN office today and it seems the most popular things to give up for lent are:

1.  Chocolate

2.  Twitter

3.  Alcohol

4.  Swearing

5.  Takeaways

Are you planning to give anything up for lent? Do you think you’ll be able to manage the whole 40 days? Let us know!

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Milan:  Walking around Milan you feel as though you’re on the set of a high end fashion shoot. The Milanese  look is perfectly preened, high heels and designer items are essential. Milan is home to a number of flagship stories including Armani, Versace, Dolce and Gabanna, Ermenegildo Zegna, Missoni and Moschino to name but a few.The best shopping can be found in the adjoining streets north of the Duomo known collectively as the Quadrilatero d’Oro (Golden Quadrilateral): Via Montenapoleone, Della Spiga, Via Borgospesso, and Via Sant’Andrea. It’s also worth checking out the Garibaldi area which is the trendy new place to live, eat and shop.  We’d also recommend that you visit the city’s outlet stores for cut price catwalk fashion, many of the outlets are stocked full of items at a 50-70% discount. Also for the devoted bargain hunters arrange a visit in January or July when the end of season sales take place.

 Tokyo: is a shopaholics paradise, from the latest electronics to trendy fashion and traditional shoppers there is something for everyone. Bright colours and eccentric details are the name of the game in Tokyo. Head to Shinjuku, one of Tokyo’s largest shopping and entertainment districts or if high end fashion and art galleries are more your thing Ginza is the place for you, Apple also has a store here with all the latest high tech gadgets.

Berlin: If you’re a lover of vintage fashion, then be sure to check out Berlin’s fashion scene. Numerous flea markets offer second hand clothes at bargain basement prices, there’s a gem just waiting to be found!   It is also worth visiting Kurfurstendamm which is the city’s most lively and famous shopping area. There are over 100 shops and restaurants to choose from, with lots of interesting side streets to explore.  Also worth exploring is the Kaufhaus des Westens – KaDeWe Berlin’s most celebrated department store. Other shopping regions nearby are the elegant Uhland-Passage and the Kempinski Plaza. There is something for everyone in Berlin, from exclusive and upmarket to cheap and cheerful.

Delhi: is fast becoming a centre for fashion. The fabric patterns and use of colour are having an impact on fashion around the world. The markets around Delhi are a feast for your senses, check out the fabric, jewellery and carpets among numerous other delights!  Away from the markets, Connaught Place is Delhi’s leading shopping complex offering wide range of fashion accessories, books, electronic commodities and handicrafts.

New York: Arguably the best shopping destination in the world and home to legendary department stores Macy’s, Barneys, Bloomingdales and Saks. The stores are full of designer goods and you can window shop to your heart’s content.  You should also explore the open air markets dotted around the city including the Green Flea Market.  If you’re travelling with children or just want to unleash your inner child head to famous NYC toy stores FAO Schwarz and Kidding Around. We’d also recommend you check out the seriously hip meatpacking district which has been transformed into a cool area with excellent bars and quirky shops – ideal people watching territory!

WAYNERS, do you have any other recommended destinations for fashion?

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