eylem:duygu

Shared Walks is an initiative that creates encounters by walking in public space. It connects people to walk together, initiates social interactions and creates possibilities for the appropriation of space and participa­tion in segregated societies. The Shared Walks card set is a toolkit for participation in the urban context. It opens a playful space for the exploration of the environment and others by walking. Participants walk together in pairs, collect and share observations, impres­sions, thoughts, feelings, memories, stories, associations etc, and map their city from dif­ferent perspectives. Different types of walks propose minor changes to the way we usually walk to pave the way to an appropriation of places, get in relation to others and trigger self-awareness. Shared Walks card set deals with themes re­lated to senses, perceptions and bodily experiences in public space; personal memories and social histories for collective imagination and narration; personal limits in relation to others in society; awareness of the cultural diversity in cities; discovering the symbolic dimensions of physical spaces; and finding comfort in people and places by exploring and discovering public spaces.

Shared Walks was initiated by Eylem Ertürk in collaboration with Bernd Rohrauer in Vienna in 2018. Logo Design by Raphael Volkmer.

Shared Walks Card Set includes 30 different walks related to 6 thematic areas: Senses Alive, Fiction/Nonfiction, Personal Limits, Cultural Traces, Invisible Spaces and Comfort Zones. Themes provide the basic structure and highlight the main issues that Shared Walks deals with. There are 5 different walks under each theme, which have a primary relation to that subject. It is suitable for use in community building, neighbourhood mapping, local participation, awareness raising, social inclusion, non-formal learning, knowledge sharing, team building, networking, socio-spatial research etc.

Shared Walks was developed through public events organised in collaboration with different organisa­tions. Researching the question “How can we walk with others?”, the initial phase of Shared Walks was designed as Walking Research Laboratories. The second phase focused on local interactions through Neighbourhood Mapping. Since 2018, Shared Walks walkshops and roundtables have been realised in collaboration with different local organisations, within festivals or walking/research conferences.