We hope that by now all of you will have checked out the amazing Girl Rising profile on WAYN showcasing the moving and poignant documentary film of the same name.

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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Hi guys,

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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Hi guys,

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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TRADITIONAL TRAVEL AGENTS LOSE OUT TO ONLINE SOURCES

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.

Ends

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