Derive Day

DERIVE DAY 11.00am 19 JAN 2013

Derive App is a simple but engaging tool to entice users into the exploration of urban space in a random unplanned manner.

Veronica Yow, Kampala Most Striking Observation: Going places you don’t normally go brings with it many little surprises that you may not have come about. I’ve never seen a busker in Kampala before and just as we were on card #32 – Move South, we came across this amazing musician, strumming his guitar and singing with such ease and comfort; he could be on a road in Kampala or in front of a live studio!

Most Common Observation: (you usually missed on a daily basis)

You walk past many buildings each day but most of the time, you never look inside. On this Derive Day, we came across 2 buildings which took us by surprise when we looked a little deeper: • •

Pavilion Mall which is really close to City Square and what I would call an unassuming place but when you enter, its beautiful space & layout with plenty of striking African art décor makes it a real haven at the heart of Kampala; What seemed like just another office building turned out to have such amazing statues and Egyptian pharaonic wall décor. Really shows what you can creatively do with spaces.

Never judge a book by its cover!

“Overall, it was great discovering another side of Kampala which I don’t normally go to and it shows that when you do take the time and throw caution to wind, you’ll never fail to find something that delights you.”

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Dalia Said, Cairo Most Striking Observation: Getting a card with the instructions ‘Find silence in the middle of Cairo’s crazy streets’ and having my brother lead me the other way, crossing the street and into a garden area only to discover that it was a local library I never knew existed! Plus it has beautiful conference room spaces and a children's section that both just made my day!

Most Common Observation: (you usually missed on a daily basis) Seeing these flowers again. I didn't realize they were in Egypt too. I only used to see these flowers and suck on the ends of it for honey when I was growing up in Saudi Arabia... I later googled it and realize they are called Lantana flowers…

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Isabel Dimitrov, Toronto Most Striking Observations: I have always known that something which makes Toronto incredibly special is the "cities" within a city it containsvastly different neighbourhoods with architectural, cultural and social differences. But participating in Derive Day amplified that characteristic of Toronto- with just a short streetcar ride from east to west, I was surrounded by a totally different environment.

Turning left and right onto random little streets caused me to uncover hidden gems- interesting houses, street art for a cause, random encounters with various Torontonians (which unfortunately can't always be captured in a photo!).

I can see myself using Deriveapp on a regular basis- especially as I recently returned to Toronto after spending a number of years abroad. Deriveapp can help you see the city around you with fresh eyes; it can also prompt you to get out of that winter hibernation funk so many of us are going through in the Northern hemisphere.

PS: Where can you find a cat in Toronto?

(Unless you peek into someone's window?!) :)

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Yasmine Khater, Madrid Most Striking Observations: Find a sound, this is one of the lovely street performers that you find in the heart of the city.

I like how that even from nothing, you can make something.

This is the second one, because it was just in the beginning and it got me so curious to continue, because this is a road I walk on everyday.

What a beautiful day when you see a man who cannot see have so much vision.

“I realized that the state of mind I enjoy the most, is the traveling state; because of constant curiosity and always being opened to new things. It is not something that’s so difficult to do but we are always focused on meaningless things that we disregard the beautiful things around us.� http://www.flickr.com/photos/92474329@N03/ 6

Linh Nguyen, Luxembourg Most Striking Observations: favorite moment of the day was :My realizing how beautiful this corner was on a snowy day. The building in the background was the State Savings Bank building (Banque et Caisse d’Epargne de l’Etat), which lies on the other side of Adolphe Bridge, the national symbol of Luxembourg. The discovery was purely coincidental - I were merely trying to follow a person holding a bag and taking a photo of him from afar.

Another coincidence happens when I tried to capture a tree nearby Place d’Armes, a square in the heart of the old town. The photo of the tree turned out to be a lovely moment between a cute couple walking hands in hands a few meter away from me. Their smiles on a chilly winter day remind me that such simple, heartfelt connections exist in this world.

“Not All Art Will Go Down In History” - this quote from Casino Luxembourg, a Forum for Contemporary Art that I encountered during the adventure, captures my thoughts for the day. Not all art will be remembered, just as how urban spaces and human interactions

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I would like to thank the DeriveApp community for a simple, yet powerful idea that brings such treasures to

life.” often went forgotten amidst the chaos of our lives. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ngkhanhlinh/sets/72157632564245592/detail/ 7

Grace Chen, Sweden Most Striking Observations: There are a lot of senior citizen couples who walk around holding hands in Stockholm. It really made me smile seeing so many old couples walk around together and showing love & care to each other.

Most Common Observation: (you usually missed on a daily basis)

The clothes in Stockholm are colourful. I always thought that Swedish people love black and thus the clothes would just be dark and boring. However, every shop I went to had so much red and yellow.

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