Turkey 22.09.

Açık Sokaklar Günü ( Open Streets Day) etkinliğine katılmak ya da detaylı bilgi almak için Dr. Asli Kaya (aslikaya86@gmail.com) ve Envercevko (envercevko@hotmail.com) adresleri ile iletişime geçebilirsiniz. Koordinator kurum web sitesi: http://www.envercevko.org/

ENVERÇEVKO planned a few seminar for the OSD campaigns. We will motivate the municipalites to make a partnership with governmental bodies, CSOs, academics, and also private sectors.

There will be organised big flagship events in Mugla, İzmir, Eskişehir, Didim, Bursa, Burdur, Bilecik and Istanbul.

The Open Streets Day event in Istanbul will carry out some walks called WHITE NIGHTS -Women in Darkness and Cities.

It is the search for the right to use the city freely, not only to reach from place to place after dark, to walk to discover, to live and to share the city. This event intends to be made women visible in the city through walks and to encourage women to make walking practice without any specific reason in the city, even in the night. We’ll make the night white again. What are the women afraid to do in the city at night because they are out of sight? How do interactions differ when compared to daytime? What are the foundations of a gender-based distinction between day and night city use, even in ‘safe’ cities? What is the night meaning for women, how do women experience walk in the city?

The walks will take place in parallel times in Athens and Istanbul. We'll move with up to 10 women for each walk. An activity will be practiced during walks or in breathing time. It can be singing, reading poetry, playing a participatory game and so on. One of the participants will organize each walk and be the coordinator and then the coordinator of the walk will plan the activity as well. The organizer can take us to the place where she is most afraid of walking, allowing us to explore a place where she wonders at night or tell us her favorite spot to walk in the city. The walks will begin with a meeting at a location close to the beginning of the night walk. We’ll be discussing about walk in the city and at night and we’ll talk about our route and program. Then we will move together.

Sharing this experience will encourage each of us to walk in the city and about night. We’ll be facing our fear about city, walk and night as women. We’ll comment on the possibility of walking in the city. We’ll reclaim the public space again and again. We’ll support each of us to make the night easy for us. We’ll open our creativity during the walks by diverse activities. All night, we’ll be recording the walks as sound and as video. We’ll take photos and we’ll note diary of night. We’ll share them on ‘White Nights’ website to encourage other cities and women to walk in the cities and share their experiences.

Contact person:	Dr. Aslı Kaya (Ms)
Email Address:	aslikaya86@gmail.com
Website:	http://www.envercevko.org/

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The concept of Open Streets Day is built into the name of the project: on 22 September 2019 public streets and urban areas of European cities will be transformed into venues for recreational physical activity. Local community members are invited to take the initiative and organise events that are relevant and interesting to residents of their area. As an organiser, you are free to choose an event theme ranging from simple ideas, like rope-skipping contests, to something more elaborate like a mass participation cycling ride.

With the Car-Free Day also scheduled on 22 September as a part of EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK, Open Streets Day events may take advantage of the already existing road closures and make the experience even more memorable by letting residents discover their neighbourhood from a different perspective.

Serving as a bridge between European Mobility Week and European Week of Sport, Open Streets Day will promote environmentally-friendly modes of active transport, as well as encourage citizens to celebrate the joy of being active. Open Streets means opening up the public space to movement which also means open minds – and that is why the events are meant to be accessible and enjoyable for everyone.