A 7-year adventure round the world
Out of Eden Walk is a remarkable exercise in slow journalism
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Out of Eden Walk is a remarkable exercise in slow journalism Founded by Paul Salopek, a foreign correspondent who has twice won the Pulitzer Prize, Out of Eden Walk is a storytelling project that involves slowing down and experiencing things mindfully. It will take place over a 7 year, 21,000 mile journey by foot – of which two and a half years are already completed – and retrace the path of the first humans’ migration out of Ethiopia and around the globe, ending at the tip of South America. The organisation has recently completed a Kickstarter funding goal in order to finance the rest of the journey. “The walk is a 7 year journey around the world,” explains Susan Goldberg, Editor-in-Chief of National Geographic. “But what it really is is a way of seeing the world in a slow and deep way: to take readers and viewers and listeners inside the story so they can really understand who people are in the world and where they come from.” Though a remarkable feat on its own, the actual walking is far from the point of Salopek’s endeavour, with a team of people behind him working to bring his slow journalism to the world. The method is a way of immersing the reader in a culture and reporting on the story in great detail. So far the journey has gone far beyond journalism, growing to encompass translation, map-making and education, as well as becoming a teaching model for journalism students. Here at Protein it's Travel Week, and we've had a look at some of our favourite travel innovators; publications (& and Holiday) and explorers (Unknown Fields Division). Still hungry for more? Sign up for our weekly supplement featuring the latest news, profiles, features and innovation
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