Have you ever felt alone in a city full of people? - COMMONAUTS

When we were children we used to make friends wherever we went. It was very easy and natural to get close to talk and play with other kids, even without knowing them.

We were taught not to talk with strangers. As we grew, little by little we started taking this more seriously. The result is a society that is each time more divided.

Cities are full of strangers. Everyday we see thousands in public spaces – people we don't know, people with great stories to tell. People with interests, ideas and passions. People like you and me.

However, few are the times that we get close to talk to any of those strangers.

We prefer to hide behind our mobile devices rather than saying 'hi' to the person that is right next to us.

We all have topics that we love to chat about, things we enjoy and that put us in a good mood. What would happen if we just talked to strangers starting with these topics? Imagine the possibilities!

COMMONAUTS is an urban intervention initiative and a social tool, designed to encourage face to face conversations between strangers in public spaces and other social environments of common interest such as open air festivals, cafés, plazas, bars, art exhibitions or popup markets.

Just write a topic onto the COMMONAUTS sticker and stick it to yourself. Something you like, something that you are an expert in, something that inspires you, an idea, or simply a question – anything that is relevant to you.

By wearing the sticker you are not just symbolising that you are open to have a conversation with others, you are also giving them a topic of your interest to start with. Say hi to those strangers around you, simply by asking, 'What's your topic?' and letting them tell you more about it.
That way, you get into a conversation with someone you hadn't known a second ago, and the best thing is that you don't even have to talk about the weather!

COMMONAUTS as a project launched in 2015 and is based in Madrid (Spain), created by two young audiovisual artists, Tom and Alex, from Austria and Mexico. By living and travelling in different countries, they found out that it was always hard to connect deeply with people in places you were new at:

'You always start with small talks that most of the time don't make you connect in a meaningful way with the person you are getting to know. Something must change!'

'We want to meet those strangers that we see everyday in the city, and to create a social movement, intervening in urban spaces and inviting the people to talk to each other in spots they are already at. Great things can surge from a simple chat.'

COMMONAUTS stickers in 3 colours

COMMONAUTS has already launched in Spain and Austria, intervening in all kinds of venues with this concept. Now the creators want to expand this project to other countries.

At the moment they are looking for support by running a crowdfunding campaign. If you support this project on Kickstarter, you receive stickers and unique gifts in return, like the "Home Party pack", to bring COMMONAUTS to your own celebrations, or even packages and services for event organisers and your own bar or venue.

Small actions can lead to big changes. Follow COMMONAUTS on facebook and support this project on Kickstarter!

http://www.facebook.com/COMMONAUTS

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/commonauts/commonauts-talk-to-those-strangers-around-you