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* Tell your favorite hitchhiking / travel / nomad blog author to write about it
* Organize a pre-meeting (can be early like May/June/July to raise attention and connect people)
* Invent Translate a ready-made article in your local language and offer it to newspapers ===Ready-made articles===A couple of contributions from Tomi (--[[User:Astikain|Astikain]] 01:17, 17 July 2012 (CEST)). Feel free to edit and/or translate as you see fit. Send to your local newspapers, magazines and e-zines! ====The driver-perspective==== '''Picking up a hitchhiker - a good deed for yourself''' Having been exposed to constant mass media fear-mongering, it doesn't come as a surprise that people, in general, don't trust each other anymore. This is self-evident to those modern day hitchhikers who, regardless of being told to be afraid, are still courageous enough to take to the road. You don't have to pick up a hitchhiker - they've chosen to be on the road - but if you do, it can prove to be a very positive experience! Here five reasons to pick up hitchhikers (or five excuses not to). '''''”I just go a short distance”'''''Many of us behind the wheel are not aware of the fact that a five-kilometer distance equals to one hour of walking. Usually a hitchhiker is happy to go even a short distance. Maybe there is a better spot where the hitchiker gets the next long ride, thanks to you. '''''”I don't really have time/space”'''''Outside the White Nights of the Northern hemisphere summer, daylight is the most precious asset to a hitchhiker. Mind you, a human being approaching you on a dark gas station is no different from a day-time traveler. A hitchhiker doesn't mind going fast and a travel buddy doesn't slow you down. A hitchhiker doesn't require luxury neither. Just a small space to sit will suffice because most are traveling light. And on a long journey you can ask your fellow traveler to take the wheel as long as they have had enough rest and are in a possession of a valid driver's license. '''''”Someone else will give a ride”'''''Many think that truckers always help hitchhikers. Contemporary truck companies, however, often have insurance policies that prohibit extra passengers, even if the driver was willing to help. ”He can always take the bus” is not a good excuse either because going from place A to place B with no money involved is just one of the motives to hitch. Getting to know new slogan people, a sense of adventure and developing your character are hardly reasons to travel by bus. '''''”I don't give rides to strangers”'''''A hitchhiker is always grateful for the ride and sits next to you with a smile. Due to the challenging nature of the hobby, hitchhikers are typically very sociable creatures with thousands of stories to tell. Many enjoy having a hitchhiker so much that, after the ride, they invite him for a bite or even to lay down his head. For some a Facebook friendship will suffice. Others confide to a hitchhiker so openly that they prefer to end the therapy session at the end of the ride. In any case, you are no longer strangers once the car comes to a halt. The driver decides the limits: whether we should go in deep conversations and get to know each other profoundly, or whether it is better to talk about the weather and to listen to the radio. '''''”I'm too afraid”'''''If riding a heavy fast-moving metal object alone doesn't make you scared then it shouldn't happen in good company either. Fear is the silliest reason not to stop for this yeara hitchhiker because it's usually unfounded. Statistically speaking, most people die in their homes and the most dangerous people are those closest to you. Getting to know a hitchhiker is a free means to rid yourself of unfounded fears. Hitchhikers are rather healers than killers. Of course you can continue the list of excuses ad infinitum and make yourself believe that picking up a hitchhiker is not worth the risk. ”You hardly see them anymore” or ”I can't make that quick decisions” are poor excuses if you make the decision right now: Will you pick up a hitchhiker when the next chance arises? Time around the European Hitchhikers' Meeting (4-8-12) is a great chance to see a hitchhiker! Get ready! It can be one of the coolest experiences of your life! http THE AUTHOR: Tomi Astikainen- Education: Master of Science (Economics and Business Administration)- Hitch-experience://hitchwikiover 100,000 km, ca 30 countries, more than 1,500 drivers- Motto: Love the universe and it will love you back- Monthly budget: 0 Euros- More info: www.tomiastikainen.com & www.hitchgathering.org/en/index.php?title ====The hitchhiker-perspective===Hitchgathering/2011/Slogan&action=edit
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