Careables goes Olinda

Careables goes Olinda

By Theresa FendNo Comments
Careables is a community of makers and users of open-source, collaborative hardware innovations that can be easily replicated globally via 3D printing and other forms of fabrication. Careables is an international platform collaboration that enables citizens to co-design and deliver people-centred health products through means of digital fabrication The aim of the work package of Careables Latin America in Olinda is to engage stakeholder communities, bring these existing communities together and connect them in the field of open source healthcare solutions. The engagement focuses on both local levels as well as global engagement activities. The partners LabCOCO, FabLabOLinda (Both in Olinda city) and LabProComum (city of Santos) function as the hubs to connect to local communities of citizens with (physical) healthcare needs, carers, and public healthcare professionals with the community of makers and medical herbalists. Each hub executes a specifically tailored program for their local context to identify the needs of these communities, but also sensitise the active involvement of citizens in the...
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LAB Procomum: Creating a citizen innovation Lab to promote the commons

LAB Procomum: Creating a citizen innovation Lab to promote the commons

By Theresa FendNo Comments
LAB Procomum is a citizen innovation laboratory maintained by Instituto Procomum since 2017 in Santos, São Paulo State, Brazil. In partnership with Bela Baderna the Lab produced a short video capturing some of the core projects and stories. Find out what it's like to build a citizen innovation laboratory dedicated to the promotion of commons, to prototyping solutions to daily problems and improving people’s lives: https://youtu.be/kK_8VTZcXwo English and Spanish subtitles available. Originally published at Lab Procomum. ...
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Radio Amnesia: Support Indigenous Communication in Brazil

Radio Amnesia: Support Indigenous Communication in Brazil

By Theresa FendNo Comments
Amnesia is a network of free radios, web sites and itinerant radio experiences that believe in access to media production and content dissemination as a tool to achieve the fundamental rights of life in society, especially for indigenous and original communities. We aim to build a secure and private communication network for the thousands of indigenous communities and traditional people inside Brazilian territory, providing these communities with tools and training for private and secure communication. Furthermore, hosting platforms that can help to propagate local cultures, strongly characterized in their oral form since the pre-Columbian period in the Americas and during the later African diaspora miscegenation. So, it expects to actively contribute to the preservation of Brazilian indigenous practices and inheritances and to foster the safe dissemination of traditional knowledge and wisdom, ensuring South America’s native populations their right to freedom and expression. The Amnesia Network of Free Radios has been acting in indigenous and traditional communities in northeastern Brazil for eight years. Since...
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#BorgaLife: Our Innovators and Migration project is coming to a close

#BorgaLife: Our Innovators and Migration project is coming to a close

By Theresa FendNo Comments
Over the course of the past six months we implemented our project “Young Innovators: Using Digital Media to inform about Regular and Irregular Migration Issues”. Together with our partner organisations Kumasi Hive, Impact Hub Accra and Wikimedia Ghana User Group and with the support of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, we aimed at improving the information base on business and knowledge exchange related travel for young Innovators. Globally about 28.2 million international migrants are aged 15 to 24 and live outside their birth country for various reasons (United Nations, 2017) and the issues of innovation, technology and migration are mentioned in 9 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reflecting their significance in economic development and advancing people’s lives (IOM, 2018). Young people’s migration has a crucial role in fostering innovation. Their movements does not only improve their personal potential and capabilities, but contribute to creating opportunities for those around them (UN Development Program, 2009), bringing knowledge and new...
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What’s Next: Outcomes from DOTS. The Impact Summit

What’s Next: Outcomes from DOTS. The Impact Summit

By Theresa FendNo Comments
At DOTS. The Impact Summit that took place in Nakuru, Kenya from December 5-7, we used the power of a gathering to co-create and kick off long-term projects that offer collaborative solutions to systemic problems in different localities. Here come some of the outcomes: Data Sensitivity (with Tactical Tech) Tactical Tech is an international NGO that engages with citizens and civil-society organisations to explore and mitigate the impacts of technology on society. One of their current flagship projects is The Glass Room: a multi-format interactive exhibition in several versions including the Community Edition. It has travelled the world to expose the data trails we leave and to increase public awareness and contribute to the dynamic education on this topic. In the Glass Room Community Edition, a pop-up exhibition explores how society is dealing with the growing dependency on data and technology. Tactical Tech, GIG and the organizations represented at DOTS created a joint strategy to develop a Global Hub Edition of the Glassroom...
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This was DOTS. The Impact Summit!

This was DOTS. The Impact Summit!

By Theresa Fend1 Comment
Climate change, economic inequality and political divisions are only becoming more pressing challenges in the whole world. As a network of networks, hubs and innovative individuals, we want to jointly implement change through concrete and tangible projects. At DOTS, we used the power of a gathering to co-create concrete projects that offer collaborative solutions to systemic problems in different localities. From the 5th to the 7th of December, over 60 people from all across the world gathered in Nakuru, Kenya for DOTS. The Impact Summit, hosted by the ​Global Innovation Gathering (GIG)​, and ​r0g Agency for Open Culture and Critical Transformation (r0g).​ The objective of the summit was to link various hubs, activists, entrepreneurs and innovators across the Global North and South that use technology to address such systemic challenges as Conflict and Migration, Civic Engagement, Healthcare, Data Protection & Digital Privacy, and the Sustainability of maker spaces. DOTS. The Impact Summit was a new, impact and output driven event...
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Job alert: Project and Communications Coordinator

Job alert: Project and Communications Coordinator

By Theresa FendNo Comments
Part time for 3 years; apply until January 5th. Would you like to shape global cooperation, advance citizen social science globally and raise awareness for participatory research? Then we look forward to your application! The Global Innovation Gathering (GIG) is a community of innovation hubs, makerspaces, hackerspaces and other grassroot innovation community spaces and initiatives as well as individual innovators, makers, technologists and changemakers. GIG is pursuing a new vision for global cooperation based on equality, openness and sharing. In January 2020, we will start implementing a 3-year project on participatory social science, as part of a consortium with 8 other partners in the EU Horizon 2020 funded project “CoAct”. The project aims to engage vulnerable citizens and local civil society groups in Research and Innovation initiatives. GIG will be responsible for the coordination of communication, dissemination and exploitation of project results (WP8, please see expert from the project proposal below). The objectives of our work in the project are to disseminate CoAct results and build a global sustainable Citizen Social...
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Plastic for Good

Plastic for Good

By Theresa Fend4 Comments
At re:publica 2019, GIG member Nidhi Mittal from India was nominated to participate in the Plastic For Good challenge organized by Distributed Design Market Platform, co-funded by Creative Europe to work with Precious Plastic in Eindhoven and beta test their new sheets & beams made out of recycled plastic and design products using their brand new version 4 machines. “The product that I had made is a portable, convertible backpack+desk along with two fellow makers, Augustin and Moritz. We explored the qualities and possibilities of beams made out of recycled plastic.” Nidhi Mittal Backpack with integrated desk made by Nidhi, Augustin and Moritz Image courtesy: Distributed design market platform Many of the things which are taken for granted in schools of developed countries such as bags, books, desks, and chairs are often considered a privilege in developing countries. Most of the schools in rural parts of India lack these basic amenities which results in kids carrying heavy books in flimsy plastic...
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Digitally Speaking

Digitally Speaking

By Theresa FendNo Comments
Digitally Speaking, the Wearable tech project for the safety of Women by Nidhi Mittal and Avik Dhupar was selected as one of the top 14 creative projects in the Distributed Design market platform award in association with Index awards! They got a chance to present their project and talk about GIG at 'We make the City' conference which was held in Amsterdam in June,2019 Read more about the project and awards here. ...
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The Optics of the Commons

The Optics of the Commons

By Theresa FendNo Comments
"The commons is what gives meaning to our existence" Kum'tum Akroá-Gamella, from the Akroá-Gamella people, state of Maranhão, northeast of Brazil. We believe that the commons, in its multiple perspectives, is an essential kaleidoscope concept for facing this historic moment of hopelessness, in Brazil and in the world. The Optics of the Commons series brings together sixteen short episodes featuring voices and ideas from young experts and activists. In the videos, they address different perspectives on living and making communities based on a diversity of studies, practices and experiences. Seen together, the approaches produce inspiring resonances. Taking inspiration from these words, the Procomum Institute invites everyone to reflect and question our ways of existing, living and building relationships. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a7emZKVF4w&list=PLz53SY9iZdF55YaAXY2S-kVlpIBi4623a Watch and share! Let's talk about how together we can dream - and build- other possible futures. All videos have english subtitles. Find the full playlist here. ...
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