We are GIG
Written by Theresa Fend
The LABxS promoted on the Global Climate Strike week a laboratory of ideas and technologies to address climate change in the Baixada Santista region in the bay area of São Paulo. Thirty participants were selected through an open call, who will work collectively to develop three prototypes aimed at building more sustainable cities. The action … Continue reading “Climate Laboratory in Baixada Santista”
Written by Theresa Fend
In the past weeks we have been bombarded with reports about melting arctic ice or forests burning in Brazil – climate change is felt around the world. This week, September 20-27, the global climate strike organized by Fridays for Future and multiple other organizations like WWF, Amnesty, Change.org, Greenpeace, Avaaz and Extinction Rebellion is taking … Continue reading “Contemplating the Climate Crisis in a Global Network”
Written by Theresa Fend
After the convention of hubs organized last year by i4Policy, during which innovation community leaders from across Africa co-created the Africa Innovation Policy Manifesto, the first meeting of the Africa Innovation Policy Task Force took place at Impact Hub Kigali in Rwanda. i4Policy is a pan-African movement gathering over 140 Innovation Hubs from 43 African … Continue reading “i4Policy Task Force Meeting”
Written by Theresa Fend
Together with Open Source Ecology Germany e.V., and with the support of the Guerrilla Foundation and GIGgers in Berlin we from r0g Agency held our first open:fora ‘street meet’ … a rather spontaneous artistic and cultural action intended to complement the week of re:publica. At a time where we felt that cultural activism and open … Continue reading “Meeting your neighborhood friends, activists and makers – open:fora at r0g Agency”
Written by Theresa Fend
This month GIG member Field Ready announced the launch of a brand-new makerspace in Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq! Field Ready: Erbil Makerspace will form part of a growing network of innovation and co-working spaces across Iraq. Supported by German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, … Continue reading “Field Ready launches a new makerspace in Iraq!”
Written by Theresa Fend
When I first entered a makerspace in Nairobi in 2016, I was surprised that most people were sitting in front of their computers. My imagination of a messy makerspace where everyone tinkers with 3D printers and materials to build clumsy prototypes was disenchanted. A makerspace is a collaborative workshop equipped with tools and machines to … Continue reading “Calculative Making: The Fear of Failure in Kenya’s Makerspaces”
Written by Theresa Fend
Last April Procomum Institute launched the new edition of the A Colaboradora (The Collaborator) programme. The Collaborator is a collaborative platform that brings together a collective work environment and a free school. Created by the Procomum Institute, it is inspired by the project “La Colaboradora”, a program of the social innovation ecosystem Zaragoza Activa, in … Continue reading “A Colaboradora: Fostering creativity and collaboration through the principles of self-management, care and social currency”
Written by Theresa Fend
‘Education is the most powerful tool that can be used to change the world’ — Nelson Mandela The Bridge the Gap training program is an ongoing initiative that was started by Kumasi Hive in partnership with GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), Innovation Factory and e- skills for Girls. The Bridge the Gap program addresses the issue of the gender gap in … Continue reading “Edukits: Merging 3D Printing and Education”
Written by Theresa Fend
Part of my work is with the Gary Kirsten Foundation, a non-profit Sports Foundation which works in Khayelitsha, the largest township in Cape Town and one of its poorest areas. We build Cricket ecosystems with infrastructure and coaching for young players who have no other sport programmes to take part in. Starting in 2014, and … Continue reading “Visiting the Cricket World Cup with 13 young cricketers from Khayelitsha,Cape Town”
Written by Theresa Fend
An outdated self-understanding prevents Europe from working with developing countries towards a common digital future. Europe, the fortress that everyone wants to storm. A Europe whose values and economy must be protected against immigrants from Africa and other parts of the world. This is the rhetoric that the leading development politicians are applying in Germany … Continue reading “Digital, transparent and self-determined: development cooperation can do more”
