We are GIG
Written by Melanie Chan
What if the ride to work could help make a city safer? DATA-RIDE is a citizen science and urban advocacy initiative developed within LAUDS Factories, in collaboration with Université de Lorraine and the Lorraine Smart Cities Living Lab (LSCLL) in Nancy. At its heart is a simple question: how can everyday cycling experiences become evidence … Continue reading “DATA-RIDE in Nancy: Citizen engagement through bike rides”
Written by Ricardo Ruiz
In 2013, a team from Seeed Studio spent three months walking through Huaqiangbei, the electronics market of Shenzhen. They made several field trips to the market to search for resources, took pictures, and designed and redesigned until the map was ready. The result was the Shenzhen Map for Makers. The PDF was free to download, … Continue reading “Sensing the World: Seeed Studio and the GIG Network”
Written by Ricardo Ruiz
The fashion industry has a waste problem. Every year, 92 million tonnes of textile waste is generated globally, while garment use has decreased by 36 percent since 2000, meaning clothes are being made faster and discarded sooner than ever before. Waste is built into the process from the start, where roughly 15% of fabric used … Continue reading “Local Hubs, Global Impact: The Blueprint for a Sustainable Fashion Revolution”
Written by Geraldine de Bastion
This article was originally written in German by Geraldine de Bastion for the INKOTA Network on 4th March 2026. Read the original here. In the public eye, artificial intelligence (AI) is often portrayed as a technological marvel operating in an immaterial cloud, free from physical constraints. Yet the reality in Nairobi, Kenya paints a radically … Continue reading “The Infrastructure of Power: Artificial Intelligence between Global Innovation & Structural Exploitation”
Written by Melanie Chan
Air pollution and climate change remain urgent global challenges, yet many cities lack the environmental data needed to act. While major developed cities may have regular air-quality monitoring, many countries, especially across Africa, rely on only a handful of sensors to represent millions of residents. Meanwhile, cycling, often framed as an inexpensive solution to urban … Continue reading “senseBox:Bike: Cycling for Citizen Science and Urban Safety”
Written by Melanie Chan
What happens when communities facing climate disasters come together to create their own solutions? In our latest GIG community call, we explored an inspiring journey of grassroots innovation that traveled from Brazil to the Philippines, showing how powerful ideas can replicate across the globe. The call opened with an introduction to LabStorm, a citizen innovation … Continue reading “GIG Community Call: Adapting LabStorm from Brazil to the Philippines”
Written by Ricardo Ruiz
In Brazilian Portuguese, cirandar evokes the joyful act of dancing hand-in-hand in a continuous circle, guided by the rhythm of ciranda—a traditional dance rooted in community, inclusion, and shared movement. This circular motion is more than choreography; it’s a metaphor for collective harmony and the power of togetherness. Inspired by this symbolism, Cirandar is also … Continue reading “Circular Design and Environmental Education in Brazil: Cirandar”
Written by Melanie Chan
The Global Innovation Gathering (GIG) recently hosted a community call focused on open-source weather stations and their role in fostering climate resilience. The session featured presentations from Gustav Iskander of Common Room Indonesia and Nils Brock from Rhizomatica, who shared their experiences in developing community-centred technologies. The discussion highlighted the intersection of open-source hardware, local … Continue reading “Open Source Weather Stations and Community-Led Climate Resilience: Insights from a GIG Community Call”
Written by Ricardo Ruiz
The Global Innovation Gathering (GIG) convened a community call to examine the outcomes of the LibreWater prototype replication in Basra, Iraq, supported by the Roddenberry Fund. The session aimed to analyse the technological and collaborative dimensions of transferring an open-source solar-powered desalination device from design and laboratory testing to field conditions in Iraq, within the … Continue reading “Community Call: the LibreWater Prototype Replication in Iraq”
Written by Ricardo Ruiz
Water scarcity is persistent in many regions, particularly arid and semi-arid areas. Due to environmental and geopolitical factors, Iraq faces significant challenges in securing clean drinking water. LibreWater, an open-source initiative, seeks to address this issue through decentralized, small-scale solar desalination. The project is part of a broader effort from the Global Innovation Gathering to … Continue reading “LibreWater in Iraq: Advancing Small-Scale Solar Desalination”
