Collective Keynote: Local Innovation and Global Community with Kudzai Mbaiwa, Jay Fajardo and Georgia Nicolau

Collective Keynote: Local Innovation and Global Community with Kudzai Mbaiwa, Jay Fajardo and Georgia Nicolau

By Ann Joshua Comment Closed
Global Innovation Gathering: Unveiling Stories of Impact and Collective Transformation In 2015, GIG transformed Kudzai's life, sparking her passion for the intersection of finance and technology. As an economic development specialist, she champions digital solutions in enterprise development and personal finance. Originating from Zimbabwe, the diverse grassroots initiatives within GIG captivated her. Upon joining, she immediately sensed a profound unfolding of the future, declaring, "The first thing I saw here was the future." This foresight translates into recognizing the boundless potential of creative minds to envision and shape a life surpassing current realities. Transitioning to the panel, Jay Fajardo, Kudzai Mbaiwa, and Georgia Nicolau share their experiences with GIG. Jay, a tech entrepreneur with 35+ years in ICT, became a GIG member in 2013. Founder of PROUDCLOUD and director of LAUNCHGARAGE, he's a pioneer in the Philippine tech scene. Jay emphasizes curating a shared vision for success, unlocking collective innovation through active participation. His 2013 experience revealed the power of grassroots innovation,...
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From Makers to Ministers: Suggestions for Future Policy Dialogues with Linda Bonyo and Felipe Fonseca

From Makers to Ministers: Suggestions for Future Policy Dialogues with Linda Bonyo and Felipe Fonseca

By Ann Joshua Comment Closed
Linda Bonyo and Felipe Fonseca take on the trailblazing conversation of what the future of policy looks as makers in those positions of change. They touch upon the importance of fostering open and constructive policy dialogues to achieve effective governance. This would involve engaging with various stakeholders, including citizens, experts, and interest groups, to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the issues at hand and to craft well-rounded policies that address multiple perspectives.  The two speakers touch on the theme of commonalities. As Felipe explains, the diversity of commonalities is to be understood through the metaphor of the seed. The story begins in the context of the leftist government and civil society; some vacant positions within the government prompted individuals with activist backgrounds to step in and take up these roles. This experience led to a realization that they had become an integral part of the government machinery. They were well aware that their first responsibility was to caution communities against placing...
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GIG vs The World: A Panel Talk from Andrew Lamb 

GIG vs The World: A Panel Talk from Andrew Lamb 

By Ann Joshua Comment Closed
A catalyst. Often a catalyst is seen as a person or event that quickly causes change or action. The causation of a catalyst can vary, but most often or not, the result is usually positive and in the case of this talk we find that to be true. Andrew Lamb, in his talk titled "GIG vs The World," dives deep into the inner workings of becoming a catalyst and what that means for him. As we listen we find out the causation for his catalyst was burnout - typically recognized by persistent fatigue, sentiments of dissatisfaction, pessimism, and skepticism towards work-related duties'; however, such feelings toward his previous work fostered a breakthrough moment that changed the trajectory of his career and how he sees the world now.  Andrew Lamb, for 4 years, was the chief executive of engineers without borders in the UK. It started as a Student Club, and what was a charity soon evolved into something bigger. As more...
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Exploring identity and contesting racism through games: a co-design lab in Brazil

Exploring identity and contesting racism through games: a co-design lab in Brazil

By Ricardo Ruiz Comment Closed
Racism is a pervasive and complex problem, affecting individuals and societies differently. How can we address this issue creatively and engagingly? How can we use games for empowerment, awareness, and education? These questions motivated a co-design lab in Brazil in a partnership between GIG and the University of Bristol and its collaborators. The co-design lab is part of the project Contesting Algorithmic Racism in Brazil, funded by the AHRC Impact Acceleration Fund. The project explores the cultural responses to racism embedded in data and digital technologies, such as algorithms, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. The project also seeks to create games and other interactive online resources that challenge and address algorithmic bias in Brazil. Date: 2008 - 2012.Location: Piscinao de Ramos, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Description: Black man uses sunblock cream on his arms over a chess board in front of a glass with beer at Ramos Public Swimming Pool. Credit: Julio Bittencourt The co-design lab consists of online workshops with...
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Distributed Manufacturing: A Talk by Independent Researcher Peter Troxler

Distributed Manufacturing: A Talk by Independent Researcher Peter Troxler

By Ann Joshua Comment Closed
In the 10 Years of Global Innovation Gathering Conference, Peter Troxler engaged in a dynamic conversation defining distributed manufacturing in the 21st century and what the future of it might look like. To answer the question of what distributive manufacturing is, one must look at the history of open source hardware. The year 1993 marked the year of the first documented open source community in modern times through TAPR Radio Amateur - although there were other sources done before 1993 up until most of them became patented. An exemplary embodiment of what the modern open-source movement resembles is evident in the Bang & Olufsen speakers introduced in the 1970s. Bang & Olufsen made a significant impact on the audio industry by introducing wireless capabilities, revolutionizing the way speakers were used. Prior to this innovation, speakers were typically connected to audio sources through wires, limiting their mobility and placement options. Bang & Olufsen transformed this traditional setup by developing a wireless...
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Critical Making Mentoring Program 2022 in Review

Critical Making Mentoring Program 2022 in Review

By Melanie Chan Comment Closed
As part of the H2020-funded Critical Making project, we embarked on a series of initiatives that resulted in various interactive tools and literature tailor-made for academia, practitioners, and educators. A true gem among these initiatives was the Critical Making Mentoring Programme, a remarkable 9-month journey where makers received invaluable guidance from a group of esteemed mentors. They include Saad Chinoy, Co-Founder of SpudnikLab; Georgia Nicolau, Founder of Instituto Procomum; Bahar Kumar, Strategic Advisor at Communitere; Emilio Velis, Executive Director of Appropedia Foundation, and Aravinth Panch, Co-Director of DreamSpace Academy. We're thrilled to bring you the exciting highlights of the mentoring program and our talented mentees' inspiring experiences. Together, they explored the fundamental principles of the critical making framework in open science hardware, social innovation, and environmental sustainability. Our program welcomed 13 ambitious mentees from around the globe, including Brazil, Ecuador, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Iraq, and beyond! It was a meaningful co-learning experience where mentees gathered online to share their visions of addressing specific...
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My Hardware, My Choice – A Panel Talk by Teresa Dillon, Linda Bonyo and Maximilian Voigt

My Hardware, My Choice – A Panel Talk by Teresa Dillon, Linda Bonyo and Maximilian Voigt

By Ann Joshua Comment Closed
During this panel discussion, Teresa and Maximilian (later on followed by Linda) come together creating a dialogue around the Right to Repair - discussing what impacts the latter has on topics such as sustainability, value chain, economic impacts around the world, culture, and how technology is dealt with and treated within such context. What Do You Think Right to Repair Means and Looks Like Today? Starting the discussion, Teressa initiates the discourse by shedding light on more that just the topic of repair and delves into the realms of care, maintenance, and healing cultures - arguing that repair holds a significant position, particularly in a localized context. Some examples of data research supporting the concept of repair acts can be through trade and electrical repair services; other similar approaches are also seen through Tales of Care & Repair, an initiative used to collect stories of everyday repair including creating data where people upload costs of what/how they have repaired and their motivations....
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Past, Present, Future: A Welcome Address by the Executive Board of the Global Innovation Gathering

Past, Present, Future: A Welcome Address by the Executive Board of the Global Innovation Gathering

By Ann Joshua Comment Closed
The History of Global Innovation Gathering  Ten years ago, Global Innovation Gathering was driven by different points of inspiration, leading it to what it is today. Physical spaces designed to facilitate local innovation emerged as a prominent and rapidly growing trend. As such, these spaces served as points of inspiration, allowing innovative minds to collaborate and work together on technological advancements. However, the vast number of worldwide individuals who remained unaware of one another and lacked the means to connect was a significant challenge. Emphasizing a "strength in numbers" mentality, the vision was to unite these creatives and diverse communities to achieve more significant goals and overall collective impact. The solution involved bringing together these innovators and diverse spaces from different parts of the world to a central location like re:publica, a festival for the digital society and the largest conference of its kind in Berlin, Europe. re:publica provided a global stage and an international audience, enabling innovators from all around the...
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Innovating Crisis Response: Konstantin Leonenko, Emilio Veris, Sharlotte Ainebyoona Kigezo, Aziz Wadi 

By Ann Joshua Comment Closed
Crisis response refers to the actions and measures taken to address and mitigate the impact of a crisis or emergency situation. It involves a coordinated effort by individuals, organizations, and authorities to manage the immediate challenges and provide assistance to those affected. Crisis response typically includes activities such as assessing the situation, mobilizing resources, implementing emergency plans, providing medical aid and support, ensuring public safety, and coordinating communication and information dissemination. The goal of crisis response is to minimize the negative consequences of the crisis and restore stability and resilience to the affected individuals and communities.  The panellists on stage discussed a wide range of topics regarding crisis response. We started with Konstantine, who talked about the different methods of operations and tools in the Tolocar project that aimed to support Ukraine citizens as cultural relief during the War. Aziz Wadi, moves on to speak about how to use innovation and think about the proper ways to respond to crises. He...
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Watch the Stream! GIG 10th anniversary

Watch the Stream! GIG 10th anniversary

By Ricardo Ruiz Comment Closed
Check the online transmission! GIG supports the work of its 155 members in 47 countries. GIG facilitates global exchange between innovators and innovation spaces, and implements various projects. As the world becomes more complex and fast-paced, so do the challenges, threatening the most vulnerable and marginalized communities. Therefore, GIG enables cross-cultural connections and global knowledge exchanges, in order to support our members and their communities to develop solutions that best suit their local needs. We co-create and implement long-term projects that offer collaborative solutions to systemic problems in different localities.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgx5azRaagE ...
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