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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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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SCoPE Recycling in Lomé, Togo, Has Been Awarded the Ez-Klein Projektfonds by NSB

SCoPE Recycling in Lomé, Togo, Has Been Awarded the Ez-Klein Projektfonds by NSB

By Fadia Elgharib Comment Closed
Another collaboration is celebrated between GIG and its Hub Member, WoeLab, based in Lomé, Togo. As part of the GIG partnership with NSB North South Bridges Foundation - through submitting a joint proposal with WoeLab, to fund a new cycle of the SCoPE recycling project. Today, GIG gladly reports that NSB has approved the proposal, and the implementation of the project is already underway.  SCoPE's goal is to create a circular plastic life cycle for the waste dumped in WoeLab's Neighbourhood by mobilizing the community to collect, sort, shred, and sell it as raw material for recycling companies. It also aims to co-create meaningful objects using part of the collected plastic and reintegrate it for new uses by the local community.  SCoPE has run two pilots since 2020, and this iteration aims to integrate the building of Precious Plastic Machines and teaching the community how to use these machines to create meaningful products, some of which can be integrated into the lab’s...
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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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Filling the gaps in Iraq

Filling the gaps in Iraq

By Ricardo Ruiz Comment Closed
We sat down to talk with Nawres Arif this past Thursday to discuss his maker program in Iraq. Nawres is a trained pharmacist but considers himself to be more than that. He is also an artist, designer, and robot maker. In around 2003, Nawres became a part of the global maker movement. His passion for making things and his hope to share his passion with others led him to found ScienceCamp in 2013. ScienceCamp became the first-ever maker space in Iraq. Nawres says that among many other goals, this maker space's main aim is to develop ways to “use science to make life better.”  Listen to the interview: Nawres told us that the traditional education model in Iraq does not allow students to explore their passions. Learning tends to be more theoretical than hands-on, “education needs to be more practical, interactive, and fun.” He found a solution to this problem in the maker movement. He tells us that the maker movement mixes...
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The Makerspace: A Global Miniature of Innovation

The Makerspace: A Global Miniature of Innovation

By Chaïma Attia Comment Closed
Can technology promise to heal and reconstruct what previous technological revolutions have destroyed? Current technological advancements are no longer powered by steam, but what are they powered by?Amidst the wake of an AI revolution, how do we examine the medium before the message and avoid another retrospective into the impact of technologies on society? In the makerspace at re:publica, The Digital Doughnut Modelworkshopwill explore how technology sectors and the technologies we use can get us to thrive and not only to survive as humans without overcrossing the boundaries of the Planet.  What do people in Iraq -arguably one of the hottest spots on earth-, do to mitigate climate change? The innovation for climate change sessionwill show us how they make water from thin air and utilize the blazing heat from the sun to help their society. As we pose all these questions, we can not but wonder, were the answers there all along in indigenous knowledge and traditional knowledge structures? Incorporating Indigenous...
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Noni Hub: Equipping Youths to Prototype for Local Needs

Noni Hub: Equipping Youths to Prototype for Local Needs

By Melanie Chan Comment Closed
Equipping young people with technological and entrepreneurial skills to solve local community problems is the mandate of one particular makerspace in the Northern region of Ghana.  Noni Hub, located in Wa, is a budding innovation that aims to foster innovation, creativity, and making scalable technological solutions. Mustapha Dauda, an African Maker and Engineer in electronics and robotics, leads the maker space's activities. Welcoming individuals enthusiastic about bringing their ideas to life, the activities of the makerspace include a three-week training program encompassing sessions on design, ideation, prototyping, and constructing. Participants are taught the design thinking process to develop functional solutions and trained on relevant maker techniques such as 3D modelling and woodwork to prototype their solutions. Check the Interview with Mustapha Dauda below: For Mustapha, seeing people embrace the maker movement and bring new ideas is exciting. Recounting an experience where one participant in the program wanted to set up a bee farm but could not afford to buy a beehive, he...
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BiT Makerspace: Building a Robust Ethiopian Innovation Culture

BiT Makerspace: Building a Robust Ethiopian Innovation Culture

By Ricardo Ruiz Comment Closed
How can we foster a robust innovation culture that contributes meaningfully to developing a sustainable Africa? The Seifu-Bit Makerspace at Bahir Dar Institute of Technology in Ethiopia is paving the way for this. The makerspace, founded in 2019 by Professor Seifu and Dr Lara Arlen, CEO of the Centre for Global Equality in the UK, has been making waves in the African innovation scene. It was named "The most active makerspace of the year" at the 2022 African Makerspace Gathering in Cape Town, South Africa. Supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the partners of the Centre for Global Inequality, the Seifu-Bit Makerspace has become a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship. With a strong community of senior and undergraduate engineering students, it has since merged with the business incubation component of the university’s techno-entrepreneurship centre. Leading the charge at Seifu-Bit Makerspace is Ms Bezawork Tilahun, a software engineer, a lecturer at Bahir Dar University, and an inspiring ambassador in the Women...
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Revolutionizing STEM Education in the Philippines

Revolutionizing STEM Education in the Philippines

By Ricardo Ruiz Comment Closed
Imagine a welcoming and imaginative space, with the floor resembling grass and trees serving as tables. It's a place where kids can collaborate to design, create and think. The students use circuits, 3-D printers, and crafts to create creative projects. Based in the Philippines, that is precisely what SparkleLab presents. Founded by Rosanna Lopez, SparkleLab began as a small clubhouse for kids. Having evolved into after-school and summer camps over the years, one of its flagship programs, Game Makers, teaches game design, with kids creating their games using Python. The whole learning experience is imbued with fun, creativity, and storytelling. Before classes begin, a letter is sent to the kids warning them of an evil pirate bunny trying to outlaw fun. The kids must act like a rebel army against the evil bunny to restore fun. Other programs include Stitches and Circuits, which focuses on getting girls to code, and Toy Mill, which teaches design thinking and critical making.  Set within the...
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