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Welcome to October'26 Edition of GIGinsights!
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October was full of community action, collaboration and new beginnings across the GIG network! 🌍✨ From Repair Day 2026 activities around the world to gatherings at the GOSH Conference in Kathmandu, our members have been busy connecting, sharing and creating. We’re also excited to share highlights from the GIG Fund’s first mentorship sessions and the launch of our new Material Literacy project, funded by the Hans Sauer Foundation. Plus, we look back at the DATA-RIDE project’s citizen engagement activities in France, and our recent blog reflects on what it means to co-design cities that focus on digital agency rather than digital services. Let’s go!
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General Updates From the GIG Community and Team Members 📰
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Repair Day 2026: GIG members fixing things worldwide
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The global GIG community showed up for Repair Day 2026 under the theme “repair brings us together,” from 17th to 25th October! Among the many activities run by GIG members, Gabe Mercado from VIVITA organised an event in Baguio City, Philippines, with a community book shop and a circular fashion startup. In the UK, Felipe Schmidt Fonseca co-organised two weeks of repair events in Bristol. In Ghana, Gideon Brefo and the hapaSpace team hosted a Learn to Fix It session where young people, especially women, opened up irons, kettles and blenders to find faults. In South Africa, the make-a-thek project hosted its first re:make Festival at Cape Town Central Library, bringing together makers, designers, repairers, students and library staff for six days of making, mending, experimenting and sharing skills.
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The GIG Fund: First mentorship sessions begin!
We kicked off the mentorship programme with GIG Fund grantees this October, launching a series of learning modules that will run until May 2027. The first session, delivered by Social Movement Technologies, explored strategic storytelling through hands-on exercises, helping grantees craft compelling narratives, tailor messages to different audiences and exchange peer feedback. The second session, facilitated by Salma ElSayeh (Ahead of the Curve) and Kersti Ruth Wissenbach (Cultiva Lab), introduced impact assessment and feminist MEAL approaches. Grantees explored desirable futures, mapped power dynamics and began developing their own context-sensitive impact assessment frameworks.
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New GIG project: Collaboratively advancing knowledge of materials
We are thrilled to announce the kick-off of a new project on Circular Material Literacy, running from October 2026 to May 2027! Building on last year’s Circular Material Valuer Curriculum project, we are co-creating the “Material Literacy and Resource Assessment” open course, which helps communities understand, evaluate and reuse the materials around them. Designed for repair cafés, makerspaces and open workshops, the course brings together partners like Kunst-Stoffe e.V. and Platform Coops eG. Next come online workshops, design sprints and peer review, followed by pilots with partner organisations and community members. We are so grateful to Hans Sauer Foundation for making this project possible!
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DATA-RIDE: Citizen engagement in Nancy, France
The DATA-RIDE project, developed with LAUDS Factories and Université de Lorraine, reached an exciting milestone in citizen engagement in Nancy, France! In February, GIG members Artur Kim Shum and Laura Sobral launched data collection with local cyclists using open-source senseBox sensors to track commutes and close passes by vehicles. Starting from the issues cyclists care about, the team iterated quickly on the road, providing French-language materials within a week and a new mounting solution for bikes with child seats. In May, the team shared the results at the Fête du Vélo in a public square in Nancy, opening the project to the wider cycling community.
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Reflections on designing cities for digital agency
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Last September, GIG founder Geraldine de Bastion delivered a keynote on “Co-designing the Smart City” at the European Cities Conference in Vienna, exploring the shift from digital services to digital agency. In her latest blog, she illustrates this through initiatives happening across the GIG network, including environmental monitoring by Common Room Networks Foundation in Indonesia and data_labe’s CocôZap in Rio de Janeiro. Co-designing cities well comes down to three principles: giving people real agency, bringing different forms of knowledge together, and keeping public technology open to scrutiny.
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GIG Members' Project Highlights ✨
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Douglas Tetteh Ayitey, Ghana
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Organised by Douglas Tetteh Ayitey and the MakersPlace team, ENJOY AI African Open 2026 brought young makers in Accra together in September for a robotics challenge. Across six competition categories and 15 active divisions, 92 team-division entries put programming, engineering and teamwork to the test, from building robots to troubleshooting under pressure. The challenges connected robotics and AI education with regional competition, and winners from completed divisions were invited to the ENJOY AI Global Finals in China. The MakersPlace now looks to widen access and welcomes schools, technology organisations and funders to support robotics kits, coaching and international progression.
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Saad Chinoy, Singapore
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GOSH 2026 (Gathering for Open Science Hardware) took place in Kathmandu, Nepal, from 4–6 October, with several GIG members taking part, including Saad Chinoy, Stéphane Godin and Pradita Pradhan. During the conference days, Saad and Stéphane also worked on a side quest to introduce Meshtastic and LoRa to Kathmandu, building a mesh network with the help of some delicious Nepali momos, successfully testing its range across 6 km using just LoRa, linking their hotel rooftops. The project will connect with the FabCity PlanetAI research initiative, to which EdibleMakerspace’s CitizenQuack project in Singapore contributes.
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Vaibhav Chhabra, India
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Vaibhav Chhabra and the Maker's Asylum team is developing a 100k sqft Hardware Design Village campus in Goa, a place where makers, designers, engineers and entrepreneurs can come together to turn ideas into real-world hardware. The campus is being designed to host conferences and events, house a range of labs, and support hands-on learning and collaboration. It will also be home to Maker’s Asylum’s hardware design incubator, helping promising ideas move from prototype toward product. Supported by the Government of Goa, the project is part of the region’s growing commitment to making and innovation, and Goa is also an official Fab Region, connecting the work to a global network of digital fabrication and learning.
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Upcoming Community Events
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As part of this year’s Estoril Conferences, Portugal-based GIG members including Daniela Marzavan, Mike Jensen and Rebecca Saltman will co-host a Mini Maker Space Hub with re:publica at Nova School of Business and Economics in Carcavelos, Portugal. The team is bringing the re:publica conference to Portugal under this year’s urgent theme, Reignite Democracy. Over two days, hands-on experiences will explore community technology, democracy, sustainability and digital innovation. If you are in Lisbon, come explore, experiment and imagine what’s possible with the GIG community!
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This year’s AfriLabs Gathering will bring together makers, innovators, students and ecosystem partners to explore how Africa can strengthen its hardware innovation ecosystem, with its Makerspace Track running in collaboration with Makerspaces Africa and Internet of Production. On 20 November, Makerspaces Africa will hold their own Gathering at UniPod Bénin under the theme “Building an Ecosystem of Hardware Skills for Glocal Solutions,” exploring how practical skills, local manufacturing, digital fabrication and cross-sector collaboration can turn ideas into solutions for African communities. If you are in Cotonou, come join the conversation!
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Other Events:
A global community festival exploring the intersection of the open internet, technology, society, and digital rights, themed “Wilding” in 2026 and co-created with its community through labs, talks, forums, and installations.
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A participatory international assembly bringing together activists, researchers, civil society, and public institutions to develop a shared roadmap for open, accessible, interoperable technologies, strengthening digital commons and democratic approaches to technological governance and public policy.
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A pan-African multistakeholder forum, themed “Advancing Africa’s Digital Future Through Innovation, Inclusion, and Trust”, convening governments, civil society, youth, and technical communities to explore internet access, digital inclusion, AI governance, and equitable digital transformation.
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The region’s leading multistakeholder internet governance forum connects civil society, governments, researchers, and technical communities to discuss digital rights, connectivity, inclusive policymaking, internet governance, and equitable digital transformation across Latin America and the Caribbean.
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An interactive civil society conference, themed “For a Resilient Digital Democracy”, bringing together civic technologists, policymakers, educators, and grassroots organisations to explore digital rights, open knowledge, democratic resilience, and inclusive citizen participation through collaborative workshops and discussions.
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A conference exploring digital well-being, responsible technology use, and human-centred innovation in Africa, bringing together experts, organisations, and communities to develop healthier, more inclusive digital practices.
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A community-driven conference celebrating free and open-source software, open culture, and digital freedom, bringing together developers, hackers, and technology advocates for talks and workshops on privacy, decentralisation, digital sovereignty, and community-led technological innovation.
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The digital society conference makes its Los Angeles debut, connecting creatives, technologists, policymakers, and civil society from Europe and the United States to explore democracy, technological sovereignty, AI, film, creativity, and the future of transatlantic dialogue.
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A European maker movement gathering connecting makerspaces, fab labs, and grassroots innovators to exchange knowledge, develop collaborations, and strengthen community-led innovation across borders. The programme runs November 9–13 for members and November 11–13 for non-members.
November 12, 2026 – Digital Commons Policy Summit 2026 | Brussels, Belgium
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An international policy summit, themed “Digital Commons and the Open Internet Stack for a Competitive Europe”, convening policymakers, open-source communities, and researchers to advance digital commons, shared infrastructure, technological sovereignty, and community-led digital governance.
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A maker gathering celebrating creative experimentation, DIY technology, and hands-on learning, providing opportunities for makers, students, and technology enthusiasts to showcase inventions, share technical knowledge, and explore accessible approaches to grassroots technological innovation.
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A collaborative innovation hackathon alongside SFSCON, bringing developers, designers, students, and entrepreneurs together to prototype solutions using open data and open-source technologies, encouraging interdisciplinary experimentation, knowledge sharing, and practical approaches to technological and societal challenges.
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A community-driven conference organised by Kaiyuanshe, bringing together open-source developers, technology organisations, and community leaders to promote open collaboration, knowledge sharing, sustainable open-source ecosystems, and grassroots participation in China’s expanding open technology movement.
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A collaborative innovation programme supporting the development of digital solutions to social and environmental challenges, bringing interdisciplinary participants together to explore AI-assisted development, user testing, rapid prototyping, and community-centred approaches to practical social innovation.
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An inclusive open-source community conference connecting developers, contributors, and newcomers to explore free and open-source software, community governance, documentation, and practical adoption through talks, workshops, and community booths, encouraging broader participation in open technology.
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Opportunities:
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An eight-month fellowship for artists, coders and educators building open-source creative tools and socially engaged projects. Fellows receive a USD 10,000 stipend, mentorship and professional development. Self-nominations are accepted, and invited nominees submit full proposals by November 23, 2026.
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Deadline: November 1, 2026
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A call to improve existing digital infrastructures that support open science, with up to €1.7 million per project from a €17 million budget. A letter of intent and registration for a compulsory preparatory workshop on December 2 are due first. Full proposals follow on April 13, 2027. Check Dutch-institution eligibility.
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Deadline: November 3, 2026
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A grant programme supporting research and development of free and open technologies that contribute to a resilient, trustworthy, and interoperable open internet stack. Initial proposals may request up to €50,000, with support for software, hardware, standards, security, usability, documentation, and related technical work.
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Deadline: November 3, 2026
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An equity-free fund for open-source startups using frontier technologies for women’s and girls’ health, reproductive rights, and safety. Selected companies get up to USD 100,000 and 12 months of mentoring. Applicants need a functional prototype, an open-source licence, and registration in a UNICEF programme country.
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Deadline: November 4, 2026
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An open innovation challenge seeking technology-based solutions to equitably adapt to a warming climate and decarbonise how people live and eat. Selected Solver teams receive a USD 10,000 grant (average funding about USD 40,000 including prizes), a nine-month support programme, coaching and access to Solve’s network. Prototype-stage and later solutions are eligible.
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Deadline: November 6, 2026
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An open innovation challenge seeking technology-based solutions that make good health and quality care more equitable for all. Selected Solver teams receive a USD 10,000 grant (average funding about USD 40,000 including prizes), a nine-month support programme, coaching and pro bono resources. Prototype-stage and later solutions are eligible.
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Deadline: November 6, 2026
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A programme supporting individual developers and small teams to build socially relevant open-source software, with a focus on areas including data security, software infrastructure, and decentralised alternatives to dominant platforms.
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Deadline: November 30, 2026
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An EU-funded programme backing partnerships between a corporate and a startup or SME from two different regions to develop digital solutions. This round prioritises AI but accepts any digital technology. Earlier rounds offered startups grants of up to €10,500 for proof-of-concept work.
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Deadline: November 30, 2026
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A grant programme supporting climate intervention projects approaching small-scale field testing to undertake environmental impact assessments, predictive impact modelling, and engagement with affected communities and other stakeholders.
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Deadline: December 1, 2026
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Support GIG 🎯
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We invite you to join us in driving innovation for social impact worldwide as a supporting member.
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Why Support GIG? 🤝
- Drive long-term growth and sustainability for a global network of innovators.
- Promote inclusive, sustainable innovation through knowledge exchange and learning.
- Advance open hardware research and distributed manufacturing.
- Strengthen grassroots climate resilience efforts worldwide.
Ways to Support 🌟
Here are the suggested annual contributions:
Small Organisations: €300
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For organisations with fewer than 50 employees or under €1 million budget
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Large Organisations: €3,000+
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For organisations with 50+ employees or €1 million+ budget
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Contribute now or contact us to learn how your support can help social innovators create lasting change in communities worldwide.
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👀 Stay tuned for more exciting updates next month! 💌
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