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Welcome to September'25 Edition of GIGinsights!
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From locally rooted innovation solutions in the mountains of Oaxaca to community calls exploring open-source climate resilience to the intersection of traditional crafts with modern materials, incredible momentum is building across continents in the GIG community.
We're also excited to share our latest portfolio of Horizon Europe proposal submissions, showcasing how local solutions can address global challenges through international partnerships. Our network continues to prove that the most meaningful innovations emerge when diverse knowledge systems come together.
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Ready to explore the amazing work happening across our global community? Let's dive into the latest updates!
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General Updates From the GIG Community and Team Members 📰
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OAXIN: Bringing community-driven innovation to Mexico at IDDS Ayuujk 2025
GIG hub member, OAXIN, successfully hosted the International Development Design Summit (IDDS) Ayuujk 2025 in Santa María Tlahuitoltepec – a co-creation summit where 36 innovators collaborated with the Mixe indigenous community to develop locally rooted technologies that truly serve their needs. Five exciting projects addressing local needs emerged: medicinal plant dehydrators, corn planters, fiber separators, nopal peeling kits, and manual looms. The summit culminated in a public showcase where community members tested prototypes and provided feedback.
Learn more about OAXIN’s work here.
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Community Call recap: Bridging traditional crafts & biomaterial innovation
The latest make-a-thek Community Call featured Oamar Abdaleim from Egypt's Chagara textiles and Rafael Calado from Portugal's Biolab, exploring the intersection of traditional crafts and cutting-edge biomaterials. Oamar shared her journey from architecture to natural dyes and block printing, reinterpreting traditional motifs for contemporary expression. Rafael discussed Biolab's work creating regenerative materials from algae, bacteria, and mycelium while preserving historical techniques passed down from translated 18th-century manuals. We discussed sustainability challenges as well, and how these approaches offer better alternatives to conventional methods.
Check out the call's highlights here.
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Community Call recap: Open-source weather stations
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Last month, GIG hosted a community call where members explored the applicability of open-source weather stations for climate resilience. GIG members Gustav Iskander from Common Room Indonesia and Nils Brock from Rhizomatica shared how their pilot projects in Maros and Aceh, Indonesia, are leveraging microclimate data to support farming, fisheries, and disaster preparedness decisions. The discussion covered technical challenges, including sensor compatibility, power management in tropical climates, and regulatory barriers restricting environmental data sharing. We also discussed how we could better respect indigenous knowledge while building local technical capacity for community-led climate adaptation.
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GIG submits Horizon Europe proposals connecting local innovation to global solidarity
Over the past months, GIG and its partners have prepared a strong portfolio of Horizon Europe project proposals that reflect our commitment to local innovation, open science, and collaboration. Our latest proposals span diverse areas. We reimagine human agency in AI-driven creativity within Europe's cultural and creative industries. We explore living labs that improve soil health across Latin America and the Caribbean. We foster inclusive digital fabrication ecosystems with BFree.
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Beyond fundraising, these submissions reflect GIG's commitment to building bridges across continents and showcase the potential of community-led innovation grounded in global solidarity. We engage with diverse consortia—research institutions, makerspaces, policy actors, and local communities—while embedding gender equality, cultural diversity, and local knowledge systems into every solution. Innovation doesn't get imported—it gets created together.
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Our community-driven model traverses Africa, Latin America, Europe, and beyond. Rooted in peer learning, distributed design, and open science principles, it creates fertile ground for meaningful collaboration. Global challenges need local solutions connected through international networks
GIG stands ready to help other organizations navigate their Horizon journeys, too. We look forward to involving more value-aligned partners in co-creating a future where technology truly serves people and the planet. Get in touch if you're interested!
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Events:
This city-wide learning experience, hosted by the Nieuwe Instituut's New Academy, features diverse public classes that explore methods for urban change.
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This summit is a partnership between BlackInTech Berlin and Berlin Global Village to explore equity, innovation, and ownership while fostering inclusion in technology sectors.
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Africa's flagship civic innovation conference brings together changemakers and policy leaders to explore how civic tech and AI can transform governance and public participation.
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Gather with curious and creative minds for three days of workshops, debates, and hands-on collaboration to reimagine the role of technology in our lives.
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Opportunities:
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This fund provides unrestricted grants for early-stage nonprofit organizations working at the intersection of humanity, sustainability, and possibility.
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Deadline: 19th September 2025
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This global accelerator by UNICEF & ITU's Giga initiative provides non-dilutive grants with expert mentorship and technical guidance. Open to organizations committed to developing open-source technology for education access.
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Deadline: 21st September 2025
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Africa's biggest engineering innovation prize awards up to £60,000 total prize money plus 8 months of training and mentoring to African innovators. Open to engineers and entrepreneurs developing engineering solutions to local challenges.
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Deadline: 23rd September 2025
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This grant program is open to organizations that aim to share knowledge, enhance innovation and engage citizens in the Visegrad region. It focuses on democracy, education, culture, climate change, and more.
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Deadline: 1st October 2025
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This fund provides unrestricted grants for mission-focused nonprofits using AI creatively to expand access, improve service delivery, and build resilience. Open to organizations working in education, economic opportunity, healthcare, and community-led research.
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Deadline: 8th October 2025
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This grant supports small grassroots organizations working in animal protection, environmental responsibility, and human rights. Open to groups that focus on creating long-term change through non-violent direct action and campaigning.
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Deadline: Rolling applications
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This grant supports organizations using disruptive protest tactics to address the climate emergency through direct action that disrupts business-as-usual. Open to 501(c)(3) eligible groups globally.
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Deadline: Rolling applications
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This program supports the creation of sustainable open-source ecosystems for software, hardware, models, programming languages, and data platforms addressing national and societal challenges.
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Deadline: Rolling applications
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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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