H-Fablab – Fuelling sustainable innovative solutions in Côte d’Ivoire;  starting with young makers

H-Fablab – Fuelling sustainable innovative solutions in Côte d’Ivoire;  starting with young makers

Dodji Honou conducting a practical training for kids at H-Fablab (all photos courtesy of H-Fablab) In the neighborhood of Bingerville about 45 minutes -1 hour from Abidjan, in the district of Angré,  stands H-FABLAB.  A digital manufacturing laboratory whose primary objective is to promote learning by doing among young people, whether or not in school, literate or not in French. The space was opened formally  in Sep 2021, but had been running informally for 2 years before that. They enjoy good internet access via a fiber connection, though electricity can be sometimes unstable Dodji Honou is  the founder of H-Fablab. His story begins in Togo, where he was born. And where his story with makerspaces  and innovation hubs began. He was a member of  Woelab now expanded into Hubcity in Togo, and in 2013 while there, his story with GIG also began. He met GIGers, Geraldine and Max , who introduced him to GIG.  He later moved on to Senegal to work with a...
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Join us in the Critical Making Mentoring Programme 2022

Join us in the Critical Making Mentoring Programme 2022

We are excited to launch the Critical Making Mentoring Programme coming up this spring. Here is a sneak peak of what is to be expected! The Mentoring Programme will take place during 2022, requiring only a few hours of active participation per month. Further details will be announced soon! Do you want to stay updated on the mentoring programme? Register your email now to get a special notification when the programme opens for application in April! Update: The mentoring programme is open until the 31st of May. Click here for more details and to apply About Critical Making:Critical Making is a partnership to encourage responsible research & innovation to foster open access, inclusiveness and positive change across the global maker community. Together, we add scientific insights into the potential of the maker movement, and set up activities that focus on critical and socially responsible making. We aim to show how these communities can offer new opportunities for young makers of all genders to contribute to...
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Edukits: Merging 3D Printing and Education

Edukits: Merging 3D Printing and Education

‘Education is the most powerful tool that can be used to change the world’ — Nelson Mandela The Bridge the Gap training program is an ongoing initiative that was started by Kumasi Hive in partnership with GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), Innovation Factory and e- skills for Girls. The Bridge the Gap program addresses the issue of the gender gap in the technology space. The program trained 60 girls in web development and 3D printing in the first phase, which lasted for one month. We are currently implementing the second phase of the program: the business incubation and internship phase. In this cycle, 10 selected teams are being introduced to global perspectives on leadership and entrepreneurship, the world of business and design, issues that may arise in terms of user experience and how to resolve such problems. They have been provided with the tools and a makerspace where these teams are designing and building prototypes of their products. This week, we are focusing on one of the teams, Edukits,...
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A laboratory of data and narratives in the favela

A laboratory of data and narratives in the favela

data_labe is becoming an independent NGO. The lab, wich is part of GIG, is understanding how to be a civil and tech organization at the delicate moment for favela's dwellers in Rio de Janeiro. Currently, the empowerment of young people coming from popular classes necessarily passes through the access, diffusion and production of information. The narratives constructed by the hegemonic media and, on the other hand, by the new channels of communication that appear in the peripheries are proof that the data are in a fierce dispute in Brazil. To whom do the data belong? For whom are they more or less available? How to make the data visible so as to guarantee new narratives that allow the development of communities full of rights? In order to answer these questions, we propose building the data_labe - a laboratory of data and narratives in the favela. >> To learn more access datalabe.org....
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Meet the new headquarters of LABxS (Lab Santista)

Meet the new headquarters of LABxS (Lab Santista)

  [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6StowipH1g[/embedyt] Procomum Institute, one of our GIG associates in Brazil, present the headquarters of LABxS, Lab Santista, the citizen laboratory that is being implemented by them and that articulates a network of people, initiatives and infrastructures to promote the commons in the Baixada Santista region, southeast of Brazil. We are calling  to come together to build this story, so send us ideas for interventions, projects, opinions, money, mistakes and lessons, or even if you just want to talk: - if you are an architect or urban planner or would just like to send intervention ideas so that the space ethically and aesthetically translates the spirit of a cultural center focused on the commons; - if you are an artist, a doer, a curious mind and want to think of some project in here; if you would like to financially support the lab or some specific project; - if you are just a meddler and would like to send your opinions; - if you are part of a...
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OPEN HARDWARE GUIDE from South Sudan

OPEN HARDWARE GUIDE from South Sudan

The South Sudan Open Knowledge and Innovation Hub "OPEN HARDWARE GUIDE" #OHG Following up on the 2016 "Let's Go jHUB" programme, in collaboration with icebauhaus e.V. (Weimar, Germany), KAPITAL (Juba, South Sudan) and r0g_agency for open culture gGmbH (Berlin, Germany), the OPEN HARDWARE GUIDE (#OHG) is an outcome of the Open Tech and Repair Skills workshop hosted by Hive Colab in Kampala and the Panyadoli Self-Help Secondary School in Bweyale, Uganda. As a follow-up to the first Open Learning Guide (#OLG) the Open Hardware Guide gives examples of hands-on skills possibilities and projects applying open hardware methodologies. Acting as an introduction to resources and as a tangible tool in the form of a rugged A1 poster for trainers, tinkerers and facilitators, the #OHG is ready for distribution to anyone interested in exploring open technologies in a very practical way. The #OHG content was developed by the workshop participants based on their designs and documented steps, and accompanied the development of the...
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GIG members as graphic novel characters

GIG members as graphic novel characters

Two Global Innovation Gathering members were announced as cameos in an upcoming graphic novel about hacker and maker movement - Glider Ink. Samer Shawar from Palestinian VecBox and Nawres Arif from Iraqi Science Camp are going to share their prosthesis and interfacing expertise with fictional characters featured in the comic. We would like to help people understand that innovation happens all over the world - and by sharing the knowledge openly, we can build something truly magnificent. [one-half-first][/one-half-first] [one-half][/one-half] More info on the project at glider.ink and facebook.com/gliderink...
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