GIG

The Global Innovation Gathering brings together innovation hub managers, makers, hackers and entrepreneurs from across the world. Launched at re:publica 2013, the Global Innovation Gathering has become a central part of the re:publica program, showcasing tech innovation and maker projects from Asia, Africa and Latin America.

At #rp15 GIG participants aren’t only taking over the stages during the three days, in addition there will be plenty of space to mingle, talk, and get dirty hands in the large GIG Maker Space.

Have a look at the many and diverse GIG sessions on stage and in the GIG Maker Space here:

Europe – playing hard to get

Ratozamanana Andriankoto Harinjaka
Jay Fajardo
Lukas Kampfmann
Gabriela Agustini
Tayo Akinyemi
A non-western, global perspective on Europe and its role within the international digital economy : Where are the global hot spots when it come to digital innovation? What European digital hotspots are visible to the rest of the world? How are they perceived to differ from Silicon Valley? What is special about them?
07.05.2015 - 16:15 bis 17:15
re:publica 2015

Global Innovators – Hacking culture, innovation spaces and start-up scenes in Singapore, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Brazil

Ahmed Maawy
Kudzai M Mubaiwa
saad chinoy
marina suassuna batista
In this session five innovators from different corners of the world will give an overview of the local hacker, maker and start-up scenes, and insights into why innovation spaces matter in the different political and economic environments.
06.05.2015 - 13:45 bis 14:45
re:publica 2015

Creating Open Spaces for Innovation around the world – Insights from Egypt, Palestine, Columbia and Indonesia

Samer Shawar
Denise Karunungan
Martín Restrepo
Muhammad Radwan
Europe has led the way in the evolution of diverse coworking and innovation spaces for the past decade. These alternative work and life concepts have transcended continents and have taken different shapes and forms with different aims and impacts across the world, in South East Asia, South America as well as Europe's southern neighbors Africa and the MENA region. What role do hackerspaces and coworking spaces play in countries struggling with socioeconomic and political challenges?
07.05.2015 - 13:45 bis 14:45
re:publica 2015

Freifunk for Beginners

Elektra Wagenrad
Freifunk (German for: "free radio") is a non-commercial open grassroots initiative to support free community broadband networks in the German region, part of the international movement for open wireless radio networks. In this hands-on introduction we will show you how the Freifunk technology works and how you can join or start a Freifunk community.
05.05.2015 - 18:30 bis 19:30
re:publica 2015

The Maker Movement: Innovating Traditional Crafts or Colonizing Artisans?

Gesche Joost
Juliet Wanyiri
Anna Waldman-Brown
Based on the research and collaboration experiences of the panelists, it seems that in developed countries traditional handicraft and maker cultures are complimenting each other to breath new life and innovation into established traditions. However, in developing countries this seems to be different: Although informal sector activities often overlap with do-it-yourself culture, many “Maker” initiatives have ignored existing grassroots innovators.
07.05.2015 - 12:30 bis 13:30
re:publica 2015

Fighting chronic disease with digital innovation

James Odede
Hani Eskandar
Regina M. Sipos
Andres Martin
How can we use technology to spread awareness and empower people to confront so called "lifestyle" diseases and control their exposure to risk factors? Do global solutions exist or will every community need their own approach – and how will these be built? These are some of the questions the session will address, as well as discussing how local innovators from Africa and everywhere can be involved in solving the problem.
07.05.2015 - 12:30 bis 13:30
re:publica 2015

Impactful Innovation Made Easy – the DIY Phone Charger

Juliet Wanyiri
In this workshop, you will build a simple phone charger using a motorcycle battery, a car charger, a block of wood and a few pieces of scrap metal. Not only will you learn basic electronic and woodworking skills but also get to put your design thinking hat on as you will be asked to help improve the chargers look and feel.
06.05.2015 - 15:00 bis 17:15
re:publica 2015

Innovation, Internet Access & Dengue Fever: Looking at Pakistan’s complex digital communications landscape

Ben Wagner
Mustafa Naseem
Pakistan is a country of 200 million people, with 70 percent of it's population under 30 years of age. With 25 million children currently out of school, creating jobs to accommodate these children when they enter the workforce is a big challenge facing Pakistan. Depending on how the government forms digital communications policies, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) arena could either be a savior or another lost opportunity towards economic growth in Pakistan.
07.05.2015 - 11:15 bis 11:45
re:publica 2015

Nerds with Blue Helmets? Digital Innovation and Peacekeeping

Aphrodice Mutangana
Almut Wieland-Karimi
Sanjana Hattotuwa
Hakim George Hakim Hegily
This session examines how digital media and technological innovation cannot only support post-conflict peacekeeping but also augment the strategies to foster more effective community development, to empower the victims of conflict and to strengthen the challenging process of peacebuilding.
07.05.2015 - 10:00 bis 11:00
re:publica 2015

3D Printing for Beginners

Oliver Stickel
After an introduction to the different 3D printing technologies and the process in general, we will guide our participants through the creation of individual objects using simple and web-based tools such as Tinkercad.com. Subsequently, we will print them out right on site and everybody gets to take home their own 3D printed creation!​
06.05.2015 - 10:45 bis 12:15
re:publica 2015

Code Week Award: DIY 3D Scanner aus Lego

Dominik Heun
Kristin Rammelt
3D-Drucker erfreuen sich schon seit einiger Zeit großer Beliebtheit und können bald als alltägliche Gegenstände angesehen werden. Da müsste es doch auch möglich sein, einen 3DScanner zu bauen. In diesem Workshop wird aus einfachsten Materialien (LegoMotor, Webcam, Linienlaser und einigen Bastelmaterialien) ein solcher 3DScanner gebaut.
05.05.2015 - 17:15 bis 18:15
re:publica 2015

Serendipity city – informal urban planning and social architecture

Alfredo Brillembourg
Adam Molyneux-Berry
Jon Stever
Ricardo Ruiz Freire
Pitch: Alfredo Brillembourg: As the world becomes increasingly urban, the demand for decent housing is greater than the supply. Those who can afford living in city centers take advantage of better access to economic opportunities and public amenities.
05.05.2015 - 14:45 bis 15:45
re:publica 2015

Don't change the world, sing with the universe

Bilal Ghalib
Nature creates, and we are natural beings - we've traded creativity and collaboration in creating our environment for economies of scale. Hackerspaces starting in Europe and spreading all over the world inspire agency and community. I work in the Middle East on open source culture and I've seen NGO & governmental international development work that don't accomplish much. What lessons can we learn from nature to make the best use of our resources?
05.05.2015 - 17:15 bis 17:45
re:publica 2015

Hyper-local Learning: How Technology Helps Communities to become Literate?

Markos Lemma
For the past 24 months, We have been working with kids in a very remote part of Ethiopia. How they learn tells us what should be the future of learning and how to minimize the digital divide by enabling children and their parents to read using tablets. Can children learn to read on their own using only tablets? How about the communities surrounding them?
06.05.2015 - 12:30 bis 13:00
re:publica 2015

The Local Innovation Effect: lessons and challenges from MIT’s International Development Innovation Network.

Jona Repishti
What happens when people who do not consider themselves to be innovators or makers are empowered to create solutions that improve their lives and community? At MIT’s International Development Innovation Network (IDIN) we are developing approaches to innovation and development that shift the focus from ‘design for’ or ‘design with’ to design by people living in poverty.
07.05.2015 - 13:45 bis 14:15
re:publica 2015

Humanitarian Makers – 3D Printing & manufacturing in disaster zones

Andrew Lamb
Disaster aid takes time to reach the people who need it. Stockpiled and flown in, even getting it through customs, the aid can be hugely expensive. With advances in small scale manufacturing, we have an opportunity to disrupt these traditional supply chains: humanitarian supplies can be made in the field.
07.05.2015 - 11:15 bis 12:15
re:publica 2015

Caffeinated Making

saad chinoy
"Would you like to go for a Coffee? But first, lemme take a quick selfie." The oversimplified caffeine syllogism: The world relies on technology. Technology relies on geeks, and the geek relies on caffeine. The world therefore depends on coffee. Without coffee, would we have selfies?
06.05.2015 - 10:00 bis 10:30
re:publica 2015

Nutella, Kittens and a friend Request from ISIS

Ben Wagner
Kave Salamatian
Lea Gimpel
The Arab Spring unleashed western governments enthusiasm regarding the power of the Internet for political mobilisation and campaigning. Today, ISIS is headlining as the social media savvy terrorist group recruiting young people from across the world to fight for their cause via Social Media. The same power of social media is now causing a very different reactions amongst governments,many calling for censorship to help combat ISIS media outreach.
06.05.2015 - 16:15 bis 17:15
re:publica 2015

Nairobi Dev School

Martha Chumo
In this session, the founder of Nairobi Dev School will talk about the circumstances that led her to found the school, the challenges and impact so far. She will explain the problem the school is solving and the role different people and organizations can play in transforming the lives of youth in Kenya by opening up technology to them.
06.05.2014 - 12:45 bis 13:00
re:publica 2014

Knowing Your Place

Dawn Danby
Bilal Ghalib
How can DIY technologies help address local environmental challenges around the world? We’ll briefly share some stories on how others are doing this, and then together we'll play with sensors, DIY technologies as well as our own eyes and ears to explore our place on earth.
06.05.2014 - 12:30 bis 13:30
re:publica 2014

#DefyHateNow - Mobilising Action Against Violence in South Sudan

Stephen Kovats
#DefyHateNow is a mobilization and urgent awareness raising campaign aiming support the actions of emergent, primarily youth based civil society organisations in South Sudan. The project aims to better network the message of these groups battling the hate-rhetoric and incitement to violence exacerbating the political clashes that broke out in the country's capital Juba, in December 2013.
07.05.2014 - 13:00 bis 13:30
re:publica 2014

FounderBus Africa - Reflections on the first Tour and Planning the next Trips

Fabian-Carlos Guhl
Francis Chiwunda
FounderBus Africa is a catalyst for entrepreneurship and innovation in the emerging world. Within the session we will present the 2013 tours and explain and discuss the 2014 strategy: We are planning four busses in and the creation of a Pan-African incubator network. Join us and help us improve the world by innovation.
07.05.2014 - 16:15 bis 17:15
re:publica 2014

Welcome GIG

Gerd Müller
Welcome Global Innovation Gathering, Entwicklungspolitik trifft Netzpolitik: Eine kurze Vorstellung des „Global Innovation Gathering“ (GIG) und Begrüßung der Teilnehmer durch den Bundesministrer Gerd Müller, Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ)
06.05.2014 - 11:00 bis 11:15
re:publica 2014

Let The People Know: Communication as a tool for success

Beate Wedekind
Startup entrepreneurs have everything in their mind: the business model, the business plan etc.. But they tend to forget that it's also about building an image. Make yourself and your team known, talk about your aims, your skills, your dreams. It's called self promotion. Beate Wedekind, founder of TheNewAfrica//Journal of Change, shows how to do it right.
07.05.2014 - 10:15 bis 11:00
re:publica 2014

Redefining Growth

Kitty Leering
Our world is built on the paradigm of continuous economic growth. Growth is seen as the most effective means to lift millions of people out of poverty and to ensure prosperity and opportunity for all. In many places and for many people, it has been extraordinarily successful in achieving this goal. But as we approach a global population of eight billion in 2030, our world is facing significant social and environmental challenges.
07.05.2014 - 14:15 bis 14:45
re:publica 2014

How Do We Know that Tech Hubs Make A Difference? A Crash Course on Evaluation in Innovation Ecosystems

Nicolas Friederici
The African tech hub movement is alive and well. Set foot in any innovation space in a top tier hub and you will be struck by the buzz and excitement that have taken over in local communities within just a few years.
06.05.2014 - 15:30 bis 16:00
re:publica 2014

Making Makerspaces Profitable and Sustainable

Ahmed Bastawy
Makerspaces are not only about building machines, creating prototypes, and digital fabrication. They are mainly about building communities that are sensitive to the local problems and could contribute efficiently to the industrial revolution. Let's dream of a makerspace that has a multi-sided business model that is open, profitable, community-driven and sustainable.
07.05.2014 - 13:45 bis 14:45
re:publica 2014

Hello Government – Better governance in 140 characters?

Friedrich Kitschelt
Pranesh Prakash
Geraldine de Bastion
Rosemary Mbabazi
Compared to Germany, many government officials in developing countriesare embracing social media as a means to listen and engage in conversation with their citizens. In particular in countries with weak institutions, new forms of digital media for governance are promising alternatives.
08.05.2014 - 17:30 bis 18:30
re:publica 2014

Between Freedom and Fear - Digital Media as Tools of Expression and Repression

Reem Almasri
Markos Lemma
Stephanie Hankey
Roger Dr. Fischer
Oksana Romaniuk
Matthias Spielkamp
What if Facebook is the only place homosexuals feel safe to meet, even though it is known that the government surveils the Internet? What if Twitter is the only place you can mock your government? In this session, cultural, political and technical limitations to free speech will be debated along with the question what contribution can good governance and media programmes supported by the German development cooperation have, when when Internet Freedom is at stake?
08.05.2014 - 11:15 bis 12:15
re:publica 2014

Driving Global Innovation – Roadtrips and other learning and collaboration formats

Fabian-Carlos Guhl
Faruq Hunter
Victoria Wenzelmann
In this session, the initiators of the AfricaHackTrip, GeeksGoneGlobal and the FounderBus will compare their experiences related to the synergies of travel and innovation, and discuss the role that travel-based learning initiatives have in the cross-polenization of the global innovation ecosystem.
08.05.2014 - 14:15 bis 14:45
re:publica 2014

Don’t talk to women in tech about women in tech

Clarisse Iribagiza
Nanjira Sambuli
Martha Chumo
When Martha was 19 she received a Hacker School scholarship, but was denied the visa to enter the US. Instead, she opened the Nairobi DevSchool. Clarisse runs the most successful mobile technology start-up in Ruanda. The two of them stand out, as there is still a stark underrepresentation of women of women in technology in Africa and around the world.
08.05.2014 - 15:00 bis 16:00
re:publica 2014

Take a Deep Breath Before Making

Bilal Ghalib
Terrorism, cancer rate research, prosthetics, and election monitoring are topics often put out of the Maker movement's reach. But in many countries in the Middle East, these are central issues not addressed by the government or industry. Here, hackers setting up communities and project to deal with socially relevant problems themselves.
08.05.2014 - 12:30 bis 13:00
re:publica 2014

Critical Making in Africa: Local manufacturing and regional collaboration

Stefania Druga
In this session AfriMaker team members are going to show case some of the solutions created and discuss why using local know-how and hands-on prototyping for solving local challenges is more effective in creating access to clean water, energy, and information than large top-down projects.
08.05.2014 - 13:00 bis 13:30
re:publica 2014

eLearning in Lusaka

Silumesii Maboshe
Zambia is not the first country that comes to mind in a conversation about innovation in learning. The obstacles to basic learning in Zambia are not few. However, some have chosen to meet these challenges head-on and have found the environment to be an ideal test bed to create learning solutions. Could this be the beginning of an eLearning revolution?
07.05.2014 - 15:00 bis 15:30
re:publica 2014

African HubCity & WoeLab

Sénamé Koffi Agbodjinou
African HubCity initiative is a model of an alternative and inclusive urbanization; the ground of experiment of which is a district of Lomé (capital of Togo/ West Africa). One of the Founders of the WoeLab will introduce the concept of working with LowHighTech, local expertise, in order to create projects, technooy and change adapted to specific African configurations and owned by the local communities.
07.05.2014 - 18:00 bis 18:15
re:publica 2014

Breaking down the African startup funding ecosystem

Ben White
Bill Zimmerman
Africa is the fastest growing continent in the world; it has the world’s largest population of under-20 humans and has a population that will exceed that of the USA in 10 years and 2 billion by 2050. The obvious opportunities include feeding, clothing, transporting, powering, financing and serving this massive emerging market. More importantly, a rising generation of entrepreneurs are determined to position the continent as a hot-bed for innovation and a source of world changing solutions.
06.05.2014 - 13:00 bis 13:30
re:publica 2014

Fablabs in Egypt, bam booming!

Muhammad Radwan
In only a span of a few years, the Fab Lab concept has gained an enormous momentum in Egypt with already 2 officially part of the international network. The demand for decentralized production and prototyping has boomed since the 2011 revolution with a sense of independence by the youth. Laser cutters, CNC machines, and 3D printers are not only spreading, start-ups and entrepreneurs are taking them to a global level.
07.05.2014 - 17:30 bis 17:45
re:publica 2014

"HE/DE the guide to the furnished city". ICT for social innovation, a Spanish case study.

Luta Valentina Morciano
Abandoned furniture in the street is a very common thing in Spain. Spaniards are used to abandoning their furniture anywhere near public disposal containers, even in the city center. Furthermore, consumerism of the early 2000’s caused a large amount of furniture to be thrown away while they were still in very good condition. This is very bad for the environment, but fortunately Spanish people love to collect and refurbish abandoned furniture.
07.05.2014 - 17:30 bis 18:00
re:publica 2014