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Maker Movement

Open AIR has been researching, and interacting with, the innovation practices of African maker communities since 2016. The current focus of our work in this area, as of early 2022, is the EU-funded African European Maker Innovation Ecosystem (mAkE) project (see post below) for which Open AIR is one of the consortium members, along with several other African entities and several European organisations. The mAkE project runs until early 2025. Open AIR researchers have published several working papers and scholarly articles on the work of maker communities in Southern, East, West and North Africa (see posts below).

Maker spaces in developing countries: Sites of innovation despite simultaneous challenges

by Mohamed Hosny In the past few years, there have been several initiatives to help entrepreneurs introduce new creative and innovative products that break from...

Policy Support for Makerspaces in Africa and Europe: mAkE Project Publishes...

By Chris Armstrong The EU Horizon 2020-funded African European Maker Innovation Ecosystem (mAkE) Project, in which Open AIR is an African partner, has published its flagship policy...

Building Startup Resilience in Ghana Through Policy Support

By Yaw Adu-Gyamfi Startups in Ghana struggle with access to technical support services, sustainable market linkages and funding to keep them afloat in the initial...

The Maker Movement Across North Africa (Arabic)

نغم الحسامي ونجلاء رزق Authored by: Nagham El Houssamy and Dr. Nagla Rizk نسعى من خلال ورقة العمل هذه لتوضيح مخرجات...

Makerspaces et émancipation des femmes en Afrique : Briser les préjugés...

Par Thomas Hervé Mboa Nkoudou Au cours de mon séjour de recherche, je me suis intéressé à la place réservée aux femmes au sein...

Les Fablabs en Afrique : une utopie à l’épreuve des...

By Thomas Hervé Mboa Nkoudou Du 6 au 10 mai 2018, la ville de Dakar accueillait le Festival Afropixel 6 sur la thématique « Utopies non-alignées :...

Beyond the Poster Boy of the Maker Movement

Some people tour Europe’s finest vineyards others tour Australia’s sweetest surf spots—I tour South Africa’s pioneer makerspaces; part of the growing global maker movement. The movement is a culmination of people becoming “makers” (someone who uses their personal abilities to create anything from mechanical or electrical to visual or musical) and spaces becoming makerspaces (an interdisciplinary area stimulating people to create by providing resources and idea sharing).

Open AIR North Africa Distinguished Speaker Series: Ibrahim Al-Safadi on Makerspaces...

On 10 December 2016, as part of the RiseUp Summit in Cairo, Open AIR’s North Africa hub hosted their first Distinguished Speaker event with Ibrahim Al-Safadi, the CEO of Luminous Education. The Access to Knowledge for Development Center (A2K4D) invited Al-Safadi to speak about the role of “makerspaces” to tackle unemployment and to share his experiences in how to create a makerspace that ensures that the individuals involved end up with jobs.

Universités et Instituts de Recherche de Côte d’Ivoire en mode DIY,...

Par Ahou Rachel Koumi La COVID-19 apparue en décembre 2019 à Wuhan en Chine a atteint tous les continents. La maladie s’est déplacée d’homme à homme,...

African European Maker Innovation Ecosystem (mAkE) Project Completes Year 1

By Chris Armstrong The EU-funded African European Maker Innovation Ecosystem (mAkE) project has now completed its first year of operation. Open AIR is one of several...