A big thanks to @Michelle_Fisher, Elizabeth and @neil for coming along yesterday.
Here’s a quick summary:
Who was in the room?
- Elizabeth, co-coordinator of the New York State network of Repair Cafés
- @Michelle_Fisher, founder & coordinator of Melbourne Repair Café & mapper of Australian repair initiatives
- @neil, Restart staff member and aspiring repair group founder
- @james (me
)
What did we talk about?
Given most of us were already familiar with running repair events, we instead focused on getting to know how each of our repair networks operates (in the USA, the UK/Europe and Australia).
Repair Cafés & Restart Parties: what’s the difference?
We talked about the differences and similarities of the Repair Café model and Restart model, including Restart’s focus on electrical/electronic devices.
Elizabeth mentioned that Repair Cafés in her area don’t tend to see many electronic/electrical devices, possibly because they often struggle to find repairers who can tackle these kinds of items.
The Right to Repair
We discussed the growing movement around the Right to Repair. Elizabeth shared a positive experience of contacting her local elected representative, whose office turned out to be unexpectedly supportive.
“The key is to make these issues local, both geographically and politically”
- Elizabeth
While talking about getting politicians on board, we covered a myriad of good reasons to support the right to Repair, from concerns around our environmental impact and labour rights to strengthening a local repair economy and to consumer rights. We agreed that different elements of this appeal to different audiences.
Tips for organising your first repair events
@neil is interested in starting a new repair group, so we talked briefly about how to get one going. We all shared a few pieces of advice between us:
- Go and visit existing events & talk to the people who’ve done it
- Make partnerships: work with existing venues (e.g. libraries, makerspaces) and networks (e.g. local green/sustainability groups)
- Start with a tried and tested model (Repair Café, Restart Party, Fixit Clinic etc.) and adapt it to your needs