Originally published at: https://therestartproject.org/news/fixfest-2022/
It’s almost time for Fixfest 2022! This year, we will be convening in Brussels for the first time in too long as a global community. We’re so happy that many of you are able to join us from all over the world, representing the diverse range of repair work that is happening all the time.
Fixfest is a global gathering of the repair community – bringing together people interested in volunteering in community repair, barriers to repair, repair policy, business models for repair. We came up with the concept in London in 2017, and Runder Tisch Reparatur ran the second international edition in 2019.
This year’s Fixfest is our most ambitious yet. We’re meeting in Brussels, which over the years has become a symbol for European efforts on Right to Repair. And we’re organising the event in partnership with the European Right to Repair Campaign – a coalition of over 100 organisations from throughout Europe which we launched at the previous Fixfest in 2019 – and with Repair Together and Repair & Share, the two Belgian-based organisations supporting community repair across the country. Fixfest 2022 is part of our contribution to the Sharepair project, with support from the EU Interreg North-West Europe programme. We are grateful to our sponsors for the event: Back Market and iFixit to help make this possible
As well as our absolutely stacked in-person programme, we will also be holding Fixfest online, featuring different content by and for those of you who are not able to join in person. We also plan to publish documentation and recordings of select sessions held in Brussels in coming weeks.
The Fixfest 2022 programme
The programme for Fixfest 2022 will focus on four core themes: Repair in our communities, the Right to Repair, Repair and education and How to repair.
Friday 30th September is a day focused on Right to Repair and how EU policies can be instrumental in overcoming remaining barriers to repair. We’ll feature perspectives from a range of partners involved in the push for repair legislation, as well as contributions from European institutions. There’s a few remaining tickets available for the conference in case you’re in Brussels, and you can also watch a livestream of this session – see the full programme and register here.
Then, if you’re in the mood for some on the ground activism, we’ll be holding a Right to Repair protest at 16.00/4pm in Place René Cliquet, a busy commercial street in Brussels. Come get involved, make a sign, and make your voice heard!
We’ll kick off Fixfest proper on 1st October with an exciting keynote by Mathew Alapayo. Alapayo is the founder of CC4D, a nonprofit based in Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement in Uganda that promotes sustainability through repair and reuse.
Throughout the weekend, we’ll have a selection of talks, workshops, and interactive sessions that cover a massive range of topics.
On Saturday, the sessions will explore community repair around the world featuring everything from talks on 3D printing of spare parts, Bringing Community Repair to the High Streets and more. For participants more interested in the practicalities of repair, there will be plenty of sessions, from how to troubleshoot, to how to repair a sewing machine
And in the evening, we’ll drop the technical talk for a party where members of our global community can meet, socialise, and get to know each other.
On Sunday 2nd October, there’s some internationally focused programming, including sessions on Long-term aims for the global repair community as well as one on the power of the repair data we collect. We will also be looking at what happens after Fixfest with a session on Repair Day 2022 and have a plenary about Looking back on Fixfest and ahead to the future of repair.
In the afternoon, we’ll be doing something a little special. We’re taking advantage of this gathering of repair volunteers and passionate fixers by hosting a large-scale repair cafe open to the public at Ateliers des Tanneurs, while also giving people a chance to learn what’s inside a smartphone, alongside other activities.
How to be part of the programme
The sessions for this conference have been suggested by members of our community all over the world, and the majority are hosted by those in your own repair communities. Across the weekend, there will be open ‘unconference’ slots available for anyone who would like to run their own short session.
We look forward to seeing you there or online later this week!