Originally published at: https://therestartproject.org/get-involved/repair-day-2023-recap/
For Repair Day 2023, we wanted Repair for Everyone and that meant organising a celebration that was bigger than it’s ever been before. The global repair community really pulled it out of the bag, with over 1600 events registered on the Open Repair Alliance map and many more happening across the month.
Here in the UK, we launched the Repair and Reuse Declaration in a bid to make our slogan real. We’re asking our government to support repair and reuse culture to thrive by enshrining the Right to Repair in law, and directing funding and resources into cultivating a healthy and flourishing circular ecosystem in the UK. Repair groups across the UK invited their local politicians to see what they do in person and learn about the value of community repair.
Want to learn more about what we’re asking for? You can visit repairreusedeclaration.uk to read our asks and email your local MP to ask them to support the cause.
Repairing around the world
In Europe, the Right to Repair campaign was also making itself heard. In a bid to amplify the need for affordable spare parts, they held an event in Brussels, bringing together members of the EU parliament,
climate NGOs and youth representatives to participate in a game of “The Price is Right – Repair Edition”.
“The price is right” stunt in Brussels (Image by Mark A Phillips, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
In other parts of Europe, groups in countries including Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark held hundreds of repair cafés and community outreach events. In the Netherlands, a new children’s show featuring repair was premiered in cinemas across the country – with accompanying repair events.
Further afield, there were Repair Day events happening all across the Northern US and a couple in Argentina and Mexico too! Our friends at Club de Reparadores held their first event in Querétaro in collaboration with Revuelta Club.
Repairers in Buenos Aires (Image by Club de Reparadores)
There were lots of youth outreach and educational events by our friends in Africa. In Benin, Les 100tinel Fix Club held an event for school children to repair their teaching supplies. And in Uganda, Community Creativity for Development ran training courses for women at the Ocean village Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement – putting into practice the idea that repair really is for everyone! From India to Korea to New Zealand, communities in every continent took part, highlighting that our movement truly is global.
We could see the reach of Repair Day 2023 through the presence of all of you online too! Our social media cards popped up in over eight different languages which is always amazing to see.
And don’t worry if you missed out on the fun, we’re already putting our heads together to make Repair Day 2024 bigger still! Stay tuned for more over the coming months.