A bi-weekly talk show by The Restart Project, plus a monthly documentary series produced by brilliant podcaster Dave Pickering, based on fixing triumphs, heartbreaks and wisdom shared at our community repair events – called Restart Parties – here in London. We go into real depth about good and bad design, obstacles to repair of electronics, emotional aspects of ownership, environmentally irresponsible business models, and the “end of life” of our gadgets. This podcast is for you if you'd like to fix your relationship with electronics. Let’s rethink, restart.
https://therestartproject.org/podcast/
Restart Podcast Ep. 80: Voices of Fixfest 2022
From 30th September – 2nd October, members of the repair community from all over the world gathered together to share their ideas and passion at Fixfest 2022. From fixers and tinkerers, to academics and activists we all had something to teach and learn from each other. It was a chance to explore new ideas, hear different perspectives, and – perhaps most importantly – interact in person for the first time in a while.
In this episode, we wanted to make the most of this rare opportunity. We spoke to 7 Fixfest attendees about where repair is now and where they hope to see it in the future. You’ll hear a host of different voices including:
- Clare Seek from Repair Café Portsmouth, UK
- Nathan Proctor from PIRG, USA
- Melina Scioli from Club de Reparadores, Argentina
- Leanne Wiseman from Griffith University, Australia
- Purna Sarkar from Repair Café Bengaluru, India
- Mathew Lubari from Community Creativity for Development (CC4D), Uganda
- Mike Kavanagh from Repair Café Pavia, Italy
The theme for 2022’s Repair Day, also celebrated this October, was ‘Repair Everywhere’, and we wanted to know what this phrase meant to our community. To some it was an aspiration, a desire for repair to be visible everywhere – in schools, community centres, in our media, on high streets, and even in prisons. For others, it represents the overwhelming prevalence of repair in our lives and culture. Our speakers argue that it’s not that repair isn’t happening, rather that it’s not being highlighted as the essential tool that it is.
Repair’s impact on cost of livingThe cost of living crisis has been all-consuming recently. We know that repair and reuse will be integral tools to tackle this issue and help those who cannot afford to buy new. But we’re curious to know how this presents in other parts of the world.
Looking to the future of repair policyWe also delved into the state of the Right to Repair movement across the globe. We are all at different points in our fight for a real Right to Repair. For some, the movement is almost non-existent in their country. Mathew tells us how excited he is to be the first person to bring this issue to light in his country. In the US, it seems that public opinion is in firm support of Right to Repair, now it’s time to push for this right to be legally supported and protected. Leanne tells us about the burgeoning movement in Australia, and the steps that have been taken by their government to put the wheels in motion on what the Right to Repair could look like in their country.
Ultimately, we’re all at different stages of our journey towards Right to Repair. But one thing that Fixfest showed us is how united we are in the goal of bringing back repair.
Links:
- Fixfest
- That’s a wrap – Fixfest 2022
- ‘We Will Fix It’ from Fixfest 2022
- Our previous interview with Mathew Lubari
[Feature image by Mark A Phillips, licensed under CC BY 2.0.]
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