This year, the Global Innovation Gathering (GIG) is coming together for its 4th time and this sub-conference developed by re:publica is an ideal opportunity for global innovation hub managers, makers, hackers and business people to present their ideas, innovations and projects and network internationally. We are proud to be able to welcome GIG as a recurring event at re:publica. GIG is not only showcasing the global network of innovators, startups and makers – it has also developed beyond re:publica and grown into a large community with global reach.

Disrupting old structures, forging new paths, making the impossible possible – these are the guiding principles of the grass-roots projects that make up the GIG network. #rpTEN will be presenting another set of exciting projects, including the Nepalese Communitiere hub, which connects development aid and aid focused startups with people on the ground. Following the recent devastating earthquake, the hub created a space for local NGOs and larger aid organisations to work together and learn from each other. The São Paulo-based Innovation Center Vila Nova Esperança (ICVNE) makerspace works in the slums of Vila Nova Esperança and its local community on development.
These and other projects will come together and present their initiatives as part of the GIG programme. Of course, our pop-up makerspace from last year will be back  in action in our main hall. Expect making, welding, creating. Internet sensors for plants, origami robots and other workshops are there to delight professional makers, novices, kids and other maker enthusiasts and offer a great change of pace from the busy days of talks and presentations.

Thanks to the overwhelming success and enthusiasm of the continually growing GIG community, this year's event will be even larger and more comprehensive than last! The heart of the event will again be the makerspace, hosted in collaboration with re:publica and Autodesk, a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Autodesk is a key ally of the global maker movement and continually pushes innovation toward a new future of making things. Thanks to this partnership, the makerspace program will be expanded to include hands-on workshops, interactive displays and other fun and educational activities that will let visitors get hands on with some of the tools that will be used to create  the innovations of tomorrow. We'll also be supported by the local Berlin maker scene, represented by FabLab Berlin. They will be supplying some of their numerous machines, which will give re:publica visitors the chance to use 3D printers, mechanical knitting and laser cutting. The makerspace will also be supported by Buerklin Elektronik and Arduino, both of which will be kitting out the space with electronics and hardware – so there'll be plenty of materials to go around!

GIG at re:publica will also cover current and global political developments in the maker scenes and discuss issues such as the ban on 3D printing in Egypt and the prohibitively hight import taxes on hardware in Ethiopia and Brazil.We're also really happy about our media partnership with Make:Magazin, which will cover the GIG maker community and is planning the second MakerFair Berlin this summer at Station-Berlin.

You are interested in global digital innovation, maker culture, hackerspaces, technologies and start-up scenes in Africa, Asia, the MENA region and Latin America? Come visit us at the GIG makerspace at rpTEN!

Photo Credit: re:publica (CC BY 2.0)