Last week I was privileged to join my Nesta colleague Kathleen Stokes speaking at the Fab Lab Northern Ireland conference in Derry/Londonderry. It was a great event exploring the growing field of Fab Labs in the country, where digital makers come together to use advanced prototyping and manufacturing technologies and, perhaps more importantly, share ideas and enthusiasm for a culture of making.
There were some fascinating presentations from Northern Ireland itself as well as Fab Labs in Detroit and Iceland. I came away with much food for thought about how this movement is affecting the lives of those involved, and how close we are to a future where such manufacturing could affect all our lives.
Kathleen and I explored some of the social implications of these new and emerging spaces, from the benefits to learning to those of social inclusion and entrepreneurship. You can watch a video of our talk at the link below, as part of a video of the entire event.
Where making meets social innovation: Kathleen Stokes and Oliver Quinlan
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