Maker movement and hope in a developing country context: A community empowered through hope and creativity

Abstract

As the world’s systems are shifting from an industrial economy where a 
 centralized and individualistic mindset dominates to a creative economy where 
 collaboration and empowerment are prominent, many of our larger institutions 
 are being challenged as ineffective. Certain trends are gaining traction in 
 alignment with a more decentralized model. The maker movement’s ecosystem 
 has expanded and fueled entrepreneurial activities, social innovation labs have 
 emerged across the globe aimed at collaboratively solving complex social 
 problems, and technology continues to evolve to enable greater shared access to 
 information, people, ideas and funds. This research will explore the intersection 
 of these themes in the context of international development. It will examine how 
 peer led and purposeful maker-spaces can increase individual and community 
 empowerment, contributing to a more human centered approach to 
 strengthening start up ecosystems in developing countries. A case study will 
 focus on the approach taken by Reconstructed Living Labs (RLabs), a social 
 innovation lab located outside Cape Town, South Africa.