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THE 2022 FESTIVAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE
22 October - 13 November
FoSS and ESRC logos

The Repair Shop 2049

Building Repair Communities to Make Smart Tech Smarter

My local area theme

What’s on offer?

The Repair Shop 2049 features a variety of creative and fun activities for all ages which highlight how the Blackburn community can come together to begin to improve repair and reuse of smart tech at a local level.

  • Smart Device Repair Station –  learn more about the new Right-to-Repair laws while watching practical device repair demos.
  • Future Mundane Caravan – explore immersive, next generation everyday smart tech while asking yourself what’s it going to take to fix this future?
  • Digital Making – The Making Rooms, Blackburn’s community fabrication lab, will showcase a range of fun, creative tools and skills that can be used for repairing things including 3D printing and laser cutting.

Come and see your Repair Shop of the future! We will be running the event from The Making Rooms – both inside and out – in the heart of the community, come along to access repair knowledge, skills and technologies that we'd love to share with you!

What’s it about?

How smart are our smart devices if we cannot repair and reuse them?

Many people now own and interact with smart devices such as phones on a daily basis. The recent Right-to-Repair legislation does not allow people to easily nor affordably repair their smart devices like phones, speakers and watches. By 2030, there will be an estimated 25 billion smart devices in everyday use worldwide. When hardware breaks or software cannot support new updates, many will be thrown away and end up as landfill, contributing to climate change. 

The Repair Shop 2049 raises awareness of these important issues through engagement with a range of creative and fun technology repair related activities. 

Who’s leading the event?

Dr Michael Stead, Lecturer in Sustainable Design Futures, Imagination, LICA, Lancaster University

Prof Paul Coulton, Professor of Speculative & Game Design, Imagination, LICA, Lancaster University

Tom Macpherson-Pope, Director, The Making Rooms Blackburn

Open to

Open to all - activities of interest for all demographics and age groups!

Of particular interest to

The event will be of particular relevance to members of the Blackburn community interested in moving towards more sustainable and ethical ways of living.  In addition, those interested in electronics/general repair and maintenance, making and digital technologies will also find much to engage with during the event.

Scheduling information

https://www.makingrooms.org/about/contact-and-directions/index.html