If you have a broken down dryer, toaster, computer or other electronic equipment at home, a trip to Lagos this Saturday can transform the old into the new. This is because the Cowork Lagos space, in the former Gil Eanes school, will host, this Saturday, the first community repair event, in Portugal, starting at 15 pm.
This, which is the first Restart Party in Portugal, is promoted by members of the COLAB, in Lagos, «tired of the culture of “throw away and buy new”».
In this Restart Party, volunteers will be helping anyone to repair damaged electronic equipment, in order to reduce waste. The event is free and open to everyone.
According to Pedro Semeano, host of the Restart Party and electronics engineer by training, “nowadays it's cheaper to buy a new one than have what we already have repaired. I've always fixed my equipment, not only because since I was a kid I was curious to know how they worked, but also because it's so much more fun!».
The Restart Party is an initiative of The Restart Project, a London-based non-profit organization that has organized more than 39 such events in pubs, galleries, libraries and community spaces in just over a year, and has spread the concept across the UK. Spain, Italy and now Portugal.
“I'm very excited about the potential to build a global community of repairers through Restart Parties in order to make more sustainable use of gadgets,” says Tony Roberts, curator of The Restart Project and founder of Computer Aid.
"The Restart Project touches with crucial concerns, both for the environment, for the economy, and the growing desire to resist excessive consumerism," he adds.
This project “is growing its repair events community by helping others to replicate it anywhere. Instead of creating Franchises, The Restart Project encourages organizations or communities to organize their own Restart Parties and join the network».
This event will be the first in Portugal and is open to all ages, with the presence of technicians from the Centro de Ciência Viva de Lagos who will make demonstrations of electronics for the youngest.
«We will be at this event, with a kind of stand, where we will have 3D printing pens and electronic material that we use in the workshops maker. The goal is to introduce kids to this world of electronics, putting them to interact with objects they know from day-to-day», revealed Luís Azevedo Rodrigues, director of CCV de Lagos to Sul Informação.
According to the organization of Restart Party, «the idea is to recreate this event every month, so, in order to maintain the initiative, donations are welcome».
O Cowork Lagos space opened two weeks ago, in the former Gil Eanes school, a public building that belongs to the Câmara de Lagos. It is promoted by a group of ten young local entrepreneurs, in the areas of design, programming, photography, marketing, journalism and multimedia. The project is directed by Catarina Moita.
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