Global Innovation Lounge
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Waar, René von der
Bastion, Geraldine de
re:publica 2013 brought together representatives from technology innovation spaces from Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe at the Global Innovation Lounge - in cooperation with GIZ and AfriLabs we invited innovators from 25 countries to showcase local solutions, start-ups, hackspaces and incubators, to discuss, make and hack.
 I thought wouldn't it be really great to transport everything that's happening around the world in terms of digital innovation, startup culture, into Republica and show that this is not just Silicon Alley and a Berlin from Nonman but really something happening across the globe and see what the different scenes are like so just share each other's experience, see what we can learn from each other. So we decided because I work with a few different hubs I started asking around do you think this is a good idea and then I contacted AfriLabs and said do you think you know would this make sense or is it you know maybe something happening already somewhere and they said no actually that would be awesome because our network has never met physically ever and that would be the first time. So we partnered with GIZ the German International Corporation and AfriLabs to organize the Global Innovation Lounge and invite all AfriLabs members plus a few other hubs from Africa and some hubs from Asia and Latin America to really come here and show off all the crazy great stuff that's happening in terms of digital innovation in the world but also to meet each other and really strengthen and build these networks. So very simply AfriLabs is a Pan-African network of technology and innovation hubs. It started with five hubs about two years ago based on the premise that if we work together and learn from each other we'll all grow and learn faster. So the goal is really to connect and to share and to learn together. People have been extremely welcoming to us. It have come to the Global Innovation Lounge, listened to our hub managers speak, we've been around meeting people. So it sort of just goes to show that the common understanding can just expand like entrepreneurs and innovators all sort of speak a common language. The most important thing for us is just getting to talk about the things that are sometimes not available online. It's interesting that the keynote was actually presented by Eric Heisman which shows the importance of what we are doing and what is happening in Africa and the fact that we are here as hubs to showcase what we are doing in Africa and for Republica to provide this platform is quite powerful and we are grateful really to have had this opportunity to come here. Yeah, actually it's a really great platform. I mean it's actually the first time where all the global hubs are coming together ever like in this world that's seen and Republica is like a great platform to meet all these people together. So like in this Global Innovation Lounge I have a chance to meet like hubs where I can never even imagine to meet like from Philippines, from Indonesia, Brazil and like hubs from even Africa where we are communicating a lot with Africa Labs Network but never meeting physically. So it's a great platform to meet different people and share the same idea, the same resources we've been working on so far. And what do you think you've learned these days with other hubs here? Well number one is that most of the hubs are facing the same challenges. This was a great meeting because then we understood the fact that we are going through the same things. We are going through the same challenges. We also have the same kind of ambitions and goals and it was great to just sit with other hub managers and just get the vibe which is positive, it's inspiring, it's less move on forward, there's still an opportunity to just keep on doing what you're doing and doing it well.
 I thought wouldn't it be really great to transport everything that's happening around the world  in terms of digital innovation, startup culture, into Republica and show that this is not just  Silicon Alley and a Berlin from Nonman but really something happening across the globe  and see what the different scenes are like so just share each other's experience, see  what we can learn from each other.  So we decided because I work with a few different hubs I started asking around do you think  this is a good idea and then I contacted AfriLabs and said do you think you know would this  make sense or is it you know maybe something happening already somewhere and they said  no actually that would be awesome because our network has never met physically ever  and that would be the first time.  So we partnered with GIZ the German International Corporation and AfriLabs to organize the Global  Innovation Lounge and invite all AfriLabs members plus a few other hubs from Africa  and some hubs from Asia and Latin America to really come here and show off all the crazy  great stuff that's happening in terms of digital innovation in the world but also to meet each  other and really strengthen and build these networks.  So very simply AfriLabs is a Pan-African network of technology and innovation hubs.  It started with five hubs about two years ago based on the premise that if we work together  and learn from each other we'll all grow and learn faster.  So the goal is really to connect and to share and to learn together.  People have been extremely welcoming to us.  It have come to the Global Innovation Lounge, listened to our hub managers speak, we've  been around meeting people.  So it sort of just goes to show that the common understanding can just expand like entrepreneurs  and innovators all sort of speak a common language.  The most important thing for us is just getting to talk about the things that are sometimes  not available online.  It's interesting that the keynote was actually presented by Eric Heisman which shows the  importance of what we are doing and what is happening in Africa and the fact that we are  here as hubs to showcase what we are doing in Africa and for Republica to provide this  platform is quite powerful and we are grateful really to have had this opportunity to come  here.  Yeah, actually it's a really great platform.  I mean it's actually the first time where all the global hubs are coming together ever  like in this world that's seen and Republica is like a great platform to meet all these  people together.  So like in this Global Innovation Lounge I have a chance to meet like hubs where I can  never even imagine to meet like from Philippines, from Indonesia, Brazil and like hubs from  even Africa where we are communicating a lot with Africa Labs Network but never meeting  physically.  So it's a great platform to meet different people and share the same idea, the same resources  we've been working on so far.  And what do you think you've learned these days with other hubs here?  Well number one is that most of the hubs are facing the same challenges.  This was a great meeting because then we understood the fact that we are going through the same  things.  We are going through the same challenges.  We also have the same kind of ambitions and goals and it was great to just sit with other  hub managers and just get the vibe which is positive, it's inspiring, it's less move on  forward, there's still an opportunity to just keep on doing what you're doing and doing  it well.
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