Barcelona Digital City

Fablab Barcelona and the Fundació Pere Tarrés held the first session of the Ambaixadors i Ambaixadores Maker project on Friday 23 February. The project is part of the maker movement and stresses learning through experience. Based on the concept of DIY, the movement promotes teamwork, the gaining and production of knowledge as a community, and DIWO (do-it-with-others).

The project aims for the city’s most vulnerable population (focusing on children and teenagers) to understand the digital transformation happening in our city and to be a part of it. It consists of a pilot scheme at three socio-educational centres in the city to empower groups of teenagers and turn them into ambassadors for the maker movement among their peers and neighbourhood residents.

The goal of the project is to provide training in the necessary tools for a team of young ambassadors from the centres so that they get into the maker movement and take three steps:

• To jointly set up a maker space at the centre, with ambassadors and teaching staff taking joint responsibility for it.

• To propose digital manufacturing and open technology activities at their centre.

• To explain their experience and offer advice to youngsters from similar centres.

So far, the first centre to participate, the Centre Socioeducatiu de Poblenou run by the Fundació Pere Tarrés, has already conducted two training sessions as follows:

• A visit to the FabLab Barcelona, where the children and teenagers let their imagination soar and discovered all the possibilities offered by digital manufacturing. The 3D printer was the item they valued most. This video summary of the work done during the session was recorded by one of the project participants: https://youtu.be/ngNfnrRZZ90

• In the second session participants made a mural with a map of the city on it, identifying the different digital creation spaces available to them around the city.

• In upcoming sessions participants will discover instruments and software enabling them to develop whatever they imagine and to become authentic maker artists. Time to let the imagination fly!

Training sessions at the second participating centre are due to start soon. Keep abreast of the latest on this project on social media using the hashtag #AmbMakers.