The Maker Movement
The Maker Movement dates back to the late 19th Century when a group of creative individuals decided they wanted to break the mould of working separately and designing items which were to be produced in factories. They wanted to come together in collaborative spaces where they were able to share skills and knowledge. The maker movement is on this rise in popularity again and now, more than ever, people are sharing these spaces and developing incredibly exciting new ideas.
The image is of a maker space at its best, filled with people ‘tinkering’ and collaborating, just to see what’s possible for them to make.
Maker spaces can allow someone to try to start their own product or business without the huge pressure normally associated with it. They are encouraged to experiment with this and come up with exciting new ideas that may not be possible in a traditional startup (Rosa, Pereira and Ferretti, 2018. By not having all of the initial start-up costs, immediately people are allowed to imagine and even set up their own business opportunities and create jobs.
“Every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination.” — John Dewey, American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer
Times are even more exciting now as technology continues to develop, sometimes from these very spaces.
“If you believe the media, the future is full of killer Artificial Intelligence, efficient robots replacing human workers and a ‘technopocalypse’ … The truth could not be more at odds with that vision. This is an exciting time to be alive and the Maker Movement is a sign that things might be brighter than we think.” — Declan Cassidy on the Maker Movement for the Creative Economy British Council
Whilst some people may be scared of their job being lost to a robot, the prospect of the new technology is exciting for makers. It allows for further experimentation and innovation, all under the same roof!
Cassidy, D. (n.d.). Go make something! The growth of the Maker Movement. [online] Creative Economy. Available at: https://creativeconomy.britishcouncil.org/guide/go-make-something-growth-maker-movement/ [Accessed 15 Nov. 2018].
Emmino, N. (2016). 10 Quotes That Embody the Essence of the Maker Movement [online] Electronics 360. Available at: https://electronics360.globalspec.com/article/7373/10-quotes-that-embody-the-essence-of-the-maker-movement [Accessed 15 Nov. 2018].
Rosa, P., Pereira, Â. and Ferretti, F. (2018). Futures of Work: Perspectives from the Maker Movement. [online] Luxembourg: Joint Research Centre, pp.78–79. Available at: http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC110999/kjna29296enn.pdf [Accessed 15 Nov. 2018].
