Innovation space for disadvantaged young people (FabLab)

In Greece, Gaza, Burkina Faso and in the Ukraine, Terre des Hommes has built innovation spaces where disadvantaged young people can implement their own projects with technical tools. The aim of the initiative is to introduce young people to the digital world and thereby strengthen their position on the job market. Financial payments from TEXAID are also helping to finance this important initiative.

TEXAID and Terre des Hommes
TEXAID has been supporting the projects of Terre des Hommes for many years. Numerous used clothes bins all over Switzerland are used to collect to the benefit of the child welfare organisation and are provided with the respective logo. TEXAID generates funds from the sale of the used clothes, which it pays to Terre des Hommes, as well as to the six involved aid organisations. The Swiss child welfare organisation aims to sustainably improve the living conditions of millions of vulnerable children and their relatives. The innovation spaces in the various countries are part of the projects supported by revenue from used clothes collection.

FabLab – Learn digital know-how in practice
A FabLab, derived from Fabrication Laboratory, is a place where new digital technologies can be discovered (e.g. how to use 3D printers or laser and vinyl cutters, etc.). The first room was opened for the refugee population in Greece. Subsequently, further FabLabs followed for children working in gold mines in Burkina Faso or those affected by the conflict in the Ukraine. The FabLab has two aims: On the one hand, to provide a space for progressive, digital technologies for the realisation of projects. On the other hand, they present an innovative, exciting and informal educational tool, imparting practical digital skills to young people.

Project background
The FabLabs offer refugees, as well as local populations, a common work space to get to grips with the necessary fundamentals of the technologies and to receive support when developing their projects. Regular workshops are offered to allow participants to encourage their creativity and implement their own projects and designs. This promotes education, employability, and not least, entrepreneurial skills. Every humanitarian FabLab is tailored to the regional situation in which young people find themselves.

More information on the Terre des Hommes project can be found here.

August 2019