Cebuanos Designing for Social Impact Through Himo: Humanitarian Makeathon 2022
“Himo 2022: Humanitarian Makeathon”, a 3-day workshop aiming to address humanitarian issues in Cebu through human-centered design, was launched last October 10 by the Department of Trade and Industry - Cebu, Field Ready Philippines, and Fablab UP Cebu. This is the second makeathon organized between Fablab UP Cebu and DTI Cebu, which held their last makeathon in 2017 through the Precious Plastic Cebu Makeathon.
On Oct. 28, 29, and Nov. 5, Himo will bring together creative professionals and enthusiasts at Fablab UP Cebu for design thinking and prototyping sessions focused on social impact. The makeathon’s goal is to equip Cebuano makers with the right knowledge in responding to community issues in the fields of education, sustainability and PWD accessibility.
The first day will cover a morning discussion on the design ethics and humanitarian principles for community engagement, followed by field assessments to identified communities in the afternoon. Day 2 and 3 will cover design thinking and rapid prototyping sessions between organized teams, with feedback provided by the leaders of the identified community and mentors in the humanitarian sector. On the last day’s presentation, all teams will present their design solutions prototyped at the fablab. The identified top three teams will be given a monetary and fablab grant to pursue more developments for their product and deploy it to their chosen community.
Mentorship will be handled by the organizers from Field Ready Philippines and Fablab UP Cebu. Field Ready is a non-profit, global humanitarian aid and development, non-governmental organization founded in 2013 that helps provide critical items and training to people when and where they need them. Fablab UP Cebu is the city’s first makerspace that aims to equip makers, academe, professionals, MSMEs, and the general public with democratic access to digital fabrication equipment (3D printers, laser cutter, CNC milling machines, etc.) access and training.
Fablab UP Cebu worked with Field Ready PH and Light of Hope PH last December 2021 to quickly build and deploy portable solar charging stations for communities affected by typhoon Odette, an exercise in rapid prototyping design interventions that they hope to replicate with Himo. “With Field Ready’s goal on localization of aid supplies, working with Fablab UP Cebu was crucial in the product development and small scale manufacturing of our Humanitarian Response work”, said Charles Barrete, Innovation Lead for Field Ready Philippines.
Himo 2022 is a free event that is open to everyone passionate about designing for social impact. The organizers of Himo will shortlist 20 eligible creatives to join the makeathon. Interested applicants can register on or before October 24, 2022 by going to tinyurl.com/himo2022.
For more information, please contact Fablab UP Cebu through their email at fablab.upebu@up.edu.ph, or visit their Facebook account: facebook.com/fablabupcebu.
