Offgrid and offline - How to build your own solar-powered autonomous network where there is no infrastructure.

At least 2.7 billion people out of around 8 billion globally are offline - and many more people already connected do not have meaningful access.

At the same time, we are witnessing exciting new developments in the areas of open hardware design, decentralized and localized manufacturing,  offline-first & self-hosted services for local content production, and open educational resources and technologies for localized capacity building.  

This hands-on session will enable participants to investigate each of these developments through the co-construction of an open source solar-powered wireless mesh network that runs local content and services.  Facilitators will provide all necessary hardware, deconstructed and organized prior to the workshop. Participants will be guided through the assembly process of the network, which will be fully operational at the end of the activity.  Each of the network components and tech developments will be described during the assembly and testing of the network.

Introduction (20 minutes)

Discussion about:

• current state of connectivity and needs for offline/distributed networks (Mike)
• open hardware, open firmware  - why is this needed and how is it different to closed hardware, how it works (Elektra)
• open software/services, and open education - what are locally-hosted offline-first content & services, and open educational technologies (Eric)
• open passive infrastructure - the use and adaptation of locally sourced materials for the construction of connectivity infrastructure (Sarbani - Remote)
  Discussion about:
• current state of connectivity and needs for offline/distributed networks (Mike)
• open hardware, open firmware  - why is this needed and how is it different to closed hardware, how it works (Elektra)
• open software/services, and open education - what are locally-hosted offline-first content & services, and open educational technologies (Eric)
• open passive infrastructure - the use and adaptation of locally sourced materials for the construction of connectivity infrastructure (Sarbani - Remote)