Fixfest UK 2023

Fixfest UK is back!

Fixfest UK 2023 was a gathering for community repair in Cardiff on the 30th of September 2023. Open to all those involved in community repair across the UK, it was a chance to lead and join workshops, talks and hands-on sessions to help us make repair the norm.

Together, we discussed how to bring repair to our communities and (re)normalise it nationwide. From high level campaigning to hyper-local tactics, our conversations centered around our shared love of repairing: the joy it brings, the people it brings together, the skills it teaches and the environmental benefits it yields.

We also revealed the new UK Repair & Reuse Declaration that many of us had been working on over the previous few months. The Declaration will launch on International Repair Day (21 October 2023) and serve as a springboard to engage MPs and other decision makers in the lead up to the next general election.

As with past editions, an ‘unconference’ approach gave participants the chance to shape the programme by suggesting topics and running sessions.

What happened at FIXFEST UK 2023
A very large group of people look up at the camera and hold large tool props.
A group photo at the end of the day – with giant tool props! Photo: Mark A Phillips CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Fixfest UK was organised by The Restart Project and Repair Cafe Wales in collaboration with other members of the Community Repair Network. It was funded by The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and sponsored by SUEZ recycling and recovery UK.

News

Frequently Asked Questions

Fixfest UK is intended for anyone who is actively involved in a community repair group (such as a Repair Café) or repair network in the UK and is interested in the following topics:

  • Strengthening the UK repair movement
  • The Right to Repair in the UK (and beyond)
  • Repairing in our communities
  • How to repair…

For anyone outside of the UK, the next international Fixfest will likely take place in 2024 or 2025.

Fixfest UK will feature talks and workshops and hands-on sessions, focusing on community repair in the UK.

Fixfest UK is an ‘unconference’. Unlike a regular conference, participants collaboratively generate and deliver the sessions they want to see. The beauty of this is it can open up space for discussions and activities which reflect the ideas, skills and interests of the participants.

This means that some of the programme will emerge on the day, with others being scheduled in advance.

Find the full programme here.

For more information about what to expect from Fixfest UK, read our blog post.

We know trains and ferries are expensive and we don’t want that to be a barrier to people coming to Fixfest from all over the UK. So here’s the deal: we will support up to two people from any active community repair group with a travel bursary.

There are two types of bursary available: a smaller bursary of up to £100 and a handful of larger bursaries of up to £300 (or more) per group. The larger bursaries are intended for those coming from furthest away (especially from Scotland or Northern Ireland) and who may need to stay longer.

To be eligible for either, you must be part of a UK community group that runs regular repair events that are free for the public. We encourage people to take public transport options like trains and coaches whenever possible. For those coming from further afield, the bursary may also be used for overnight accommodation.

We have a limited number of travel bursaries available, so can’t guarantee a bursary to everyone who applies. We will prioritise applications from those who need to make longer or more expensive journeys.

To get your travel bursary, purchase a reduced price ticket and answer the question about applying for a travel bursary. We’ll verify your affiliation to a community repair group, ask you about your travel needs and give you the green light to book your trip. You’ll need to book and submit a digital version or photograph of the receipt(s) along with your bank details by midnight on Sunday 10th September. Reimbursement will take place after Fixfest UK. If you don’t attend we won’t be able to cover your travel.

Yes!

As always, much of Fixfest UK will be an ‘unconference’, giving you the chance to shape the programme and run sessions you think are interesting. There will also be opportunities to give super a short ‘lightning talk’ to briefly share what you’ve been working on. You will be able to sign up for one of these slots on the day.

But if you would like to run a longer session that is included in the programme in advance, please complete the form here.

In addition to speaking opportunities, we will also provide spaces to display posters, set up small stands and share printed materials, so feel free to bring these along with you.

Learn more about how to share your work here.

Friday 29th September

For anyone arriving in Cardiff on Friday 29 September (the day before Fixfest UK), we’ll be organising a couple of opportunities to meet other Fixfest participants:

Netwalk around Cardiff, 4:30pm–6:30pm

For those arriving on Friday afternoon, our wonderful Fixfest UK coordinator, Stacey, will be leading a guided walking tour of central Cardiff. This will be the perfect chance to get to know the city and meet other Fixfest UK participants. If you can’t make it for 4:30pm, you’ll be able to catch up with the group at any time using a tracking link we’ll publish share on the day.

Note: we’ll only run this activity if enough people register for it.

⚠️ A separate (free) ticket is required to attend the netwalk: Book here 🔗

Location: Cardiff city centre

Drinks at RE:MAKE Newport, 6pm–8pm

On Friday evening, we’ll meet for drinks at RE:MAKE Newport, Wales’ first permanent community repair and reuse space. You’ll also get a chance to look around and learn more about the work being done at this exciting project. Newport is a half an hour train journey from Cardiff.

Location: RE:MAKE Newport, 26 Skinner Street, NP20 1HB

⚠️ Due to limited space, a separate (free) ticket is required to attend RE:MAKE: Book here🔗

Saturday 30th September

Fixfest UK is happening on 30th of September at:

Cardiff Business School Postgraduate Teaching Centre, Colum Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF10 3EU.

Doors will open at 9:30am and the day will start promptly at 10am. Lunch and refreshments will be provided and we’ll finish at 5pm.

There are no official scheduled events on Saturday evening, but there will likely be informal opportunities to carry on the conversations from the day.

Great question! We’ve produced some guidance on alternative ways to get to Cardiff, and we’re also organising a car pool for those who need or can offer a lift. Find all of that here.

The train strikes are a real headache and we considered postponing Fixfest UK or running it online instead. However, in the end, we decided to go ahead as planned. Here’s why…

We felt that running Fixfest UK online wouldn’t really achieve our core aims of bringing people together in the kind of soft-networking space we’re hoping to foster. After experiencing many online events during the pandemic, we don’t think they quite do the same thing as gathering in person.

Postponing also felt like a bad option for the following reasons:

  • postponing by a week or two would likely mean losing as many people as going ahead given it’s the start of the school year and at such short notice
  • postponing it for longer (i.e. late Oct-Dec) would miss the build up to International Repair Day and there may be less interest later in the year
  • the train strikes are likely to keep happening, so we might end up in the same situation again
  • we couldn’t guarantee that the venue or caterer would be available on another day with the same agreement
  • lots of participants would lose money on transport & hotels
  • we’d lose a substantial portion of our budget, meaning a postponed event would have to be significantly smaller
  • 61% respondents to the travel survey said they could still make it despite the strike, compared to 14% who said they wouldn’t be able to come (and 25% who didn’t specify).

We understand that our decision to go ahead as planned may mean some people are unable to come, and we’re really sorry about that. If you need extra support to get to Fixfest UK, please do reach out at: [email protected].

Brought to you by

The Restart Project

Repair Cafe Wales

In collaboration with

Community Repair Network

Funded by

The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust

Sponsored by

SUEZ