Source: Peatix

A screening and talk event will be held for the documentary film "Repair Cafe," which depicts people helping each other and revitalizing local connections through "repairing" things.

Additionally, we will have guests from companies engaged in repair initiatives in Japan, such as Goldwin Inc. and CYKLUS LLC, in a cross-talk session to consider ways to realize a sustainable society, with companies and consumers sharing the responsibility of making, using, and recycling things together.

Towards the coming end of the era of mass production and consumption

In today's world, it's common to throw away broken things and buy new ones.

The background to this is that the nature of competition between companies that accelerates mass production and mass consumption, and the spread of products that utilize cutting-edge technology, have made what happens after something breaks a black box, and ``repair'' is becoming a distant part of people's lives.

Against the backdrop of global environmental destruction and the critical situation of global resources, Europe enacted the "Common Directive to Facilitate Product Repair" (also known as the Right to Repair Directive) in July 2024, which aims to make it easier for consumers to repair products. This requires manufacturers to repair 11 products, including televisions and mobile phones, that are repairable.

In Japan, a ministerial meeting was held in July of the same year to discuss the need for regional revitalization and lifestyle changes through repairs.

Reweaving our relationship with objects through tactile activities

What actions can we take to transition to a more sustainable economic and social system?

Amidst the various challenges, the "Repair Café," which originated in Amsterdam, Netherlands, offers one concrete approach. Repair Cafés are places where local volunteers can repair anything they have around them, such as broken home appliances, clothes, or bicycles, free of charge.

At this event, we will be screening a documentary film set in this repair cafe.

About the documentary film "Repair Cafe"

"It wasn't just things I wanted to repair."

Repair cafes originated in the Netherlands, where local volunteers fix anything that stores won't repair, including broken appliances, clothes, and bicycles, for free. They don't just repair things.

The "memories" of separated families, the "community" of a local area that is becoming estranged, the "system" of a consumer society that is based on the premise of throwing things away...

What kind of people and things gather at Repair Cafe? Here is the story of people who repair "more than just things" that are in the process of breaking.

Official websitehttps://ideasforgood.jp/documentary-repair-cafe/

(30 minutes | Japanese subtitles | English title The Repair Cafe | Production year: 2024 | Planning and production IDEAS FOR GOOD)

Exploring the possibilities of "repair" as a culture and creating new mechanisms

This screening and talk event will take as its starting point the activities of Repair Cafés in the Netherlands, and will look again at the potential of "repair" as a culture, shifting perspectives from the personal relationship between people and objects to the relationship between people, objects (resources), companies, and society.

After the screening, there will be a talk between director Masato Sezawa of IDEAS FOR GOOD, Kenichi Hatano of The North Face Business Division of Goldwin Inc., which operates a repair business in Japan, and Takeo Hirata of CYKULS LLC.

Taking into account the situation and cultural characteristics of Japan, we will delve into the design of activities and systems that enable companies and consumers to share the responsibility for making, using, and recycling things.

What can we do through "repair" to take a step towards a sustainable society? Come along for an evening of cross-disciplinary discussion.

speaker

Masato Sezawa / Creative Director, IDEAS FOR GOOD Editorial Department
Kenichi Hatano / Expert, The North Face Apparel Division, The North Face Business Headquarters, Goldwin Inc.
Takeo Hirata / CEO of CYKLUS LLC
Eri Iwasawa / Loftwork Inc. Culture Executive / Marketing Leader
Daiki Kanaoka/FabCafe Tokyo CTO

Venue