Nuit Debout: preparing for Maker Night
Will Nuit Debout go into maker mode? There is no lack of demand, beginning with a bicycle generator, Piratebox, Raspberry Pi billboard… henceforth, a list of grievances.
At Place de la République, in Paris, the idea of a Maker Night is making headway and already has its wiki (in French). Launched on Sunday by sociologist and hacker Laurence Allard, from Labo Citoyen (Citizen Lab), the (formal) proposition is supported by a bunch of puppet hands (to say “I agree”), at the Nuit Debout digital commission. Now all that’s left is to find a date (although April 27 seems to be the consensus).
Already widely relayed on social media, especially Periscope, Nuit Debout now has its own website, mobile application and an Open Street Map to locate the commissions in real time.
Open Street Map for Nuit Debout République:
For Laurence Allard, it’s important to “rematerialize” these exchanges: “Urban public space has extended to digital public space. It’s interesting to support this continuum, where everything is connected.”
Hackers and makers are thus invited to pool their skills. How? No shortage of ideas here. Makery presents the wishlist.
Bicycle generator
After “marmitegate”, whereby the police dumped a giant pot of soup into the gutter, “lampagate” hit the headlines as protestors were left in the dark, following a massive blackout at Place de la République on the night of April 12. Some accused the city, but the city denied all responsibility. These days, people aren’t counting on public service.
How to make the open square self-sufficient in energy? Build your own self-sufficient, eco-friendly electric generator to power sound and lights. And why not use a bicycle?
Tutorial to build a bicycle-powered electric generator (in French):
Disconnect…
Exchanging information and downloading documents is possible. La Copiothèque, an online space for exchanging texts, and Bibliodebout, a physical space for free book exchange, have each set up a Piratebox to store their documents and exchange them with curious passers-by. So not only do they have a server but also a local wifi network—ultra local, as the signal barely spans one meter. “It allows people to reconnect face-to-face,” says Vincent, La Copiothèque’s PirateBox specialist. Another advantage is that the Pirateboxes can also be interconnected through a mesh network. Just bring your own Raspberry Pi micro-computer and follow the tutorial!
LED info
On one side, the city’s software and API, on the other side, LEDs and Raspberry Pi. The idea is to display in real-time the digital interactions of the movement (vote, participation, presence by city, etc). Just a few points to solder before Nuit Debout gets its official display.
Open democracy, blockchain and cryptoparty
Richard Stallman, the pioneer of free software, said it first: the role of hackers in this space must also be to educate about “digital human rights and justice”. On April 17, at the digital commission, a few developers presented the results of the Open Democracy Now hackathon that took place the day before at Numa. Can we set up a voting system using the blockchain (or even a common fund for the movement, as suggested here), what tool for open democracy is most efficient for online voting…? Developers and project instigators are on all fronts (and looking for volunteers).
A cryptoparty will also be held at the end of the month. For more information, come to Place de la République and pick up a copy of the Nuit Debout daily bulletin!
Nuit Makeuse wiki and Hacking Debout digital commission wiki