On November 21, our International College of Innovation (ICI) program welcomed Associate Professor Hua-Mei Chiu from the Department of Sociology at National Sun Yat-Sen University, at the invitation of our faculty member Professor Paul Jobin. Professor Chiu shared insights on everyday sustainability and social resilience. Participants included exchange students from Taiwan, the United States, Canada, Lithuania, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, as well as students from National Chengchi University, participating in discussions on the social dimensions of grassroots repair actions and their environmental impacts.
This lecture is part of our “Gaia Politics and Wartime Ecology” series, focusing on maintaining social resilience amidst Taiwan’s geopolitical uncertainties. It emphasizes the relationships nurturing our environment and people, highlighting the resilience of interpersonal solidarity and sustainability. These aspects are evident in repair cafés, where repair activities contribute to sustainable economics, waste reduction, and carbon emissions reduction. Moreover, cafés foster local community cohesion, enhancing social resilience by promoting collaboration and support among residents.
At the beginning of her presentation, Professor Chiu posed a question to participants: “If a household fan stops working, would you attempt repair or replace it?” This query not only touches on personal technical capabilities but also reflects broader societal realities: major corporations often restrict warranty conditions, cautioning against self-repair and suggesting new purchases at comparable prices.
In confronting these consumer attitudes and the broader linear economy and disposability culture, Professor Chiu drew inspiration from visiting repair cafés abroad to initiate similar grassroots social practices in Taiwan, paving a new path for circular economies. The Southern Repair Alliance (南方維修聯盟) emerged from this initiative, continually spreading repair culture’s spirit and tangible impacts through international workshops, collaborations with community colleges, universities, including the USR project team from National Sun Yat-Sen University, high school camps, and exhibitions, integrating repair into local communities.
In addition to bringing together individuals to repair and reuse old items, repair cafés measure benefits in waste reduction, carbon emission reduction, and savings on repair costs, thereby presenting holistic environmental, economic, and social benefits through their actions.
Such initiatives exemplify what Professor Chiu terms “local sustainability initiatives” (LSI), collective efforts underpinning alternative cultures amidst consumerism. These initiatives not only revive discarded products but also mend fractured social bonds. Professor Chiu emphasized the importance of interpersonal networks within repair cafés: establishing technical guidance, seeking advice, and fostering cooperation among participants.
In confronting late-stage capitalism’s consumption and waste paradigms from the bottom-up, Professor Chiu advocates for “everyday environmentalism” as a proactive stance. Globally, repair cafés challenge North-South dichotomies, not merely adopting Northern practices but integrating them into Southern communities, practical and operational at the grassroots level.
The glocal (global-local) approach exemplifies the repair café network, offering an alternative path toward sustainable economics amidst societal alienation and environmental crises, rebuilding and fortifying social resilience. To conclude, quoting the Southern Repair Alliance, “Replacing abandonment with repair is responsible production and consumption; through cooperation, mutual aid, and sharing, we repair objects, relationships between people and the Earth, and interpersonal relationships in our repair tours.”
Professor Paul Jobin (left) introduces the speaker, Associate Professor Hua-Mei Chiu from the Department of Sociology at National Sun Yat-Sen University, before the session.(right) (Photo Source：ICI).
Associate Professor Hua-Mei Chiu from the Department of Sociology at National Sun Yat-Sen University discusses repair issues under the focus of everyday sustainability and social resilience during the lecture. (Photo Source：ICI).
Speaker Associate Professor Hua-Mei Chiu from the Department of Sociology at National Sun Yat-Sen University interacts with participants. (Photo Source：ICI).
Students actively ask questions during the lecture. (Photo Source：ICI).
Students actively ask questions during the lecture. (Photo Source：ICI).
Speaker Associate Professor Hua-Mei Chiu from the Department of Sociology at National Sun Yat-Sen University poses for a photo with participants. (Photo Source：ICI).
