Hacklab ✴

The first hacklabs of Europe were part of the broader autonomist scene. They developed in the mid-'90s, being self-organised technological as well as political spaces, connected with squatting culture and media activism.

The Amsterdam Subversive Center for Information Interchange (ASCII), was one of the early hacklabs starting in 1999 as a free internet workplace in the Netherlands. The most active participants in ASCII were men, with experience in pirate radios, electronics or coding, and engineer or computer science backgrounds.

Very few women were active or visiting the space, finding it hard to fit in the culture of male geeks.

Shared by ★ Donna, in-person interview, Rotterdam 2019★