David Li has been contributing to open source software since 1990. He is member of Free Software Foundation, committer to Apache projects and board director of ObjectWeb.
Over the past 20 years, David has started several open source software projects and contributed to many others. In 2010, he co-founded XinCheJian, the first hackerspace in China to promote hacker/maker culture and open source hardware. In 2011, he co-founded Hacked Matter, a think tank on makers and open innovation.
In the past two years, he has become interested in urban farming and is an enthusiastic proponent of aquaponics, which brings the spirit of open source to farming and gardening. In 2015, he co-founded Maker Collider, a platform to develop next generation IoT from Maker community. He is also the director of Shenzhen Open Innovation Lab.
XinCheJian
XinCheJian, the first of many Hackerspaces in China, is one of the many hundreds Hackerspaces all around the world. Each Hackerspace is an autonomous entity, but they all share the same philosophy of having fun building things. An hackerspace is an environment where people can learn and tinker with technology, work in teams, participate in international competitions where many new opportunities can be found and created for all.
XinCheJian is a non-profit organization, it’s mission is to support, create and promote physical computing, open source hardware and Internet of Things. To achieve this, XinCheJian has talks, discussions, projects, startups promotion, workshops, competition organisation and our own participation in international competitions… Their long-term goal is to spread the concept and philosophy across China and inspire Hackerspaces in every large city from east to west.
Hacked Matter
Hacked Matter is a Shanghai based research hub dedicated to investigating the process of technological innovation in China. Through a series of immersive events, public programs, online outreach and offshoot publications, they bring together key stakeholders (scholars, makers, artists and entrepreneurs) to explore the rich interconnections between DIY making, product design, hardware manufacturing, and speculative thought.
Established in 2011, Hacked Matter is rooted in a long-term engagement with grassroots creativity in urban China, which began with the founding of Xindanwei in 2009, and its offshoot Xinchejian in 2010. As one of Shanghai’s few international and interdisciplinary research hubs, Hacked Matter focuses on the production of new technologies, the networks of shanzhai manufacturing and the role of China’s maker culture.
Talk "E-Waste: an open source solution" given at Lift16:
