Be Makers is a non-profit association whose mission is to support and promote the Maker movement in Belgium: a grassroots movement of creative people (inventors, designers, artisans, tinkerers, hackers and do-it-yourselfers) who apply new technologies and/or traditional methods to build innovative products and to share their knowledge with others. Managed by an executive team under the supervision of its Board of Directors, Be Makers carries out educational outreach, public advocacy, networking and sharing of best practices. Our members are individual makers, fablabs (fabrication laboratories which offer makers access to such equipment as 3-D printers, laser cutters, milling machines and other computer-controlled machine tools), and public and private organisations engaged in the maker movement.
Be Makers seeks to revive the spirit of craftsmanship and instill in each person – young and old – confidence in their own creativity. We intend to work with fablabs, schools and universities, governments, clubs and associations, and companies towards the following objectives:
– Raise the interest and participation of youth in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) studies and activities
– Train unemployed, underemployed and disadvantaged people to acquire valuable technology skills: coding, electronics, digital fabrication, that will enhance their professional qualifications and employability
– Create new jobs and new sustainable businesses by promoting innovative entrepreneurship
– Stimulate local economic development by enabling the transition from offshore standardized mass production towards distributed, customized manufacturing
On 16-17 September Be Makers will organize a major maker festival on the campus of the Erasmushogeschool in Anderlecht. The festival is expected to attract several thousand visitors who will meet over one hundred exhibiting makers, take part in interactive demonstrations and workshops, and be inspired to become makers themselves. Building on the success of this first edition, the festival will be repeated annually.
Alongside this flagship event, Be Makers plans to coordinate various activities in collaboration with makers, fablabs, and supporting organizations. The Be Makers website will serve as an online platform to connect the Belgian maker community, provide a forum for exchanging ideas, projects and good practices, and maintain a database of growing resources for makers in Belgium.
Be Makers was founded by a team of individuals who are active members of the Maker movement in Belgium and who share a passion for promoting the movement locally and nationally. The team includes the founder and former director of the largest fablab in Brussels, as well as its current director; an expert in 3D printing who organizes TEDxYouth Flanders; a robotics expert; the founder of a fablab dedicated to green technologies and initiator of a network of Brussels fablabs; a consultant in design thinking; a former university professor who now leads creative workshop for children; a marketing consultant and serial entrepreneur; the founder of a business incubator and innovation center in Brussels; and a consultant in business development for innovative technology startups. Together we have the full range of competencies and the professional network required for Be Makers to achieve its goals.
The Flemish technical college Erasmushogeschool has agreed to host the Maker festival, providing the facilities on their Anderlecht campus and a pool of volunteers among its student body. Several fablabs have expressed their support for the project, either formally (as written pledges) or informally.
We are now preparing a financial plan for the event, with an estimated expense budget and a revenue model that relies on a combination of entrance fees (6 EUR x 5000 visitors = 30000 EUR), corporate sponsorship, exhibitor fees (only charged to commercial exhibitors and vendors), commission on food and beverage sales, funding from philanthropical sources, government subsidies, and crowdfunding.
Brussels Maker Festival (PowerPoint slides)
