The second edition of the Rome Maker Faire attracted over 90,000 visitors and 600 inventions from around the world. It organized 360 workshops that witnessed the participation of over15 thousand children.
The organizers, Riccardo Luna and Massimo Banzi, also received a video message from the economist: what you have done in Rome “is the beginning of a long adventure to rethink our current productive system. This is a revolution. It is the democratization of manufacturing.”
“I did not expect so many people. There is a wonderful atmosphere with people who are ready to fight the crisis and create new jobs with the strength of their ideas and abilities,” said Italian Labour Minister Giuliano Poletti, who visited the Maker Faire.
"The Maker Faire and digital manufacturing is a reality that the Ministry of Labour will support by launching a fundamental message: work must be created, not only looked for.”
The Minister also stopped by to admire the Fondazione Mondo Digitale’s Soccer Robot pitch.
The Fondazione Mondo Digitale participated in a range of different areas ranging from the conferences to the Kids&Young Area. The workshop on Youth Enterprise and Digital Manufacturing, introduced by Prof. Alfonso Molina, involved a number of artisans, makers, artists, students and teachers with practical demos. The meeting focused on the role of the Phyrtual Innovation Gym for the growth of individuals, communities and local development.
The FMD stand had two special areas: one for “The Future? It’s Up to Me” interviews and one to showcase excellence in schools with original and innovative prototypes, ranging from domotics to artificial intelligence. Over the course of the three days, six schools manned the FMD stands: Liceo Democrito, Rome; Liceo Pepe, Ostuni (BR); Itis Fermi, Rome; ITIS Volta, Frosinone; ITIS Archimede, Catania; ITIS Pacinotti, Fondi.
In the Kids&Young Area, the FMD organized 18 didactic workshops that involved four-year-old makers and Emanuele, an 11 year-old Scratch expert. On the field, the world robotics champions animated the Rescue and Soccer demos with other schools participating in the Multi-sector Educational Robotics Network.
In the Fab Lab Area, the FMD presented the experience of the Phyrtual Innovation Gym, collaboration with craftsmen (The Italian Makers) and two project selected from amongst the over 400 presented for the Call for Makers. The two selected projects are: Soccer Pitch, an official pitch created by students and makers in the Fab Lab and Maker Fashion, a smart dress entirely designed and developed in the digital manufacturing laboratory with “dancing” leds controlled by an Intel Galileo Chipset.
The showcase area, which ranged from small craftsmen to ICT giants, also included many FMD partners.
Maker Faire 2014: 400 photos from Day One
