Puebla, Mexico, July 12, 2024 - Each year, the international FABx Event pulls together a vibrant group of creative thinkers from around the world who share a passion for digital fabrication, innovation, education, and social impact. The stage is now set for FAB24 México, taking place August 3-9 in Puebla, an area known equally for its rich cultural heritage and its entrepreneurial spirit. With a thematic focus on Fabricating Equity, the Fab Foundation and organizing partners present a shared vision of a world in which economic, social, and educational gaps are reduced through equitable access to technological and educational tools.

This year’s conference features a meticulously curated set of distinct but complementary tracks to guide participants through a customizable selection of theme-based workshops, presentations, and discussions, all designed to foster collaboration and cultivate an enriched learning experience.

- Technology 5.0: Discover how technology tools and applications can enhance quality of life for everyone, establishing fair and balanced ways of coexisting, producing, and consuming to ensure equitable outcomes in our rapidly changing world.
- Innovative Industries: Delve into emerging possibilities and trends—technological, social, economic, and cultural—with the potential to shape the future. Identify signals of change, and explore alternative scenarios, risks, and opportunities.
- Future-Proof Skills: Learn how education, work, health, transportation, and various other aspects of society are being shaped by the evolving technology landscape. Engage in thoughtful discussions to transform your own practices.
- Community Innovation & Impact: Develop innovative approaches to promoting social justice and collective wellbeing for both local and global contexts.
- Cultural Equity: Explore how frugal innovation unlocks pathways for improved quality of life, narrowing the divide between haves and have-nots.

FAB24 is a unique opportunity for participants to collaborate in person with colleagues from across the worldwide Fab Lab Network, gain insights directly from international thought leaders and industry experts, and explore some of the most advanced digital fabrication technologies available. With more than 200 distinct activities in the program, the conference offers a diverse range of experiences and innumerable ways to harness the capabilities of advanced manufacturing. Participants will be immersed in cutting-edge technological developments, creative cultural expressions through digital media, novel academic research, innovative education practices, engaging community activities, and much more.

What to expect during a week of workshops at FAB24:
- Explore the intersection of AI, robotics, and sustainability in a Mexican cultural context.
- Fuse digital and physical worlds with handheld frames for scanning and digital fabrication.
- Craft miniature worlds using free software.
- Digitize embroidery designs.
- Remix traditional printmaking with laser-cut wooden blocks.
- Transform traditional wood carpentry into digital marvels using open-source technology.
- Join the sustainable material revolution with food waste biomaterial experiments.
- Learn new ways to repurpose common materials like wood and fabric.
- Discover how your Fab Lab can help achieve the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
- Prototype soft robotics for healthcare applications.
- Develop new accessibility technology.
- Visualize muscle strength through electronics.

Speaker Highlight:
- Sherry Lassiter, President & CEO, The Fab Foundation
- Neil Gershenfeld - Director, MIT’s Center for Bits & Atoms
- Diane Green - Chair Emeritus MIT (2020-2023), CEO Google Cloud (2015-2019)
- Alex McDowell - Royal Designer for Industry
- Liz Barry - Eco-Social Technician
- Steve Wallace - CEO, Phantom CNC Systems
- Dale Dougherty - Founder of Make Magazine
- Dan Stone - CEO, 909 Street Associates

Additionally, the ARTeFAB exhibition will be on display throughout the event, featuring an international showcase of sculpture, craft, interactive installations, fashion, wearables, and crazy inventions in a social commentary on the current state of digital fabrication. Participants will also get to experience the Beyond Fashion runway—a unique eco-futuristic fashion show that goes beyond the norms of production and consumption, expressing the possibilities of a world in which communities digitally design, fabricate, and grow their own garments.

FAB24 promises to entertain, engage, and educate participants of all ages and backgrounds. It will be a journey of creative expression, scientific exploration, and community activation.

Stay up to date on the wide variety of activities available via the FAB24 México program schedule: https://fab24.fabevent.org/programs/schedule
Contact
The Fab Foundation
Sam Peterson
617) 294-9204
fabfoundation.org/