STEMerica moves on!

When we were preparing the STEMerica project a few years ago, we were inspired by the Makers Expo (formerly Maker Faire) Zagreb and STEAM Week events we had been holding annually in Zagreb. The idea, however, was to inspire, encourage and empower individuals, associations and local communities across Croatia to organise similar events and join us in a bigger mission.

And now, a few years on, we are all reaping the rewards of that joint effort!

It was an exceptional honour and pleasure to take part over the past days in the Garešnica Infinity Festival, where the enormous enthusiasm of Margareta Miloš and their team has carried this remarkable event into its third year, and in Maker Faire Slavonski Brod // 16/6/2023 - Dvorana Brod, held for the first time and organised by Tatjana Šoronda and Ivan Matasović within the Slavonika 5.2 project.

The immediate inspiration for this write-up, though, is EKO FEST(IVAL) PETNJA 2023, organised by the INNCRO-IT Association from Slavonski Brod and the Municipality of Sibinj. That event is exactly in the spirit of the original idea behind STEMerica. On the shores of Lake Petnja, on 20 June 2023, the association's volunteers, led by Roko Lukenda and Lucija Bašić, organised an event to present a smart solar lounger, while the festival also showcased the development potential of Lake Petnja and hosted a panel discussion on sustainability. The panel was a chance to present the FabLab association's projects and activities that help strengthen local communities, such as our work on the thematic network “STEM as a driver of society”, of which INNCRO-IT is a young member and whose public policy and advocacy work is embodied in everything we saw at Lake Petnja. We also had the chance to say something about the Adriatic GreenLab initiative and to point to the development potential shown by the example of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Education and Innovation, which also presented itself at the festival through its BIOPLAnet project. The highlight was the many workshops - including those of the STEMerica and BIOPLAnet projects - attended by more than 200 pupils from the school in Sibinj.

We are delighted that some of the equipment designed within the STEMerica project precisely for events like this - the mobile centre with its van and trailer, along with tents, tables, cabling and a PA system - was put to use by our young colleagues on this occasion. Not only that: equipment and some installations from the STEMerica project were shown, as well as from the BIOPLAnet project, in which FabLab is a partner.

This only goes to show that the spirit of STEMerica lives on despite the formal end of the project! The FabLab association and Institute POI will continue to support similar events, individuals and associations that express interest, and we send our warmest congratulations to the organisers - we can't wait for the next events, already announced during the festival!