Barcelona Mini Maker Faire 2015 – Call For Makers!

//CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS//

The 2015 Barcelona Mini Maker Faire enters its 3rd amazing year. This time around the Faire will be bigger, better and brighter than ever: a new team lead by Fab Lab Barcelona and Made Barcelona, more makers from Barcelona, Spain and all over the world, and a brand-new location right in the heart of Barcelona: Plaza de las Glories

Would you like to be a part of the team that makes it happen? It’s an opportunity to get involved in Catalunya’s fast-growing Maker and Fab movement, connecting you with people from all over the world whilst learning new skills. Organising Mini Maker Faire is fun and rewarding, but it also takes time and a lot of hard work. We need people who can take all the ideas, imagination, enthusiasm and energy that surrounds this event and turn it into a single, magical day of celebration and inspiration at Barcelona Mini Maker Faire 2015.

If that sounds like something you want to be a part of, come along to our Meet-up to find out more. It’s at Made Barcelona on c/ Consell de Cent 159 on the 28th of April at 19:45.

—- Even More info —-
What is it?
Maker Faire is a celebration of Making and of Makers that was born out of Make Magazine, a publication devoted to the emerging word of digital fabrication – 3D printing, CNC, electronics and robotics.

The first Maker Faire happened on the West Coast of the USA in 2006 by 2013 these events were attracting up to 100,000 visitors. Full size Maker Faires and their smaller cousins, Mini Maker Faires now happen all over the world. The best way to understand what it’s all about is to watch this video

or this one, from last year’s Barcelona Mini Maker Faire:

What’s required?

Work on Barcelona Mini Maker Faire 2015 has already started and will continue for the next six months – until just after the event happens in October. If you want to get involved, you’ll be given responsibility for a specific area of the organisation of the event and will be expected to take the responsibility seriously.

There are many different roles, but in all of them need we need people willing to make the commitment required to get stuff done on time and with a tight budget: your fellow team members and makers will be depending on you to deliver the goods.

We expect that you’ll need to commit 1-3 hours every week between now and October. At certain points, some roles will need a greater time commitment (5-10 hours a week), but these periods will be short and at other times, of course, the workload will be minimal. Most people manage to easily fit it around their other commitments.

What’s in it for me?
As part of the core team, you’ll get to meet and work with some of the smartest, most creative makers, hackers and artists from Barcelona and around the world. The event is being produced by FabLab Barcelona and Made-BCN (Barcelona’s community makerspace). We also rely on the support of Make Magazine and the Maker Faire organisation back in San Francisco, plus the Ayuntamiento, the office of the Mayor and many, many other local, and global organisations, volunteers, makers and all-round good people.

By volunteering you’ll be connected into the very heart of the Maker Movement in Catalunya. And hundreds of Maker Faires are now happening all over the world, and the community of Maker Faire producers extends across the globe: San Francisco, London, New York, Rome, Tokyo, Paris, Singapore, Miami, Bogotá, Lisbon, Istanbul, Seoul and countless other places besides. Last year there was even a Mini Maker Faire at the White House. You will connect with these groups to share ideas, tips and inspiration.

How does it feel?
Walking around Maker Faire on the day, seeing the excitement and the light of inspiration in the eyes of the Makers and would-be Makers, knowing that you were a part of this incredible event. It’s a feeling that is hard to describe in words; you have to be a part of it to experience that feeling. You’re tired, but ecstatic. You realise that it was worth giving every last drop of effort to make it happen. Make no mistake: BCN Mini Maker Faire is hard work – but it’s also one of the most rewarding things you’ll ever do.

Who do we need?
We need people with a range of skills. The role descriptions below will give you some idea of the scope. We know that some roles may be best if shared between two or more individuals, so even if you don’t think you’d like to take on the whole responsibility for a role, you can still contribute.

All roles are voluntary (i.e. no money) but they all represent a great opportunity to build up your reputation and CV and boost your chances of connecting with other like-minded people and companies – all whilst working on an amazing, inspiring, life changing event for thousands of Barcelona folk. How cool is that?

Interested? Come along and talk to us. Or if you can’t make it to the meetup, please just write to: [masked]

Volunteer Roles:

Maker Outreach & Liaison (Objective: Find all the Makers)

Identify the most interesting and innovative Makers, Makerspaces, FabLabs, and other digital fabrication resources across Spain and Europe and get them excited about participating in Barcelona Mini Maker Faire 2015. Manage the “Call for Makers” process, receive inbound applications, liaise with makers, present them to the organising team and help choose participants.

Marketing Manager (Objective: Tell the world)

Make sure that everyone hears about BCN Mini Maker Faire 2015. Plan, budget and execute a marketing plan across all media channels, PR, events etc

Sponsorship Manager (Objective: Get some money)

Barcelona Mini Maker Faire is free to attend. But obviously it costs money to put on and it’s most definitely not-for-profit. So we need to find the local, national and international organisations who want get involved, sponsor and support us.

Schools & Education Outreach (Objective: Get the kids involved)

Connect with local education organisations (ayuntamiento, teachers, schools, museums) to promote Mini Maker Faire and get them involved.

Web designer (Objective: Make us awesome online)

Set up, curate and manage our website (in 3 languages). Mainly WordPress, with some minor hacking.

Social Media Manager (Objective: Make it viral)

Use all social media channels and content marketing tools to get the world excited about Barcelona Mini Maker Faire 2015. Use social media to handle incoming requests about the maker scene and get more people involved.

Crowdfunding Manager (Objective: Get some more money)

The more money we can raise for the Faire, the more spectacular it can be and the more we can support participating Makers in achieving their ambitions.

Barcelona Mini Maker Faire 2015 will be a free event for the public, so getting people to contribute through a successful crowd funding event is vital. We need help to set up, manage and promote a successful campaign.

Visual designer (Objective: Make it gorgeous)

Create beautiful visual materials, graphics, animations, typography for website, flyers, posters, signage, banners etc

Event Production Manager (Objective: Make the magic happen on the day)

Plan, organise and manage everything that happens on the day of the Faire – from walkie-talkies to waste recycling. Setup and breakdown, power, water and wifi, plus much, much more.

If you want to get involved, please get in touch: contact@makerfairebcn.org 

This article has been posted by Hector Manzano from Pomer