Hanover, March 25, 2025 – What started in a California garage today shapes the global innovation landscape: 2025 celebrates this US-Make-Magazin its 20th anniversary and at the same time the maker movement as an important driver of the digital transformation. The German Make maker After San Francisco and Rome, the third largest worldwide grew in Hanover and attracted more than 140,000 visitors in over 10 years.
“The maker movement has always existed, but only the make magazine gave her a name and identity in 2005,” explains Dale Dougherty, founder of the US Make magazine. What started as a magazine quickly developed into a global phenomenon: Since the first Maker Faire 2006, 1,497 events with over 131,000 exhibiting makers and more than 7.6 million participants have taken place worldwide.
The German success story began in 2011 with “c’t hardware hacks”, the forerunner of today’s Make-magazine . “The maker movement has established a new form of the production organization based on the Internet and peer networks. The open access to digital manufacturing technologies has created a modern, democratic innovation culture,” explains Daniel Bachfeld, editor-in-chief of the German Make Magazine. “Everyone can develop and manufacture their own products with 3D printers, laser cutters and open source electronics.”
Fablabs and Makerspaces create new production infrastructures that combine intelligent robotics with collaborative working methods. The “do-it-with -ther” approach leads to a decentralized, local production. Flexible value chains develop, which are controlled by modern software.
r2_builders_club Bild: MakerMedia
The movement also shapes the educational landscape: “Making combines digital and manual skills and promotes creative problem solving,” says Bachfeld. More and more schools and universities are integrating maker projects into their curricula or, like many libraries, open up their own makerspaces.
The educational approach is also forced in the make-magazine: In cooperation with the Swiss manufacturer Oxon, for example, the Make Innovators Kit with Playbook was created. Together with the environmental campus of the Trier University of Applied Sciences, the makey: Lab was developed, which enables students aged 14 and over to start digital environmental research and programming.
The Maker Fair Hannover has established itself as an inspiring ideas pool since 2013. “The mix of science fair and colorful DIY festival brings people of all ages and background to present or admire the versatile creations-from self-made robots to kinetic sculptures,” emphasizes Daniel Rohlfing, Head of Events & Sales Maker Faire Germany. “The MINT formation is not neglected either. Children and young people are enthusiastic about the maker fair for the digital world, IT, AI and technology”.
Iron Horse (Highlight)Bild: Maker Media
For many years, the Federal Ministry of Education has been taking over the patronage for the Maker Faire, a great sign of appreciation for Rohlfing.
The next maker Faire Hannover will take place on August 23 and 24, 2025 in the Hanover Congress Centrum, the Call for Makers is still open until the end of May, and companies can also register for participation.
Line robot picture: Maker Media
The movement also grows in the roof room: the Maker Fair Ruhr invites you to the Dasa Working World Exhibition in Dortmund for March 29 and 30. In Switzerland, the maker Faire Solothurn opens their goals in the Enter Technikwelt on June 28 and 29, 2025.
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