The EU Horizon 2020-funded African European Maker Innovation Ecosystem (mAkE) Project, in which Open AIR is an African partner, has published its flagship policy report, Shaping the Future of Makerspaces in Africa and Europe: Recommendations for Policy Makers. The document puts forward the following five policy recommendations:

1. Leverage the potential of makerspaces by collaborating on national projects that focus on capacity building for youth and entrepreneurs, while promoting locally made products.

2. Create funding initiatives to provide resources for makerspaces to implement research and innovation projects.

3. Endorse maker programmes and courses, which are refunded by the government and aimed at local communities.

4. Integrate makerspaces into school curricula, particularly focusing on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) education.

5. Recognise makerspaces as critical infrastructure for local manufacturers.

The full report is available here on the mAkE website.

Open AIR is one of the African consortium members (see listing below) in the mAkE Project, which began in February 2022 and runs until January 2025. The project is supporting the work of, and interactions between, African and European hardware-focused Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs) and makerspaces.

The other partners in the mAkE consortium are:

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