Core77

No, it's not scheduled to happen yet, or anywhere near it, but we're heartened by this discussion on Afrigadget and Ned forums about the possibility of holding a Maker Faire in Africa next year. The amount of clever, locally appropriate innovation that gets profiled on blogs like Afrigadget leave us continually impressed, and also frustrated that more attention isn't paid, or more capital and distribution channels made available.

The domestic Maker Faires that have been going on in the US for the past few years have featured a combination of whimsy, hi-tech, development, and hobbyist work. An African Maker Faire though, according to the post, would focus on fabrication, asking, "What happens when you put the drivers of ingenious concepts from Mali with those from Ghana and Kenya, and add resources to the mix?"

Although specifics are lacking, interest appears high, and an organizing team for the effort will be meeting next summer at Nkrumah University in Ghana as part of the International Development Design Summit. Best of luck, guys -- we're fascinated.