FabLab Győr welcomed high school students to participate in a 24-hour competition, “Aludj Máskor!” (Sleep another time!), organised by the Győr Municipality, on 27–28 November 2021, to promote a healthy lifestyle and environmentally-conscious thinking among youth.
The city-wide event brought together more than 250 young people from 9 high schools, and contributed to community building by connecting youth with youth centres, activities, and youth workers.
The theme of the competition was Future Labs, with FabLab being the only digital manufacturing lab offering free workshops to children and youth from the city.
The competition took place as a hybrid event, involving a mix of online and offline locations. FabLab's innovative space was one of the offline stations where groups of students could try to solve the logical puzzles and tasks prepared by our team.
Our aim was to introduce young visitors to technology through gamified tasks, and to inform them of the many opportunities and workshops they can benefit from at FabLab. During the competition, young people could also use the digital equipment and Augmented Reality apps, as well as the laser engraver and 3D printers — an integral part of the competition as groups created small objects as a reward for their answers.
FabLab Győr was set up by Terre des hommes, in partnership with Pressley Ridge Hungary Foundation, in 2020. Here children and young people can bring to life their creative projects by using specialised digital and technical equipment in a safe and child-friendly environment. The prime aim is to make this modern technology available to children and youth who otherwise would not be able to access it.
Since its opening, FabLab has offered over 50 workshops focused on introducing basic concepts of technologies such as 3D design, 3D printing, laser engraving, vinyl cutting and CNC milling technologies for children and youth. During these workshops, children design, create and produce products while learning about the benefits of these technologies for the community at large. Over 300 children have visited and participated in at least one workshop in the FabLab.
In this project, Tdh cooperates with various local actors, children’s homes, family support centres, community spaces, as well as schools in the city of Győr, to make FabLab available to many children and young people. Cooperation with a wider range of local actors has made it possible for groups of children and youth to continuously visit FabLab and attend workshops aimed at building both digital technological skills, and social and soft skills through psychosocial activities carried out by our partner organisation.
