Tribun News are reporting on the Bali Fab Fest event in Jimbaran, saying that the Bali Provincial Government in collaboration with the Fab City Foundation and Meaningful Design Group have declared Bali as a Fab Island or Digital Fabrication Island, in conjunction with the Bali Fab Fest, at Jimbaran Hub, Bali , Monday, October 17, 2022.
Bali Fab Fest is a global event that brings together digital fabrication makers and activists, which has been open since October 12, 2022 and will last for 10-days until October 22, 2022. More than 300-digital fabrication and creative industry activists from various countries and professional backgrounds, including designers, researchers, innovators, as well as artists and crafters are in attendance.
This activity is part of the Fab City Network movement, a global digital fabrication initiative that has run in 41-cities in the world and has spawned and connected 2,500-fab labs (fabrication laboratories) in various countries to a global network that enables collaboration and knowledge exchange.
“Bali is one of the islands in Indonesia with the highest potential for creative industries and tourism. In addition to having many talented makers and digital fabrication activists, Bali is also a meeting place for many cultures, sciences, and people from all over the world,” said Tomas Diez, Executive Director of Fab Foundation and Founding Partner of Meaningful Design Group, in his written press statement, Wednesday, October 19, 2022.
He added that these reasons made his institution choose Bali as the location for this year’s Fab City activity.
Putu Agung Prianta, Steering Committee of Bali Fab Fest and Founding Partner of Meaningful Design Group, added, “Bali is the first island in the world to be declared a Fab Island to join the global network.
“As a Fab Island, Bali will become the center of knowledge exchange for makers [creative industry actors] and global fabrication activists in Indonesia, as well as a door that will bring the development of the world’s digital fabrication to the country,” he said.
The Governor of Bali, I Wayan Koster, said that the implementation of the 2022 Bali Fab Festival is expected to contribute to the development of Bali, especially in supporting the Bali Smart Island Program as part of the Bali Economic Transformation Program.
“The Fab City concept that encourages the growth and development of the circular economy with the spirit that the regions can meet their own needs, by producing their own products with the support of advanced technology, is very much in line with the vision of ‘Nangun Sat Kerthi Loka Bali ‘ and one of the principles in Trisakti Bung Karno, namely being economically independent,” he said.
Ilham Habibie, who is on the Steering Committee of Bali Fab Fest, said that the use of digital fabrication and local initiatives plays an important role in finding sustainable solutions to various challenges around us.
According to him, Bali Fab Fest can not only connect local human resources and creative talents in Indonesia to a global network, but also open access for them to interact and collaborate with people from various disciplines, create prototypes and create solutions for local needs.
“Bali as a Fab Island will encourage the future of Indonesia’s economy and tourism, which supports and provides opportunities for anyone, including local talent, to learn technology and share knowledge,” said Ilham Habibie.
Neil Gershenfeld, Director of the Center for Bits and Atoms at MIT, said the same thing. According to him, Bali is the right place for digital fabrication activists to meet, such as the Bali Fab Fest.
“This island is special and can be a pioneer for universal access to digital fabrication and sustainable local and global solutions,” he said.
Source: Tribun News
