Major coup for FabLab Derry as DCAL commits to additional funding at Fabricating the Future conference.

As hundreds of people gathered in Derry’s Guildhall today to partake in Fabricating the Future, a conference hosted by FabLab NI looking at the global FabLab phenomenon, DCAL have made the announcement that the department will invest a further £350,000 in the project. £250,000 of the funding will help develop the lab within the Nerve Centre, with an additional £100,000 to develop a mobile FabLab facility which will take the lab out in to the community.

As the day continued, Liam Nellis Chair of FabLAB NI also revealed that the network will continue to develop further geographically, with the launch of Fab Foundation Ireland, an umbrella organization set up to co-ordinate and launch  FabLab facilities throughout the island of Ireland.

John Peto, Director of education at Nerve Centre and FabLab Derry welcomed the news. He said: ‘We are delighted with the news that DCAL will make a further investment in the FabLab project. As everyone at the conference and those who were watching the live stream have heard today, FabLabs are making a huge, positive impact within communities across the world and it is great that the department are giving us the opportunity to expand on what we are doing here. With the launch of Fab Foundation Ireland, the opportunity for expansion on the island is endless and will further benefit networks and communities working on Fabricating the Future through the work that we do at FabLab.”

The DCAL Minister, Carál Ní Chuilín said: “I am pleased to be able to confirm that I have secured capital funding to allow for the extension of the FabLab space at the Nerve Centre and for a mobile FabLab to increase outreach across the wider North West. This is part of an additional programme of investment in the North West to ensure a lasting legacy of the City of Culture year. I will be making further announcements in due course”

 For more information on FabLab visit www.fablabni.com