Brussels event showcases new wave of young entrepreneurs

Fifty of Europe's brightest and best young entrepreneurs will be converging on Brussels this week to show off their latest ingenious inventions, in a new event that aims to celebrate innovation from all over the EU.

Up to 1,000 visitors are expected at the first-ever Makerstown event, on Tuesday, which is part of the European Maker Movement and is a pre-launcher to a week-long European Commission initiative beginning on 30 May.

Co-organised by ThinkYoung, a Brussels-based organisation that lobbies on youth affairs, and the Wilfred Martens Centre for European Studies, the event will consist of an innovators exhibition and a simultaneous conference discussing the challenges and opportunities concerning these young "makers".

"A maker is a person who applies new technology to old manufacturing traditions, using the tools of the 21st century to take this further, such as working with drones, life-sized robots and 3D prints,” says Ioana Lung from the Martens Centre, the political think-tank for the EU Parliament’s European People’s Party.

“We want the event to have as broad a spectrum as possible with a variety of makers. Some countries are more specialised in certain industries than others”, she adds.

'A celebration of what Europe can do'

The overall aim is to bring these makers together with European policy-makers and business leaders, says ThinkYoung founder Andrea Gerosa, adding that the gathering will have "a positive atmosphere" and be "a celebration of what Europe can do".

“This event is very important because when you need to win a battle you need to play to your strengths. We want to ensure that policy-makers understand this and we want to show them the best 50 start-ups in business,” he adds.

Makers will have stands where they explain and demonstrate their products. The conference will focus on areas such as public and private funding, innovation in the EU business world, business scale-ups and very significantly, increasing the number of female entrepreneurs.

"We need more women in technology and to give them more visibility," says Gerosa. "It’s not just to balance things up - it’s because they are good. The aim is to put forward female role models to show how their careers are a success. They can bring something to the table that guys cannot."

Many high-profile speakers will be appearing on the conference bill including MEPs, business and start-up experts, European Commission vice-president Jryki Katainen and EU commissioner for research, science and innovation Carlos Moedas.

Organisers are hoping Makerstown will become an annual event. “We want to ensure it grows every year and make this the first step not the last,” Gerosa adds.

Makerstown, 24 May at The Square, Brussels. Register for free at www.makerstown.eu