PRE-EVENT:
BRNO 2023
The second pre-event was held in the stunning city of Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic, and home to the first Czech FabLab, FabLab Brno. Brno is renowned for its rich culture and modern culinary scene and was ranked as the second most attractive city in Europe for 2021 by Time Out magazine. We had an amazing time together, which you can see from the pictures in the gallery below.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The second pre-event was all about coming together to plan and shape the main FABx event in 2025. We wanted everyone to have their say on how the event should look, and we explored the opportunities we could take advantage of. Of course, it wasn’t all work and no play – we visited the local FabLab, met local makers, had a fuckup & bigup night, tried different beers and most importantly saw each other in person. The pre-event took place over three days, starting on Wednesday, March 29, 2023 and ending with a late-night after-party on Friday, March 31. The event took place at the creative hub KUMST.
WEDNESDAY 29. 3.
VENUE: KUMST (LOCATION LINK)
PROGRAM: 16:00 TO 22:00 CET
PROVIDED: DINNER, DRINKS
We started the event in the afternoon at the local creative hub KUMST – our base for the entire event. The first day focused on building team spirit and networking.
BLANK
16:00 | ARRIVAL & REGISTRATION
16:15 | OFFICIAL LAUNCH & WARM-UP
17:00 | MAKING LOCAL WITH LOCALS
19:00 | DINNER + EVENING MIX & MINGLE
THURSDAY 30. 3.
VENUES: KUMST (LOCATION LINK)
PROGRAM: 09:00 TO 22:00 CET
PROVIDED: COFFEE BREAKS, LUNCH, DINNER, DRINKS
On the second day, we focused on what was arguably the most crucial aspect of the FAB2025.CZ main event – the programme. Together, we dove into how the programme should be designed.
BLANK
9:00 | START OF THE DAY
9:10 | RISE AND SHINE TALK
9:40 | PROGRAM DESIGN INTRODUCTION
10:15 | COFFEE BREAK
10:30 | PROGRAMME DESIGN WORKSHOP I
12:00 | LUNCH
13:00 | PROGRAMME DESIGN WORKSHOP II
13:45 | PROGRAMME DESIGN WORKSHOP III
14:30 | FAB2025.CZ BRNO WALK
16:00 | KUMST GUIDED TOUR
16:20 | WELCOMING NEW LABS
17:00 | FUCKUP or BIGUP NIGHT
18:00 | DINNER
19:00 | SIP AND SOCIALIZE
FRIDAY 31. 3.
VENUES: FABLAB BRNO (LOCATION LINK), KUMST (LOCATION LINK)
PROGRAM: 09:00 TO 22:00 CET
PROVIDED: COFFEE BREAKS, LUNCH, DINNER, DRINKS
On the third day, we focused on the practical side of the FAB2025.CZ main event – the production. We also got some fresh news from the maker world.
BLANK
9:00 | START OF THE DAY @ FABLAB BRNO
9:15 | FABLAB BRNO & JIC TOUR
10:15 | COFFEE BREAK
10:30 | FAB2025.CZ PRODUCTION INTRO
11:30 | LUNCH
12:30 | BACK TO CITY CENTRE
13:30 | FAB2025.CZ PRODUCTION FEEDBACK
14:30 | COFFEE BREAK
15:00 | NEWS FROM THE MAKER WORLD
16:00 | PRE-EVENT CLOSURE
16:45 | DINNER
18:00 | FAB BEER QUIZ
19:30 | FAREWELL PARTY
WHO CAME?
We were thrilled to gather together more than 20 makerspaces and initiatives from across Europe, and we ended up with an amazing group of 37 participants. It was an incredible experience seeing everyone work together in a safe and creative environment, bouncing ideas off one another and sharing knowledge. We couldn’t have asked for a better group to make this pre-event a success.
(CZE)
Dan, Vojta
(CZE)
(CZE)
(BEL)
David & dog Maya
(HUN)
(FRA)
Martina
(CZE)
(SVK)
(NLD)
(GER)
(GER)
(FRA)
(CZE)
(GER)
(CZE)
(FRA)
(ESP)
(AUT)
(CZE)
(CZE)
Sarka
(CZE)
Mat
(CZE)
Jiri
(CZE)
PRE-EVENT GUIDE
To make everyone’s life easier, we had prepared some practical information about accommodation, transport to Brno, food, and sightseeing in the city. We had a great response to this guide during the last pre-event, and we were glad to see that it was also helpful this time around. We hope that everyone found the tips and information useful during their stay in Brno.
VENUES
KUMST
FABLAB BRNO
WHERE TO SLEEP?
We hope your stay during the pre-event will be comfortable and easy-going. To help you a bit with finding a place to stay, we picked a few possible options for you. These should be both affordable and close to the venues of the pre-event. Note we have no affiliation with the hotels, they're just selected tips. If you don't choose from these, we suggest using Booking.com or Airbnb. If you needed any assistance with the accommodation booking or similar, don't hesitate to contact us!
JACOB BRNO
- CENTRAL LOCATION, GREAT RATING (BOOKING LINK)
- 10 MIN WALKING FROM THE VENUE (LOCATION LINK)
GRANDEZZA HOTEL
- 5-STARS (BOOKING LINK)
- 14 MIN WALKING FROM THE VENUE (LOCATION LINK)
HOSTEL ELEVEN
- RANGES FROM SHARED ROOMS TO STUDIOS (BOOKING LINK)
- 11 MIN WALKING FROM THE VENUE (LOCATION LINK)
GETTING TO AND AROUND BRNO
We know the pain of finding out all the information on how to travel in the city, that you have never been before. That's why we prepared little and up-to-date overview below.
TO BRNO
You can get to Brno easily by international coach, train or car. The most important traffic hubs in Brno are Railway station Brno hl.n. and Brno, Benešova tř.hotel GRAND bus terminal. These have direct connections to all parts of the city and provide standard services. Brno has an airport, but it has just a few connecting flights. The easiest way how to arrive by plane is to fly to Vienna International Airport and then to take a train or coach to Brno (around 2 hours). Similarly you can fly to Prague International Airport. We recommend to use one of the following services:
Gepard Express – To come from Vienna airport.
Regiojet – To come from anywhere in Europe by bus, by train from Prague or by train/bus from Vienna airport.
Flixbus – To come from anywhere in Europe by bus, by train from Prague or by train/bus from Vienna airport.
If you decide to come by car it might be a bit complicated to find long-term parking spot – the city is divided into several parking zones. You can find the information in English on this matter here. We definitely recommend getting around the city using public transport.
AROUND BRNO
The public transport is really good, usually goes on time and you can easily get around with trams, buses or trolley buses. If you stay central, it's easiest to just walk.
Buying tickets in the public transport is really simple. You can buy the tickets contactless by your phone or card on the terminals directly inside trams or buses. You basically get in, "beep" on the terminal and that's it. If you change the line, you "beep" again. The system automatically counts the best ticket option for you after the whole day of travel. You can check it out in detail here. You can also buy traditional tickets, but who would bother, right?
There is also a possibility to use shared bikes e.g. Rekola or Nextbike or shared electric scooters e.g. Lime or Bolt.
If you prefer going by taxi, we recommend using app Liftago or Bolt. If you use these, there is no ripoff guarantee. Don't just take taxi on the street, it might be unnecessarily expensive.
EAT, DRINK, ENJOY
Keeping your levels of hunger and thirst on the positive side is always a good idea, doesn't matter where you go. We have carefully selected several tips to satisfy all of your taste buds! Guaranteed by the locals. There are nearly no culinary tourist traps in Brno. You can also use apps like Wolt or Bolt in Brno for food delivery.
DRINK COFFEE
If you're interested in coffee, the best guide is from another Czech project called "European Coffee Trip". Check out this link. Also available throught mobile app.
DRINK BEER
Czech beer is famous all around the world – in Brno, there are lots of places to choose from. Taste it all (responsibly and with care).
DRINK COCTAILS
Brno has a really cool bar scene. Firstly started with "Bar which doesn't exist", you can definitely find the best coctails in the whole country here.
EAT SNACKS
If you want to grab just something for breakfast or snack, check out these places.
EAT TRADITIONAL
If you want to try traditional Czech cuisine, you won't be disappointed here.
EAT MODERN
If you like to eat international, you can try one of these cool places.
THINGS TO SEE & DO
We highly recommend you to stay for the weekend after the pre-event. Brno is a wonderful lively city with a plenty of opportunities to do and see. We bet just a weekend won't be enough. If you want to go through an official guide, you can check it out via the GOTOBRNO website.
VILA TUGENDHAT
UNDERGROUND RESERVOIRS
Credits: www.gotobrno.cz.
BRNO OBSERVATORY AND PLANETARIUM
BRNO CITY CENTRE
BIG THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS
Organizing this pre-event would have been a real challenge without the support of the people and companies who had our backs. We are incredibly grateful for their contributions, which helped us to create an accessible event in fantastic venues with a jam-packed programme. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported us along the way – we couldn’t have done it without you!
SUPPORTED BY
HOSTED BY