Here you will find some helpful information regarding The Fab City Challenge
About the Fab City Challenge
What is the Fab City Challenge
The Fab City Challenge is a collaborative innovation initiative designed to address social, environmental, and economic issues, known as ‘Challenges,’ on a local scale. The program encompasses critical areas of intervention, where global teams collaborate with local initiatives to conceptualize and prototype design solutions. The methodology involves a well-structured organizational and implementation strategy, supported by tools, workshops, guidelines, and frameworks guiding participants through the entire challenge process—from initiation to implementation, evaluation, and knowledge sharing.
Who can participate in the Fab City Challenge
Anyone can apply for the Fab City Challenge. The usual profiles of participants in the challenge are:
- Local & Global Experts and enthusiasts such as students, academics, professionals and other practitioners of design, making, digital fabrication, organising and activism who bring their skills to the challenge.
- Individuals from existing projects, technologies or methodologies that deal with or might fit into one or more of the challenge areas.
- Individuals from Networks and organizations of practice that add value in the form of specific knowledge, skills or experience including universities, advocacy movements and communities of practice.
Where and when does the event take place?
The annual Fab City Challenge is generally hosted during Fab Foundation’s FABx event. In 2024 it takes place from July 26th until the 4th of August in Puebla, Mexico, homebase of FAB24, where the challenge starts and ends. However, each of the individual challenges takes participants from Puebla to travel to several different locations across the country.
Registration and Fees
How can I take part in the Fab City Challenge?
To participate in the Fab City Challenge, you must submit your application between January 15th and February 18th through the provided application form. The challenge has a maximum capacity determined by the hosting capacity of individual organizations. Therefore, applying for the challenge does not guarantee participation. Fab City Foundation, in collaboration with the challenge hosts, will curate teams based on preferences, backgrounds, and the diversity of teams. Within a month after the application deadline, selected participants will receive notification via email. Upon selection, participants are required to pay a participation fee of $250, confirm their purchase of a FAB24 ticket, and sign a waiver before they can officially participate in the challenge.
Why is there a ticket fee to participate?
The challenge is a huge undertaking organizing travel, hotels, food, and activities for up to 100 participants. in order to make the challenge economically sustainable for Fab City Foundation and its organizing partners a modest fee of $250 is asked to support with some of these costs. This includes travel from Puebla or Cancun to and from the individual challenge locations (flight to Mexico not included), a hotel stay for the duration of the challenge days, and three meals a day organized by the individual hosts. Buying the ticket will not only assure you a 10-day immersive experience, but also helps us develop and evolve the challenge to become better every year.
What is included in the ticket fee?
- Travel from the starting location in Puebla or Cancun on the 27th of July to the respective challenge locations and back to the main venue in Puebla on the 2nd of August for the showcase.
- Hotel accommodation in Puebla and at the respective challenge locations from the 26th of July until the 3rd of August.
- Three meals each day of the challenge as organized by the hosting organizations.
*Participants are responsible for arranging their own stay beyond the challenge during the FAB24 event.
For travel information and FAB24 event related info, visit the website.