The first year of Makerstown, an event designed to present the creative and innovative qualities of young entrepreneurs from EU countries, took place on May 24 in Brussels out of the initiative of ThinkYoung think tank and Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies (WMCES).
Former two-time prime minister and incumbent WMCES head Mikuláš Dzurinda praised the fact that a Slovak family firm, which came up with new methods of producing tin chess sets, was also among the businesses showcased, the TASR newswire reported.
Makerstown is the first event of its kind, bringing together businesses and European policymakers. It was organised with the strategic support of the European Commission, Google and Intel.
WMCES, serving as an opinion platform of the European People’s Party, might be perceived as a political think-tank that reflects political priorities of EU countries, such as the employment of young people in Europe, Dzurinda pointed out.
“Young people travel today; the world has speeded up,” Dzurinda said, as quoted by TASR. “However, young Europeans want to live in Europe, but in order to live here, they need work. Startups provide opportunities mostly for creative and innovative young people. Therefore, an idea was born to organise an event that managed to bring together around 45 startupers from throughout Europe.”
The original and historically accurate chess sets with unique design are inspired by stories from various periods of history in both Slovakia and Europe, Martin Tokár of the family firm Pagy told TASR.
