Authorizing the Committee on Commerce & Economic Development to hold hearings regarding Philadelphia's Maker Meetup.

WHEREAS, Maker Meetups bring together manufacturers and producers of all types and sizes, including entrepreneurs working with 3D printers, alongside students, investors, and others interested in the physical creation space; and

WHEREAS, Cities all across the country, as well as some overseas, feature regular meetups, including several in New York City; and

WHEREAS, In Philadelphia, after an initial foray from some of the NYC attendees here over the summer, since August of 2016 a Maker Meetup has occurred every month, hosted at Quorum at the Science Center in University City; and

WHEREAS, Our local Meetup is proud of the diversity fostered by be welcoming to women, minority, veteran and immigrant maker entrepreneurs; and

WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Maker Meetup has hosted local companies like DNA-testing enterprise Biomeme, B-Corp clothing manufacturer and ocean cleanup sponsor United by Blue, and state-of-the-art sweat sensor diagnostic test developer Graphwear, in addition to prominent names like miniaturized waterjet cutter manufacturer Wazer, international venture funds Bolt.io and SOSV, and financing platforms Kickstarter and Indiegogo; and

WHEREAS, Arrow Electronics, the international electronic components and enterprise computer solutions company, has been the consistent, generous sponsor of the local Meetup, alongside Philadelphia’s collaborative maker space, NextFAB; and

WHEREAS, The goal of the Maker Meetup is to foster community among diverse businesses and entrepreneurs throughout the City and make the City’s presence as a technological manufacturing hub more widely known, especially to financiers, workers, and anyone else interested in the maker market; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That Council does hereby authorize the Committee on Commerce & Economic Development to hold hearings regarding Philadelphia’s Maker Meetup.

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