The 2021 Nation of Makers Conference (NOMCON), held from June 23rd-26th, is the annual national conference that brings together leaders from maker organizations representing the diverse sectors, people, regions, and foci that represent the U.S. maker movement. Hosted by the national nonprofit Nation of Makers, the conference aims to spark and increase connections across sectors, generate robust collaborations and partnerships, set a research agenda for the U.S. maker movement, and promote the growth of an inclusive maker community. A central goal of the event is to promote relationship-building across lines of regular conversation, generating an increased sense of connected community throughout the entire ecosystem of maker-supporting entities.

This year's theme, "From Local to Global: Supporting Local Makers to Create a Resilient Movement for Positive Global Changes", focuses on how we can magnify the local activism and impact of local communities of makers. This impact was evidenced not only by the tremendous amount of personal protective equipment and medical supplies (over 47 million units) produced by makers during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also in the impact that local makers have in sectors as varied as education, workforce and economic development, entrepreneurship, job creation, defense, innovation, and beyond. We look forward to convening a diversity of leaders of maker organizations (spaces, events, and support entities - public, private, academic, corporate, government, non-profit and for-profit), from across the United States and beyond, to dialogue, share best practices, and work towards an actionable agenda to push forward the impact of the maker movement. Building on our previous themes of Intentional Inclusion (2018), The Power of the Network (2019), and Sustainability: Building and Supporting an Ecosystem that Sustains us all (2020), this year's conference will focus on both celebrating the incredible contributions of local makers that have resulted in a global impact while both dialoguing about and creating structures to support and scale-up communities of change. 

Together, we can sustain the maker movement by building an inclusive ecosystem that produces tangible projects and partnerships amongst maker organizations of all shapes and sizes, and has far-reaching impacts throughout the United States and beyond. We hope you can join us!

*Should you require financial assistance to attend NOMCON 2021, let us know by filling out our Pay What You Can Form: https://www.nomcon.org/pay-what-you-can-2021/ (Indicate how much you can pay, and we'll send a corresponding promo code to use when purchasing your ticket).