We held the Hachioji x Paris Open Factory Dialogue.

On Thursday, February 19th, we held an online dialogue session connecting Japan (17:00) and Paris (9:00) between "Hachioji Open Factory" and "Le Centquatre & Open Factory #104 Paris".

In this session, the open factory initiative in Hachioji, Tokyo, was introduced, sharing practical examples of connecting local industries with citizens. Next, the activities of the Parisian cultural facility "Le Centquatre (104)" and Open Factory #104 Paris were presented, and their role as a hub for cultural and creative industries and their involvement with local communities were discussed.

In the second half of the discussion, there was a lively question-and-answer session, and opinions were exchanged regarding the possibilities of future collaboration. Although the regional contexts differed, there were many commonalities in the ideals of "open manufacturing" and "expanding the points of contact between industry and culture," making it a very educational time for both sides.

Although it was a limited time of 90 minutes, it was a valuable opportunity to foster new collaborations through cross-border dialogue.

This year's main EmPath event will revolve around the theme of "Open Factory." This session served as the first step, an introduction to that theme. Please look forward to further developments in the future.