How to Host an Event

Members are encouraged to organise events at ToekomstTech. Events bring energy to the space, build community, attract new members, and get ideas out of people's heads and into the world.

Types of events

Workshop / tutorial: You teach something — soldering basics, PCB design in KiCad, woodjoinery, laser cutting. Usually 2–4 hours, hands-on, limited to 8–12 people so everyone can participate.

Talk / presentation: Someone shares knowledge or experience. 45–90 minutes plus Q&A. Can be larger — the Common Area fits about 30 for a presentation.

Hackathon / build session: A themed build day. People show up with a challenge, work all day, show results. Great for energising stalled projects.

Open evening: Casual social. The door is open, members bring friends, there might be demos. These happen regularly but you can organise a themed one.

Meetup: Host an external community group at ToekomstTech — a local tech meetup, a hardware hacking group, etc. Brings new faces into the space and builds relationships with other communities.

Creating an event

1. Go to the Events page and click Create Event.
2. Fill in:
   • Title and description — be specific about what will happen
   • Date and time — check the calendar for conflicts first
   • Capacity — how many people can participate? Is it limited?
   • Materials fee — if your workshop uses consumables, you can set a small materials fee (€5–15 is typical)
   • Member-only or public — public events are listed on the public calendar and count toward outreach
3. The event will be reviewed by the board within 24 hours (usually much faster) and published.

Before the event

• Book the Common Area or the relevant zone via the calendar (first-come, first-served).
• If you need materials, post in #events on Slack — the community often has what you need.
• Send a reminder to registered attendees 48 hours before via the event page.
• Prepare: don't wing it. Even an informal talk goes better with a rough outline.

During the event

• Welcome attendees at the door — don't assume everyone knows where things are.
• Start on time. Respect people who arrived punctually.
• If there are non-members, brief them on house rules (a one-minute intro is enough).
• Leave some time at the end for questions and informal chat — these conversations are often the most valuable part.

After the event

• Clean up the space thoroughly before leaving.
• Post a brief recap to the event page — what happened, what was made or discussed. Photos are great if you have them.
• Send a follow-up message to attendees via the event page thanking them and linking to any resources from the session.

Tips from experience

"Keep workshops small. Twelve people is usually too many for hands-on work — eight is the sweet spot. You can always run it again for the waitlist." — long-time member

"Make it easy for people to take something home. If they leave with a blinking LED they soldered themselves, they'll remember the evening forever." — workshop veteran

"Advertise on the Amsterdam Hardware Hacking Meetup group. They have 2,000+ members who are exactly our kind of people." — events coordinator