Blockchain needs to address local and user-centric problems, and that’s the theme of this year’s Web3athon: A Hyperlocal, People-First Crypto Hackathon, organized by CoinDesk and CRADL. The finale of the 2-stage event that was launched during Consensus is scheduled for next week, with participants coming from 17 different time zones. A total of $500K in prizes are up for grabs for coders, ideators and other professionals who bring the human touch to blockchains.
The 2022 Web3athon has set humanity as its overall theme, and the challenges are to do with hyperlocal problems that can be solved with blockchains. The five official challenges are: Generational Wealth Building, Financial Health, Sustainable Communities and Culture, Disaster Relief and Response, and Environmental Well-Being.
We are ONE week away from @CoinDesk‘s I.D.E.A.S. 2022 conference in NYC where we will be announcing the winners of #Web3athon! 🎉 See y’all at #CoinDeskIDEAS 😃
— Web3athon (@Web3athon_xyz) October 12, 2022
One of the main sponsors of the hackathon is Crypto Research and Design Lab (CRADL), which has a people-centric vision for cryptocurrencies and focuses on bringing together design, crypto, and social impact.
Event highlights at a glance:
- Two stages: June 9th – August 31st
- 17 sponsors
- Over $800k in prizes
- 8,000+ attendees
- Fully virtual
“Our overall mission with Web3athon is to ensure that Web3 is a place for everyone. This year’s priority is to help the crypto industry to prioritize building use cases for hyperlocal communities. Blockchain is filled with possibilities, but they will only come to fruition if we collectively decide that the technology must serve our humanity,” says an official statement.
The context for the five challenges was set with the help of human stories from the venue city, Austin and other regions. Briefs were given out for all challenges, and educational content was shared for design of decentralized identities, and other design related guidelines. The datasets to be used came from the the City of Austin for each challenge, and participants were free to use their own hyperlocal datasets.
Among the crypto experts featured were: Tyrone Ross, Fennie Wang, and Sheila Marcelo.
The event featured CRADL vetted hyperlocal projects: Impact Market, ReSeed, Resource Network, New Mexico Community Capital, Regen Network, DreamDAO, H.E.R.DAO, Noodles, Planet Watch, and Tech Aid.
An exciting talk was on experimental programming for Web 3 given by James Andrew on deploying blockchain for Hip Hop. Other events included presentations on Web3 fundamentals, including UX heuristics.
Indigenous community project for blockchain education
A fresh breath of air that resonated with the overall theme came from the project IndigiDAO, which is among the finalists. Created by Henry Foreman, who is from the Absentee Shawnee tribe of Tecumseh, this blockchain is meant to both educate entrepreneurs and create an authentication mechanism for tribal craftspeople.
Handicraft works have always been popular across the world, and the industry suffers from fake and imitated works, as well as loss of revenue for original creators. There are also factory-based productions, such as those for pottery or jewelry, that look like handmade products, thus depriving the original creators of their share of the economy. Foreman is the program director at the New Mexico Community Capital.
The panel discussion videos of Web3athon can be viewed here: Web3athon Hyperlocal Challenge Panels | Live @ Consensus 2022 – YouTube
Sources:
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/indigidao%3A-bringing-blockchain-to-indigenous-communities
Share & like
