The Learning Curve | Solving Today's Challenges with Tomorrow's Approaches
Today, I'm eager to explore a subject that, admittedly, I haven't fully grasped, but it's been a fascinating learning journey for me over the past couple of years.
It's a game-changer in the tech world, and if your only exposure to it is through the news, you might perceive it as speculative and troublesome.
While that side of this tech certainly exists, I want to highlight the positive aspects and discuss some inspiring applications of blockchain that often go unnoticed.
At a glance:
GIGA Global UNICEF: Connecting Schools Worldwide
Estonia's Digital Identity: No more painful public paperwork procedures.
GIGA Global UNICEF: Connecting Schools Worldwide
Flashback to a previous job where we ran a pilot project connecting classrooms globally. It was like a digital pen pal system, and it blew my mind to see students using their English skills across borders.
Classroom activity over Skype. Manresa to Brussels. 2018
Fast forward a bit to the following job, at an innovative role in a non-profit organisation, and dipping our toes into the digital art space, I discovered GIGA Global by UNICEF—a project aiming to connect every school in the world to the internet.
A project I've been keeping a close eye on since my discovery, from their digital campaigns to listening to Naroa Zurutuza, Tech Lead on the project, on stage at the European Blockchain Convention in October.
As part of their fundraising, they launched the UN's largest NFT collection, "Patchwork Kingdoms," raising $700k to connect schools. It was designed to visually represent a world ‘above’ representing connected schools, and a world ‘below’ with unconnected schools.
Two examples of Patchwork Kingdoms
The squares in the hidden pale “reflection” city represent a lack of connectivity contrasted with the “vibrant” connectivity in schools in the upright city. Data is the “paint” Nadieh Bremer, data visualisation scientist and artist, uses to show how many children are still in need of life-changing connectivity.
Rundown
GIGA Global aims to connect every school globally to the internet.
"Patchwork Kingdoms" NFT collection raises $700k for the project.
Visuals represents connected schools thriving and unconnected schools struggling.
Inspiring project bridging global classrooms and expanding educational opportunities.
For more info, visit their website: GIGA Global.
Estonia's Digital Identity: No more painful public paperwork procedures.
So, last week, I had to renew my ID, and no surprise, it was like stepping back in time. Picture this: a police station, a piece of paper without a photo, only laminated on one side. A relic from the past, right? I'm surprised it's still in one piece, and not lost, after 10 years. With a baby on the way and subsequent paperwork for registration, this ancient piece of paper doesn't cut it for online tasks.
Welcome to Spain
After six months of trying to get an appointment and trying to figure out poorly explained procedures, we finally got a slot. Two hours in the waiting room later, we're given a list of documents for another appointment next week. Fingers crossed it gets sorted by the next newsletter, and the baby gives me enough time to get it done!
This got me thinking about how far Spain and most countries are behind in this regard. Enter Estonia, the first "digital republic" where 99% of public services are digitised. At a time when trust in governments is declining, Estonia stands out with one of the highest ratings of trust in the EU.
In most countries, citizens have to fill in many different forms with the same personal information (name, address) when they need to access public services from different government agencies. In Estonia, citizens only need to input their personal information once: the blockchain system enables the relevant data to be immediately accessible to the required department.
One goal of this system is to ensure nobody has to enter a data point more than once. As government CIO Siim Sikkut said “Whatever happens in your life is one interaction away unless you want it differently.”
And increasingly, the government has aimed to make its services automatic for citizens—for example, generating digital IDs for newborns once the birth is recorded and then providing child-support funding without further citizen action.
For now, I can only imagine...
Until then, here's a 13 min TED Talk featuring Anna Piperal who worked on the project and explains the e-Estonia project a bit further.
Rundown
Estonia, the first "digital republic,", digitizes 99% of public services.
Trust in government remains high despite global declines.
Data-sharing system and blockchain tech ensure secure and efficient processes.
Citizens own their data, deciding on what the government can access, enhancing privacy.
Further reading: The Conversation: Estonia is a digital republic. What that means and why it may be everyones future. Fast Company: This country moved its government online. Here’s why that wouldn’t fly in the U.S.
Conclusion:
If you got this far, thank you.
No tools or templates this time round. I hope these two examples serve as inspiration for positive impact through new technologies. Personal experiences often drive innovation projects like these. Renewing an ID in the digital era or connecting schools worldwide - these projects are born out of an understanding of everyday challenges. If you appreciate knowing about these examples, reply to this email and let me know, so I can plan more editions like this.
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See you in two weeks.
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