Human Stories on Ethereum – Meet Cohort 3 of the Next Billion Fellows

As we look at the world, individual humans seem to exist more and more at the edges and margins of the larger stories unfolding on scrolling screens. Narratives that capture and resonate with ordinary people seem to exist on a scale that none of us can reach. Big stories about economies, countries, and companies weave narratives that can sometimes seem dire or too big. It’s about individuals changing in meaningful ways. But this is not the true story of the world, nor is it the right way to understand our own potential as human beings.

Many people who read this blog tend to believe that the Ethereum protocol will play a role (perhaps a major role) in the big story in the sky. Then we must ask ourselves: Who are the characters in our story?

We seek to understand Ethereum through the perspectives of individual humans who use Ethereum as a protocol for coordination. By exploring the context and nuance of human stories, we can better orient ourselves toward our collective vision for the future and be better prepared to put it into action.

Today we’d like to introduce you to five humans with stories to kick off the Next Billion Fellowship at the Ethereum Foundation. Although these individuals are highly qualified, they are only a small fraction of the talented people working to solve humanity’s most profound coordination problems. We hope their stories reflect the true nature of the Ethereum community as a whole and serve as inspiration for how this open protocol can positively impact the lives of billions of people.

Peer group #3

Brian

Brian Rimiardi As co-founder, we build financial inclusion in Indonesia. copra finance. Personal loans are available through banks, but often the only way to get a business loan is through an informal lender (read: private money lender). For those who work and bill with cryptocurrency, accessing simple traditional financial tools like personal or small business loans can be a barrier. During the fellowship, Brian will focus on studying the needs and realities of the growing demographic of workers and small businesses that use cryptocurrency as their primary means of invoicing and bookkeeping.

Devansh

Devanshi Mehtaco-founder VoiceDeckis interested in planning spaces that impact public goods. Impact methodologies and markets for environmental use cases are well-documented mechanisms, but sometimes ‘impact’ wanders into more subjective territory. For example, investigative journalism is undoubtedly a public good. How can the actual work of journalists be documented and evaluated in a way that fits the right funding mechanisms? Devansh will work with the Citizen Journalism Newsroom to explore impact documentation methodologies using: Hypercert standardThe goal is to find good mechanisms for retrospective financing of positive social outcomes.

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Masahiro “Masa” Fukuhara We would like to spread the spirit of ongaesi (恩返し, repaying the favor) to the educational community. ONGAESHI DAO We are exploring retrospective joint payment mechanisms in education and employment. For his fellowship, Masa and other ONGAESHI DAO team members will learn from a pilot program in which those who contribute to the public good of education, such as funders and teachers, are rewarded when companies hire students.

aim for that

you will make the wind She is co-founder of the Zambian Women’s History Museum. There are many African artifacts in museums around the world, but they rarely have a tangible connection to the people and communities that created them. For the fellowship, Mulenga will work with the Zambian web3 community to create a register of tokenized artifacts and share museum revenue for community documentation of the art, customs and production methodologies still practiced by descendants of those items displayed in museums around the world. We are experimenting with . . Even if the items aren’t returned to their original location anytime soon, it’s a small step toward bridging centuries-old ownership gaps.

valeria

Valeria “Leah” Panina User experience expert and advisor to the Ministry of Digital Innovation of Ukraine. The war in Ukraine showed that ingenuity and persistence are essential to human cooperation. In times like these, pragmatism is wise when it comes to understanding the potential for protocols like Ethereum to be useful. During the fellowship, Ria will study the real drivers and blockers of adoption of cryptocurrencies and other decentralized applications by ordinary users to map emergent use cases and behavior in Ukraine.

(dev)Communicate with friends

Over the next six months, each colleague will pursue a small project that moves toward a larger goal in their story. Fellowship stories will be published on this blog throughout 2023, but there are many more opportunities to meet and learn about their projects. Dear reader, if you would like to learn about your peers and their projects, please consider attending Istanbul, especially devconnect. Next Billion World Cafe Meet in person through the event!

To the many applicants in Next Billion Fellowship Cohort 3 who were not selected, thank you for sharing your story, and it’s great to know that you are thinking, building, researching, and creating the future of human coordination.

Sign up for updates about the Next Billion Fellowship here.!