Hey everybody! My title is Mihajlo, and over the previous six months as a part of my Next Billion Fellowship, I’ve been working to deliver the advantages of Web3 to the World Scouting Motion.
Rising up in Serbia within the ’90s, I skilled firsthand the devastating results that wars and sanctions can have on younger folks. There weren’t a variety of alternatives to seek out good function fashions or supportive friends. In that type of surroundings, it’s simple for youth to turn into caught up in gangs or legal exercise. I might say it’s due to know-how and the scouting motion that I used to be in a position to keep away from turning down the improper path.
In 1996, I looked for “Izviđači” (Serbian for ‘scout’) on Yahoo, and stumbled upon one of many first scouting teams on this planet to have its personal web site. One of many members had created the web site as a college venture earlier that 12 months. Discovering that web site was the place my journey started. Quick-forward by means of 27 years of journey, studying, volunteering, {and professional} engagement – and now I work for the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), a vibrant world group, representing greater than 57 million Scouts throughout over 170 Nationwide Scout Organizations.
A Decentralised Motion
The Scouting motion is decentralised, with every chapter bringing its personal distinctive expertise and targets to a grassroots group centered on fostering an surroundings of studying, private development, and mutual respect. Scouts comply with a common framework and guiding rules agreed upon by all members of the World Group, however have autonomy in how they implement initiatives and initiatives.
In Scouting, we consider that training is vital to creating the world a greater place to dwell, and that know-how is without doubt one of the strongest instruments for training. Since 1957, scouts world wide have participated within the “Jamboree on the air” – a distant gathering of scouts engaged on the abilities of beginner radio operation. Extra just lately, scouts world wide have joined the “Jamboree on the Internet” – the subsequent technology of world scouting occasions facilitated by know-how.
In my time with WOSM, I’ve watched the scouting motion experiment with the early web, after which helped it to make the transition to Net 2.0. At this time, scouts have a full on-line presence and platform that can be utilized worldwide to coordinate and contribute to world initiatives, hold observe of native chapters, and to speak with the worldwide motion. I’m excited to say that it’s now time for the scouts to improve to Net 3.0!
My Subsequent Billion Fellowship
The primary piece of my work as a Subsequent Billion Fellow was to create some academic content material for scouts on the fundamentals of Web3: We talked about what a blockchain is, how it may be used, and the significance of encryption for staying secure on-line. I hosted two classes on the “Jamboree on the Web”, and as a proof of participation for the occasion, inspired attendees to mint the first-ever World Scouting NFT badge using POAP.
The digitization of scout badges is a really clear use case for us, and we will likely be working to create new blockchain-based badges for scouts world wide to unlock and acquire. However there may be way more potential for innovation on this planet of Web3 for the scouting motion. New mechanisms for voting and governance might permit scouts worldwide to have simpler coordination on massive initiatives. A world scouting curriculum for Web3 might assist hundreds of thousands of younger folks learn to safely hold and use digital property. A world scouting pockets might information and reward scouts on their journey of studying, and permit native chapters to create and export their very own challenges and badges to a world group.
The Scout’s Passport
Though this journey started with seeing the untapped potential of NFTs and digital badges, the world of Net 3.0 is an enormous territory — and I wished to chart a path that strikes correctly towards the long-term targets of Scouting. A Scout’s badges are tokens of non-public development and achievement {that a} scout takes with them. They assist to help and outline the id of a scout, performing as ‘soul-bound tokens’ hooked up to an actual particular person’s journey by means of life and scouting. Digital badges are a big a part of the image, however what we actually want is an id system that’s suitable with digital badges, tokens, and the rest that Scouts might have sooner or later.
We are actually getting ready to construct the primary foundational layer of World Scouting Web3 imaginative and prescient: The Scout’s Passport. As an id system, a Scout’s passport can be suitable with all kinds of Web3 techniques, and would permit the scouting motion to have an id layer for badges, tokens, signatures, messages, and many others. Specifically, a Web3-enabled scout’s id would permit for extra sturdy social restoration for scouts, permitting us to securely create DAO scouting teams, to discover new strategies of crowdfunding and governance, and naturally to unlock the infinite potentialities of NFTs and digital badges or certifications. Above all else, growing a particular pockets module for the Scouts will allow us to create person flows and account protections particularly for younger folks, an necessary demographic not usually thought of in shopper pockets software program.
Like all initiatives within the scouting motion, we’re working from the bottom up. The event of the scout’s passport may have a sustainable help system and community-based contributions from the numerous scouts already concerned in Web3. The Scouts pockets will likely be open-source, permitting anybody to each contribute to and to profit from modules in our id platform. We hope to have an MVP of the World Scouting Pockets prepared in time for the World Scout Jamboree being held in South Korea this August, which can deliver collectively 45,000 scouts from everywhere in the world.
Shifting Ahead
As I proceed on this thrilling journey, I am engaged on implementing a technical framework for a set of preliminary World Scouting Academic Initiatives and Scouts for Sustainable Development Goals Badges primarily based on verified credentials that can then be saved within the Scout’s pockets module. I feel that know-how is a strong software to create an empowered group, and with this framework we are able to begin to construct a brighter future for Scouts worldwide.
I am excited to share my progress and experiences with you, and I hope to encourage others to discover the potential of blockchain and Web3 know-how inside their very own communities. Let’s embark on this journey collectively and see the place it takes us!
In case you’re eager about studying extra about my venture and staying updated on my progress, be happy to attach with me on Twitter or LinkedIn
The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) is a vibrant world group, representing greater than 57 million Scouts throughout over 170 Nationwide Scout Organizations. As one of many largest youth actions on this planet, WOSM performs a essential function in shaping the lives of younger folks, fostering values of management, group service, and environmental stewardship.
A Word from Crew Subsequent Billion: As of in the present day, functions are actually closed for Cohort #3 of the Subsequent Billion Fellowship. We wish to thank everybody who utilized, and will likely be reaching out to all candidates with a choice within the coming weeks.
