Bitcoin Global News (BGN)
June 04, 2018 -- ADVFN Crypto NewsWire -- A group assembled at
the U.S. Institute for Peace spanning the width and breadth of the
blockchain space, which is just about industry, and every job
within them. It included everything from ethereum entrepreneurs to
crypto-curious international development workers, but across that
broad spectrum, the sentiment was fairly cohesive - People want to
see results.
Other major points that the group as a whole could come together on
were two of the major challenges hindering blockchain projects, and
two major questions.
Problem: many don't understand the
problem they are trying to solve and don’t work with people who
actually experience those pain points.
Question: Who is getting results?
Why use a blockchain instead of a database?
Solutions
Robert Opp, director of innovation
and change management at the UN World Food Programme, addressed
this last questions during his talk about the ethereum pilot
program distributing food to 10,000 Syrian refugees in
Jordan.
"If we thought this was the
endpoint in the World Food Programme, we would use a database. This
isn't the endpoint. This is the beginning."
Sandra Hart of Oxfam shared another
real-world use-case example. She is working on a blockchain pilot
in Vanuatu, one of the world's most disaster-prone island nations.
This program leverages blockchain-linked IDs to deliver credit to
up to 1,000 households displaced by a recent volcano.
RightMesh is working to expand free
access to internet. Their blockchain product manager, Brianna
MacNeil, told CoinDesk her startup already recruited roughly 100
developers in Bangladesh to build applications for the upcoming
mesh network platform. Eventually users will be able to access the
mesh network with their regular mobile devices, offering
connectivity without WiFi.
Overall
Sentiment
Blockchain solutions for
disenfranchised populations work best when they are built
cooperatively with recipients and community leaders to complement
local habits and infrastructure.
Many experts at the conference who
urged blockchain enthusiasts to build applications alongside
diverse communities, not for them.
By: BGN Editorial Staff
News:
Blockchain