A working group devoted to blockchain on the
initiative of institutions, hundreds of volunteers from all over
the world, a big and efficient plan for the future – it’s happening
in Naples, the capital of the Italian region of Campania in the
south of the country. The city, through a recent press release, announced the creation of a special
“focus group,” whose purpose is to “develop and eventually
implement objectives related to blockchain technology”.
In response, hundreds of scholars, experts,
professionals and enthusiasts signed up as volunteers to
participate in the project. We are talking about 300 people from
all over the world.
Naples working group
We spoke with Felice Balsamo, an associate of the
mayor of Naples, so that he could explain to us the details of one
of the very first institutional projects in Italy. One could notice Felice’s competence in
talking about ICOs, cryptocurrencies and blockchain as a tool to
speed up government procedures.
Felice told Cointelegraph that Naples started
discussing this project last December. Currently the administration
is creating focus groups with participants divided by skills and
goals. Among the volunteers there are students, engineers,
developers, as well as lawyers, accountants and spokespeople of
various institutions.
All the discussions start from a central theme:
transparency. Volunteers will examine and develop possible
solutions for birth records, elections and public administration in
general. Another group will study the issue of transparency from a
“private” point of view instead.
The focus groups won’t deal with just public
administration, but also the businesses of the city — the beating
heart of its economic life.
Solutions will be studied to train small- and
medium-sized enterprises, teaching them to accept cryptocurrency
payments and to embrace the advantages of these technologies.
Other focus groups will deal with international relations with
other cities active in the sector, including Spain, Portugal,
Argentina and Venezuela, involving city councilors.
There is also talk about fundraising for projects necessary for the
city and even about an ICO aimed at developing a city
cryptocurrency.
According to the mayor’s associate, the focus group
could indeed create a new cryptocurrency, designed to promote
transactions between public administration and citizens, but also
contribute to the city’s economy with many different projects.
Among the participants there’s also ANN — a company
which operates in the field of public transportation — and ASIA — a
society specialized in environmental health services.
There are many ideas, but also many challenges. An
example of this is provided by Felice Balsamo himself, who
asks:
“What would happen if the city of Naples would receive
a Bitcoin donation?”
The city often receives money and property donations,
Felice explains, but what would happen with a cryptocurrency
donation? Which institution should accept this donation? What
regulation is necessary to accept it?
The Italian Agency of Revenue (Agenzia delle Entrate —
the governmental body aimed at collecting taxes and revenue) is
also a member of the group, and it will surely be an important
resource to solve these problems.
After all, the various discussions will deal with
issues that the Italian government would consider sooner or later.
Will the focus group in Naples be an explorer for the institutions
of all of Italy?
Vision of the Mayor
Cointelegraph spoke with Luigi de Magistris, mayor of
Naples, to better understand the vision of the city council about
the project.
Cointelegraph: Do you think these new
technologies could be beneficial for an economy such as that of
Naples?
Luigi de Magistris: Naples is
considered the capital of the Mediterranean. In the last years we
introduced important innovations in the field of administration,
implementing a proper grassroots democracy. Just think of all our
decisions considered innovative, such as the registry for civil
partnerships we introduced, or the collective use of public assets:
our experience is considered an example by many Italian and
European cities. We were the first major city to issue an
electronic ID through 24 registration ATMs.
Thinking about an economy based on blockchain, based
on participation by the people, could be a valid solution for the
regulatory and historical constraints of traditional finance.
Combining traditional economy with a new economy based
on cryptocurrencies could lead to a huge economic potential for
over 3.5 million residents of the metropolitan city of Naples.
Cointelegraph: What’s the purpose of
“generating, distributing and using a new cryptocurrency (ICO) tied
to the economy of the city,” as you can read on the official page of Naples City?
Luigi de Magistris: I have to say
something first. In the last few years Naples has become the
Italian city with the fastest-growing tourism sector, our airport
is the first in terms of traffic, Naples is the most searched city
for tourism on the web. This revolution, which happened in just a
few years, involves the adjustment of supply and demand. This means
improving our services and public transportation, experimenting
with innovative payment systems, attracting a very different
target, deploying an alternative system for electronic payments
throughout the territory.
We are studying other [Italian] towns like Rovereto,
or other cities in Europe like Barcelona, or Portugal, or our
neighbor Switzerland. But in our case we want to open this new
technology to cryptocurrency owners, generating a new economy in
the city, regardless of whether we develop a new currency or not:
this will be a long process, as shown by over 300 experts who
signed up for our “public calling” from all over the world.
We want to involve trader associations and businesses
in our city, that could expand their market thanks to the current
availability of cryptocurrencies.
The creation of our ICO, in compliance with other
programs already existing in Europe, could be one of the objectives
of our project Napoli Autonoma [Autonomous Naples].
Our economy will be based on the specific historical
features of the city, fueling a real economy based on our products,
on the quality of our craftsmanship, on tourism, on our monuments,
on our food. An economy based on the historical and social value of
the city of Naples.
Blockchain and city administrations
The future of the economy and public administration
could be dramatically changed thanks to the potential of blockchain
technology and cryptocurrencies.
Recently, the Barcelona administration has revealed that it wants to
establish a digital center to promote the growth and development of
the blockchain ecosystem.
In March, Dubai unveiled a virtual
business-to-business market in the pipeline, designed for the
tourism industry and based on blockchain technology.
Now there is also the southern Italian city of Naples
that joined the innovative movement which is spreading throughout
the world.
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