By Robert A. Emmanuel
As the world increasingly welcomes the development of blockchain technology, one non-profit organisation has taken the initiative to encourage youth to develop their skills in this field.
From January 7 to 11, the Web3-focused non-profit, the Marma J Foundation, will be hosting a MARMA J CON conference and hackathon, during which Antiguan students will have the opportunity to build practical solutions to problems using Web3.
According to the co-founder of the Foundation, Chole Lewis, the idea was created to empower young Antiguans.
Using the recent development of online entrepreneurship using Facebook, she argued that Facebook retain control over what could be put on their platform which limits entrepreneurship.
“Instead of Facebook owning all the information, it is the individual or community who own all the information … and we are trying to educate local Antiguan tech students about this,” she said.
Lewis stated that the conference — which is named after her grandmother, Marma Joseph — will educate youth on the effective use of Web3 technology and leverage Web3 technology for social good.
“This conference allows us to bring people together … because we want to educate people on how to use blockchain technology safely; what to stay away from, what to be wary of in this new space,” she said.
According to a press release on the conference, interested persons will learn about “blockchain applications like cryptocurrency, NFTs (non-fungible tokens), and DAOs (decentralised autonomous organisations) and will be able to hear directly from and receive mentorship by Web3 industry experts.
Web3 technology, according to online definitions, empower decentralisation of the Internet built, operated, and owned by its users.