Hiya everybody! My title is Mihajlo, and over the previous six months as a part of my Subsequent 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 individuals. There weren’t quite a lot of alternatives to seek out good function fashions or supportive friends. In that kind of atmosphere, it’s simple for youth to change into caught up in gangs or prison exercise. I’d say it’s due to expertise and the scouting motion that I used to be in a position to keep away from turning down the incorrect path.

In 1996, I looked for “Izviđači” (Serbian for ‘scout’) on Yahoo, and stumbled upon one of many first scouting teams on the planet to have its personal web site. One of many members had created the web site as a college challenge earlier that yr. Discovering that web site was the place my journey started. Quick-forward via 27 years of journey, studying, volunteering, {and professional} engagement – and now I work for the World Group of the Scout Motion (WOSM), a vibrant international neighborhood, 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 objectives to a grassroots neighborhood centered on fostering an atmosphere of studying, private progress, and mutual respect. Scouts comply with a basic framework and guiding ideas agreed upon by all members of the World Group, however have autonomy in how they implement initiatives and initiatives.

In Scouting, we consider that schooling is essential to creating the world a greater place to dwell, and that expertise is likely one of the strongest instruments for schooling. Since 1957, scouts all over the world have participated within the “Jamboree on the air” – a distant gathering of scouts engaged on the talents of novice radio operation. Extra just lately, scouts all over the world have joined the “Jamboree on the Web” – the following technology of world scouting occasions facilitated by expertise.

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 Internet 2.0. At the moment, scouts have a full on-line presence and platform that can be utilized worldwide to coordinate and contribute to international initiatives, maintain monitor 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 Internet 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 protected 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 utilizing POAP.

The digitization of scout badges is a really clear use case for us, and we shall be working to create new blockchain-based badges for scouts all over the world to unlock and gather. However there’s rather more potential for innovation on the planet of Web3 for the scouting motion. New mechanisms for voting and governance might enable scouts worldwide to have more practical coordination on large initiatives. A world scouting curriculum for Web3 might assist hundreds of thousands of younger individuals discover ways to safely maintain and use digital belongings. 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 worldwide neighborhood.

The Scout’s Passport

Though this journey started with seeing the untapped potential of NFTs and digital badges, the world of Internet 3.0 is a giant territory — and I wished to chart a path that strikes correctly towards the long-term objectives of Scouting. A Scout’s badges are tokens of non-public progress and achievement {that a} scout takes with them. They assist to help and outline the id of a scout, appearing as ‘soul-bound tokens’ connected to an actual particular person’s journey via 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 may have sooner or later.

We are actually making 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 could be suitable with all kinds of Web3 techniques, and would enable the scouting motion to have an id layer for badges, tokens, signatures, messages, and so forth. Particularly, a Web3-enabled scout’s id would enable for extra strong 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, creating a particular pockets module for the Scouts will allow us to create consumer flows and account protections particularly for younger individuals, an necessary demographic not usually thought of in client 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 shall be open-source, permitting anybody to each contribute to and to learn 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 all around 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 Growth Targets Badges based mostly on verified credentials that can then be saved within the Scout’s pockets module. I feel that expertise is a strong software to create an empowered neighborhood, 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 expertise inside their very own communities. Let’s embark on this journey collectively and see the place it takes us!

In case you’re concerned about studying extra about my challenge and staying updated on my progress, be happy to attach with me on Twitter or LinkedIn

The World Group of the Scout Motion (WOSM) is a vibrant international neighborhood, representing greater than 57 million Scouts throughout over 170 Nationwide Scout Organizations. As one of many largest youth actions on the planet, WOSM performs a crucial function in shaping the lives of younger individuals, fostering values of management, neighborhood service, and environmental stewardship.

A Be aware from Group Subsequent Billion: As of at present, functions are actually closed for Cohort #3 of the Subsequent Billion Fellowship. We wish to thank everybody who utilized, and shall be reaching out to all candidates with a choice within the coming weeks.