Business

UNICEF Crypto Fund to Bring Internet to Public Schools

The United Nations Children’s Fund, more commonly known as UNICEF, recently announced plans to use cryptos to fund internet in public schools. This can be a difference-maker since about 364 million children are falling behind without the internet, according to a UNICEF report.

According to UNICEF, this fund represents the first time any agency in the UN umbrella has accepted cryptocurrency. 

More About the Plan

According to reports, the organization intends to use cryptos donated by a number of organizations, including the Ethereum Foundation, to fund the project.

UNICEF introduced a crypto fund that can distribute, hold, and receive Ether and Bitcoin donations at the recently held conference, Devcon.

The Ethereum Foundation initiated the funding by donating 100 ETH and 1 BTC to the fund – worth a little over $25,000 collectively. 

UNICEF blockchain lead, Christina Lomazzo and the head of UNICEF Ventures, Chris Fabian, explained that the funds will initially go to an initiative called Project Connect. Its goal is to provide and improve internet access in public schools around the world.  Fabian discussed the thought behind the project. He said:

“Paying for school connectivity, seeing a light go on for a school [on the Project Connect map] and being able to record that on a ledger … this gives you a full cycle [of accountability]. I don’t know many other things that can show the power of a truly distributed financial system in that way.”

Things Are Already Looking Good

The project has already received immense support from different countries, including Kenya, Kazakhstan, Sierra Leone, and Kyrgyzstan.

Digital payments are the “need of the hour”, according to Fabian, and are the way of the future for UNICEF and the UN. 

He talked about the importance of having a secure financial system while highlighting the importance of blockchain:

“We spent the last two years building up this capacity [of setting up a crypto fund],” said Fabian. “We’re sharing that capacity with other [UN] organizations, so they don’t have to the same legal and finance work we did.”

Fabian also spoke about the precedence that this initiative sets not only for organizations in the UN umbrella but also for non-profits in general.

“Not only can we take crypto assets on board, but we can also hold them as crypto and then disperse them in the same way. That’s important because we don’t need to convert them to fiat, we don’t lose the ability to have monitoring, accountability and programmability of value.”

 

Learn more on how blockchain technology is being used to track minerals in Africa :

Blockchain to Help Fight Against Blood Diamonds in Congo


BC19_728x90

Tags

Michael Wight

Michael is a freelance writer with special interest in finance and technology. He regularly trades cryptocurrencies and loves to share his knowledge with others.

Related Articles

48 Comments

  1. I have read several good stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how much effort you put to create such a fantastic informative web site.

  2. Hey, you used to write great, but the last several posts have been kinda boring? I miss your tremendous writings. Past several posts are just a bit out of track! come on!

  3. I would love to add if you do not already have an insurance policy or you do not form part of any group insurance, you could well really benefit from seeking aid from a health agent. Self-employed or those that have medical conditions generally seek the help of a health insurance agent. Thanks for your text.

  4. A formidable share, I just given this onto a colleague who was doing slightly analysis on this. And he the truth is purchased me breakfast as a result of I discovered it for him.. smile. So let me reword that: Thnx for the deal with! But yeah Thnkx for spending the time to debate this, I really feel strongly about it and love reading more on this topic. If attainable, as you grow to be expertise, would you mind updating your weblog with extra details? It is highly helpful for me. Huge thumb up for this weblog publish!

  5. My brother recommended I might like this website. He was once totally right. This put up actually made my day. You can not imagine just how much time I had spent for this info! Thanks!

  6. What’s up, I read your blog daily. Your story-telling style is witty, keep up the goodwork!

  7. An intriguing discussion is definitely worth comment. I do believe that you need to publish more on this topic, it may not be a taboo subject but typically people do not discuss these topics. To the next! Many thanks!!

  8. One thing I’d like to say is that often before purchasing more pc memory, take a look at the machine in which it can be installed. In case the machine can be running Windows XP, for instance, the actual memory threshold is 3.25GB. Adding greater than this would basically constitute some sort of waste. Be sure that one’s mother board can handle the upgrade amount, as well. Great blog post.

  9. Heya! I’m at work surfing around your blog from my new iphone 3gs! Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the great work!

Close