The Cardano Foundation donates to African graphic novel—Trust
(Written by @ElliotHill of the Cardano Foundation)
The Cardano Foundation is proud to announce that it has donated to the Trust graphic novel, a pan-African project designed to raise awareness of blockchain technology’s power to deliver financial sovereignty to underserved communities.
The Trust graphic novel will teach youth in Africa and beyond about the power of blockchain for financial independence, with an expected publication date in 2021. Trust is written and illustrated by Kenyan novelist and illustrator Chief Nyamweya, and Canadian tech entrepreneur and blockchain educator Anne Connelly.
A distinguished graphic novelist, Chief Nyamweya previously authored the socially-impactful novel ‘Art of Unlearning’ in 2018, curated ‘Ink and Pixels – A history of graphic art in Kenya’ in 2015, and has now turned his attention to evangelizing blockchain throughout the African continent.
Anne Connelly has worked with Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders Canada in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo, now sitting on their board of directors. Anne is passionate about technology’s power to transform communities, especially those in developing countries, and she has previously been named among Canada’s 50 most inspirational women in technology.
Trust follows the story of a young Kenyan woman named Moraa, who uses blockchain to transform her community, the fictional Wahengaland. Moraa uses blockchain to overcome significant challenges associated with money, land titles, and corruption—pervasive issues in many developing nations that could be alleviated through the implementation of blockchain technology.
Chief Nyamweya, explaining the importance of using art to spread awareness of blockchain, says:
“By using storytelling to educate readers about blockchain technology, we hope to inspire millions of African youth to imagine alternative futures. Trust also empowers African youth to create these futures, by providing them with the training and tools to implement blockchain. Trust graphic novel will direct readers to online blogs and other learning resources, helping African youth become the next generation of crypto users, entrepreneurs, and developers.”
Trust will be published both in print and through a mobile-first digital version. According to data from the World Bank and the African Development Bank, there are over 650 million mobile users on the African continent, many of whom are in the 15–24 age bracket, representing an enormous opportunity to spread awareness of blockchain’s power for financial transformation.
The Cardano Foundation firmly believes that blockchain technology will have the greatest impact in nations where traditional financial infrastructure is dramatically underserved. As a result, the Foundation sees strong potential for decentralized ledgers—in particular, the Cardano blockchain due to its highly decentralized nature—to bring rapid change to the way value is transacted and distributed in developing nations.
Nathan Kaiser, Chairperson of the Cardano Foundation, says:
“Education is key to the adoption and proliferation of blockchain technology, and engaging visual arts like the Trust graphic novel are powerful tools for reaching a large and diverse audience. The Cardano Foundation’s interest in the African continent extends far beyond commercial applications for the Cardano protocol. We are genuinely invested in driving true socioeconomic transformation in underserved communities, and our donations to projects like Trust are just a small part of our wider investment in the continent of Africa itself.”
Watch a preview of Trust below:
Trust is the latest of many of the Cardano Foundation’s engagements in social and economic initiatives both on the African continent and within the wider global community, which include taking an active role in the creation and development of the South African National Blockchain Alliance (SANBA), and expanding out the Foundation’s service offerings to all 54 African nations.
The Cardano Foundation is committed to widening access to blockchain educational resources, evidenced most recently through activities to empower rural youth in the American state of Wyoming to participate in blockchain development, the approval of a research grant for blockchain governance in association with Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center, and the Foundation’s contributions to the MIT digital currency initiative.
The Cardano Foundation looks forward to reading the finished novel in 2021 and sharing this powerful piece of educational art with our worldwide community.
About Trust graphic novel: Trust is a graphic novel set in the fictional African nation of Wahengaland. It tells the story of Moraa, a young Kenyan woman who learns about blockchain and uses it to transform her community. By using storytelling to educate readers about blockchain technology we hope to inspire millions of African youth to imagine alternative futures and create them by providing them with the training and tools to create it. The book will link to online blogs and other learning resources to help readers take the next step to becoming crypto users, entrepreneurs, and developers. Trust will be published in 2021. Learn more here: https://www.trustgraphicnovel.com/the-book
, it’s a pleasure to read these kind of announcements. Go Africa!