Scouting for the Future: Know-how and the Scouting Motion

Good day everybody! My title is Mihajlo, and over the previous six months as a part of my Subsequent Billion Fellowship, I’ve been working to carry 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 folks. There weren’t loads of alternatives to search out good position fashions or supportive friends. In that type of atmosphere, it’s simple for youth to change into caught up in gangs or prison exercise. I’d say it’s due to know-how and the scouting motion that I used to be in a position to keep away from turning down the fallacious 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 undertaking earlier that yr. Discovering that web site was the place my journey started. Quick-forward by way of 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 group, 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 targets to a grassroots group centered on fostering an atmosphere of studying, private progress, and mutual respect. Scouts observe a normal framework and guiding rules agreed upon by all members of the World Group, however have autonomy in how they implement tasks and initiatives.

In Scouting, we consider that training is essential to creating the world a greater place to stay, and that know-how is without doubt one of the strongest instruments for training. 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 beginner radio operation. Extra not too long ago, scouts all over the world have joined the “Jamboree on the Web” – the subsequent technology of worldwide scouting occasions facilitated by know-how.

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. In the present day, scouts have a full on-line presence and platform that can be utilized worldwide to coordinate and contribute to international initiatives, maintain observe 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 periods 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 will probably be working to create new blockchain-based badges for scouts all over the world to unlock and gather. However there’s way more potential for innovation on the planet of Web3 for the scouting motion. New mechanisms for voting and governance may enable scouts worldwide to have more practical coordination on huge initiatives. A world scouting curriculum for Web3 may assist tens of millions of younger folks discover ways to safely maintain and use digital property. A world scouting pockets may 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 world group.

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 needed to chart a path that strikes properly towards the long-term targets of Scouting. A Scout’s badges are tokens of non-public progress and achievement {that a} scout takes with them. They assist to assist and outline the id of a scout, performing as ‘soul-bound tokens’ hooked up to an actual individual’s journey by way of 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 anything 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 can be suitable with all types of Web3 techniques, and would enable the scouting motion to have an id layer for badges, tokens, signatures, messages, and so on. Particularly, a Web3-enabled scout’s id would enable for extra sturdy 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 prospects of NFTs and digital badges or certifications. Above all else, growing a particular pockets module for the Scouts will allow us to create consumer flows and account protections particularly for younger folks, an necessary demographic not usually thought-about in shopper pockets software program.

Like all initiatives within the scouting motion, we’re working from the bottom up. The event of the scout’s passport can have a sustainable assist system and community-based contributions from the various scouts already concerned in Web3. The Scouts pockets will probably 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 carry collectively 45,000 scouts from everywhere in the world.

Transferring 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 primarily based on verified credentials that can then be saved within the Scout’s pockets module. I believe that know-how is a robust device to create an empowered group, 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 know-how inside their very own communities. Let’s embark on this journey collectively and see the place it takes us!

When you’re fascinated with studying extra about my undertaking and staying updated on my progress, be at liberty to attach with me on Twitter or LinkedIn

The World Group of the Scout Motion (WOSM) is a vibrant international group, 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 essential position in shaping the lives of younger folks, fostering values of management, group service, and environmental stewardship.

A Be aware from Staff 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 will probably be reaching out to all candidates with a choice within the coming weeks.