As Blockchain research and innovation continue to proliferate around the world, new use-cases are being developed. While there are many startups and private sector companies investing in Blockchain and implementing profitable solutions, global organizations like UNICEF are also taking the lead in Blockchain innovation for social impact.
Leading some of UNICEF’s Blockchain initiatives is Ariana Fowler, an economic empowerment and Blockchain enthusiast. Ariana’s lifelong passion and expertise is to determine the best way to help people. With her background in Public Health and Economic Development, it is no surprise that she is involved in projects that fulfill this passion. Her enthusiasm for Blockchain began while she was an intern at an investment advisory firm several years ago. After her internship, she went on to work for ConsenSys, where she worked with the Social Impact Team as a Project and Operational Strategist. She is originally from Dallas, Texas but resides in New York City, where she now helps to manage UNICEF’s Atrium Project.
The Atrium project is an inter-agency collaboration tool with the goal of reducing redundancies in Blockchain solutions around the world. According to Ariana, The Atrium is a three-factor communication tool, consisting of learning, project and discussion forum sections that foster collaboration amongst UN personnel. On the Atrium networking website, individuals are exposed to Blockchain resources, share their projects and see what Blockchain projects the other participants are working on. Miss Fowler acts as an intermediary between the project stakeholders and the tech team to coordinate and determine the priority level and the viability of the proposed projects. The Atrium will be made partially public in March 2021, and its main benefit is that the participants will be able to “learn by doing” as the platform itself is built on a blockchain. Participants will have the opportunity to interact with others in the Blockchain field and ultimately determine whether they really needed a blockchain to achieve their goal.
Other initiatives at UNICEF include the Venture Fund, where UNICEF invests in blockchain startups in certain countries; the UNICEF CryptoFund, where they accept, hold and distribute cryptocurrency to startups; and Prototyping, where products are built using blockchain to automate processes, explore digital financing, as well as other use cases for UNICEF. When asked about the challenges associated with these types of initiatives, Ariana mentioned two major hurdles: the lack of patience and the lack of diversity of Blockchain developers. She emphasized that Blockchain innovation for social impact should employ human-centered design, but too often does not. For social impact blockchain initiatives, it is important to ensure diversity in the solution by welcoming diverse problem solvers who can ensure high quality project by treating the benefactors as regular users rather than victims. Ariana also emphasized that other issues related to onboarding and key management must also be addressed before scaling projects globally, but even when there are many challenges, the best solution is to keep moving forward.
To stay up-to-date with UNICEF’s Blockchain initiatives, follow @UNICEFinnovate on Twitter or visit their website at unicef.org/innovation/blockchain. To connect with Ariana Fowler, follow her on LinkedIn or Twitter @arianasfowler.
by Odessa Elie
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