Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies and the United Nations SDG’s as Solutions for the Future of Humanity
What if we were to take the revolutionary movement that is ablaze within the blockchain and crypto space and apply that magic to solve the globally recognized United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which were established to eradicate the globe’s most pressing challenges? Shake, simmer, stir, ignite! Might we just have a recipe to create exponential and quick success?
With the brilliance of blockchain technology and new wealth creation ability of cryptocurrencies, why not focus this network effect on creating social impact projects that can do good and solve the problems that affect the most vulnerable people with the greatest needs. Harnessing the rapid-fire pace in creating resources and solutions that target the established UN SDG initiatives, we might just have a winning combination for the Future of Humanity. In fact, there are initiatives that are doing just this. First, have a look at the UN SDGs.
What are the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)?
For those who may not be familiar with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the SDGs were established in 2015 with a global call to action for 2030.
“On September 25th 2015, countries adopted a set of goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda. Each goal has specific targets to be achieved over the next 15 years.”
The first few goals focus on basic human rights, alleviating poverty, hunger, and providing universal healthcare and quality education for all. The SDGs go further in establishing gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, and decent work and economic growth. The SDGs also states that it is important for everyone on the planet to create industry, innovation and infrastructure, to reduce inequalities, to design sustainable cities and communities, and to take ownership of responsible consumption and production of resources.
With this, the SDGs begin leading into the climate-focused goals and the potential climate crisis that we all are facing: Will there be a planet that will continue to support us?
The climate SDGs continue with climate action, both below water and for life above land; to ensure we can reach and sustain these goals, society also needs peace, justice, strong institutions, as well as partnerships that can further create and ensure the successful outcome for these Global Goals.
Now one might wonder, what does blockchain technology have to do with creating social impact, and what can cryptocurrency and utility token projects actually do to a make a difference? The answer… it is already a natural fit!
Presenting Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies as Solutions to the Goals
Cryptocurrencies by their very nature create funding. One of the biggest gaps for the SDGs success is a simple lack of resources and funding.
“$1.4 trillion a year is needed to reach global goals for the world’s poorest.”
Cryptocurrencies and Utility Tokens built on blockchain technology offer an elegant opportunity for solutions, by providing customized and integral approaches to capital needs. Utility Tokens can be specifically engineered to solve key needs around the specific SDGs. Even currencies without a specific call to action towards Social Impact can be asked to simply contribute a percentage of their token base towards UN SDG related causes. Blockchain and crypto can provide automated, intelligent, easy and graceful solutions towards SDG #1 – No Poverty.
Innate in Blockchain and Crypto technologies core design is the ability to foster successful partnerships with ’peer to peer’ exchanges.
Finance, Technology, Trade and Systems are actually listed as ‘Targets’ for SDG #17.
The utilization of blockchain and crypto ‘smart contracts’ creates automatic authenticated transparency and trust to enable partnerships to thrive, hence breeding a situation where true collaborative solutions can be born. This is an ideal model for establishing productive partnerships and makes blockchain technology a natural ‘fit’ towards providing solutions for
And now that it’s been established that Blockchain technology and crypto-economics are already a natural fit for and addresses at least two of the seventeen United Nations SDGs, let’s explore some projects that are already implementing blockchain as solutions for the additional 15 SDGs.
United Nations General Assembly and Blockchain for Social Impact
In New York, during the 72nd Regular Session of the UN General Assembly at the United Nations on the International Day of Peace, something magical happened. The Future of Humanity took a giant leap forward! projects using blockchain and crypto-economics stood on a global stage and shared commitments to lead the charge towards solving the UN SDGs.
To a standing room only crowd, Founders of blockchain and crypto-based projects announced to CEOs, captains of industry, senior policy-makers and government representatives, international agencies, academics and organizations concerned with sustainable development on how they will each be a part of the solutions for the UN SDGs. A few examples from the day and the SDG’s they address are below.
Universal Health Artificial Intelligence founder Quang-Vu Dang, announces UHAI, a decentralized and distributed electronic medical information on the blockchain with machine learning algorithms that detect and predict health outcomes for participants.
UHAI is a security first, privacy first highly decentralized platform that processes, stores and unifies electronic medical information on the blockchain, where machine learning algorithms are used to detect anomalies and predict health outcomes for all participants on the network. UHAI is moving the current model of making medical diagnosis (i.e. ‘You’ have this medical condition) to predicting diagnosis (i.e. based on ‘Your’ profile, there is a 90% probability of developing this condition within 2 years.)
This is a paradigm shift in medicine as the system is designed to help solve health inequality in the world by improving access to care and making it more affordable while reducing medical mistakes.
UHAI Founder Quang Vu Dang states, “We are working to help solve the SDG #3, Good Health and Well-Being. I believe that healthcare is a basic human right, like clean water, clean air, and nutritious food. Having been in the healthcare field for almost 20 years, I have seen individuals, communities, and people around the world negatively affected by poor healthcare. I feel that there’s a great opportunity, a perfect storm, if you will, where people, technology and circumstances can intersect to make this a reality and be a part of the solution for this global challenge.”
Universal Health AI (UHAI) Founder Quang-Vu Dang speaks on UN Media Zone stage
UHAI is free to all participants on the network. Token pre-sale will be available November 11 this year. You can find more at: http://uhai.io/
At United Nations Blockchain for Social Impact, Co-founder Jamie Stella shared about Horizon State, a decision-making platform that is redesigning democracy for the 21ST Century.
Both Horizon State and it’s not-for-profit partner, MiVote.org.au, have developed blockchain based voting technology and solutions that can be applied towards SDG #16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
Horizon State Co-Founder Jamie Skella at UN Media Zone
Jamie states, “For the first time in history, we are able to deliver unprecedented trust in electoral results, and the outcomes of other important collaborative decision-making processes. We are now one very important step closer to the eradication of corruption, opening the door for improved governmental stability and accountability.”
Leveraging distributed ledger technology, Horizon State has built a secure digital ballot box that cannot be hacked, wherein results can never be altered, and voter identities are protected. Partnered with SAP Next-Gen and engaged with numerous governments and global NGOs, Horizon State is poised to play an important role in the future of voting and collaborative decision making around the world.
Through technology, Horizon State will prove a key enabler in establishing effective, accountable and inclusive institutions and governments at all levels.
Horizon State, MiVote and the team behind both, are firmly committed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In addition to a strong focus on SDG #16, both organizations also have a strong focus on SDG’s #4, #5, and #10.
Speaking of “For the People, by the People and For ALL People”
Sovereign Nations were also represented. David Kam announces Earth Dollar and Earth Jubilee: 50 day event running September 21 through November 11th.
Earth Dollar Founder David Kam and Future of Humanity Founder Melinda Woolf at UN SDG Media Zone
David Kam shared, “The Earth Dollar is a new sovereign asset-backed currency: the world’s first “sustainable cryptocurrency”, representing the largest deployment of natural capital assets on the blockchain. The Earth Dollar is used to fund the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN, including ending poverty and creating a sustainable planet. The Earth Dollar will also power a new economic model, the ”Living Economic System”, built on blockchain technology.”
In addition to the focus on ending extreme poverty with SDG #1, Earth Dollar addresses the SDG Climate Goals #12 – #15. It also has a strong focus and impact on SDG #16.
A Global Movement and Call to Action for Social Impact. Together we can make a real, lasting change!
This fire was lit by some of the best entrepreneurial and financial minds on the planet. Their ingenuity was awe inspiring. The above serve as shining examples, and yet, despite their valiant efforts, there is still much work to be done to bring true solutions for the goals.
Not every SDG was addressed or could be addressed. However, it does show that Blockchain, with its disruptive technologies, and crypto-economics, with its ability to generate token offerings, can provide key solutions towards achieving these global initiatives for the SDGs.
There is no doubt that more blockchain projects that are working with the UN SDG’s and with a mission for social impact, will be coming to market.
What is needed is to develop projects that can make a contribution to these initiatives around the SDGs. It is up to each of us to find our passion and to apply that which we are already doing towards solutions for these goals.
Let this serve as a universal call to action and ‘a throwing down of the proverbial gauntlet’ so to speak, for all who are in the blockchain and crypto space. And with Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies, there is currently a tremendous opportunity!
About Future of Humanity
Blockchain and The Future of Humanity, a Collective Leap Forward
In partnering with the best in technology, philanthropy, and ethical business to form open-sourced decentralized communities to accomplish the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals globally, Future of Humanity is the distributed and decentralized community and technology stack for the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Author’s Note:
I am personally excited about what blockchain can do, and I am wowed at the tenacity of the potential of the crypto community to create new systems and models based on values, transparency and exchange so quickly. I have confidence in the community of visionaries. I am hopeful that more and more of these will choose to work with the SDGs for social impact. This combination is a perfect synergy for the roadmap to a better tomorrow. Visionary leadership, technology for social impact and a dedicated team of culture hackers who aspire and have committed to the highest and greatest goals for the planet, assure me that a future for humanity we can all be proud of remains within our grasp.
Source: http://icocrowd.com/
images: google.com