Ethereum is a living entity, distributed across time and space, accessible through our screens and communication devices. What gives it life are the countless human relationships that have intertwined with the roots, branches, and leaves of Ethereum’s state tree. This single tree encodes immense value, digital property, and decentralized application utility—and it’s not an insignificant part of human activity.
But the humans currently bringing Ethereum to life do not represent all humans – many differences between cultures, nationalities and classes need to be bridged. The use cases and innovative solutions that have so far been developed, announced and touted by the creators of Web3 do not yet represent the true potential of Ethereum to enable human flourishing – we have not yet scratched the surface of the space of possibilities.
We believe the visionaries are out there. We believe that those who understand and fight against the failure of coordination can see glimmers of hope. They have levers with which they intend to move the world, and Ethereum could be their fulcrum. For Ethereum to reach the next billion humans, it must become useful not only for techno-optimists, but also for everyone on this messy and complicated human planet.
Camaraderie
We believe there’s an opportunity to use Ethereum to improve the lives of billions of people. But we need more than just technology: we need new ways of thinking about how humans interact with each other and their environment. We need new stories to tell, new visions of a better future, and new ways to express our values in code.
The Ethereum Foundation’s Next Billion Fellowship is a search for stories: stories that inspire us to focus on what matters, to find balance and fairness in how we solve our problems, and to delve deeper into the mysteries of human cooperation.
We’re looking for changemakers, visionaries, and pragmatists. We’re looking for stories that represent the best in ourselves, to help us imagine a world in which we take the tools at hand, roll up our sleeves, and begin the long, hard work of pulling the world out of a death spiral of coordination.
It’s perfectly fine to start with experiments, pilots, and research. Stories of invalidated assumptions, underestimated challenges, and misaligned incentives are incredibly valuable in the quest for new systems of change. We’re just at the beginning of a very long journey into uncharted territory—building a map is a difficult but worthwhile endeavor.
Fellows may work individually or within a larger organization. Some fellows may be directly involved in the construction, design and test new technologies that solve old problems. Others could have a particular interest in a particular human contextby researching and sharing their findings with other developers in the Ethereum community to help them design better solutions. There are no strict requirements for a Next Billion Fellowship project, except one: seriousness.
Next Billion Fellows are on a personal quest. The Fellowship is neither the beginning nor the end of their journey, but it can provide support that helps them move closer to ambitious goals. Whatever the project, whatever the Fellow, the quest must be rooted in the public good.
Call for applications
We want to help you in your quest!
Cohort 3 of the Next Billion Fellowship will begin in late June 2023. If you are working to make a difference in the world using Ethereum, please visit our website and submit your application before April 28, 2023. We will review all applications and select candidates who have ideas that can have a significant impact on humanity through Ethereum-compatible solutions or protocols that align with public good goals.
The fellowship program offers mentorship from relevant experts, access to Ethereum Foundation and Ethereum community resources, financial support, and networking and media exposure opportunities.
The next billion
The Ethereum Foundation’s Next Billion team is working to find the enablers and blockers of Ethereum’s next billion users. We explore the edges of the public good possibility space for new use cases, contexts, and communities that indicate how Ethereum could become a tool for and by the next billion.
If you would like to talk to us about a topic outside of the Next Billion Fellowship, contact us here or send us a DM on Twitter @EFNextBillion.
