The Story
Trusted Seed is a global network of trusted actors who apply wisdom, expertise, and capital to early-stage web3 Commons committed to creating regenerative economies for public goods.
This September, we joined researchers, community stewards, and web3 founders at Crypto Commons Hub and discussed the future of commons. Our vision, Protopia, was based on two key trends: our ability to organize inside and to connect outside. We used Burning Man’s Playa as an example of interactions we want to build and Metamodern as a guiding philosophy.
We believe that stewards (servant leaders, community managers, HR personnel, coaches, and facilitators) are the key to turning our vision into reality. Given this, we sense that now is the moment for the leadership development of Web3 stewards, with help from the angels (founders, sponsors) in our ecosystem.
Thus, we’ve created the Trusted Seed Unconference as a space to bring us together and support our growth as future leaders of a protopian world.
- The Story
- Experience
- What is an Unconference?
- ✍ The theme: Protopia
- What are the goals?
- What’s on the agenda?
- Who’s invited?
- How do we do it?
- How to contribute?
- What do I get?
- What is the price to participate?
Experience
What is an Unconference?
Unconference is a non-traditional event that has an open agenda and allows participants to co-create its format. The agenda is created by the attendees at the beginning of the program. Anyone who wants to initiate a discussion on a topic or any activity can claim a time and a space.
While Unconferences are usually real-life gatherings, Trusted Seed Unconference will run in the digital world from October to December 2022. We’ve listed below a few activities that could be part of this program. Feel free to propose your ideas (in the registration form below) or ask questions (in the Support chat plugin of this wiki)
✍ The theme: Protopia
In its original, minimalist — and admittedly rather lacking — formulation by Kevin Kelly, Protopia is simply a term that denotes the gradual improvement of society over time, without claiming either perfection or the reaching of a point of stability.
If we cannot allow ourselves to believe in a future paradise that has stabilized around a blissful state of affairs (Utopia), and we find it insufficient to look for those beautiful little exceptions of what life and society can be in certain regards under specific circumstances (Eutopia), perhaps we can more cautiously and realistically allow hope and faith in gradual but over time substantial improvements of society. As mentioned earlier, Kelly views such a capacity to improve as the true opposite of Dystopia.
Some inspiration from Monika Bielskyte about Protopia and its framework:
We consider mere “tolerance” a failure and actively resist the violence of sexism, misogyny, racism, colorism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, ageism, classism, and any other forms of exclusionary categorization and discrimination. Nothing embodies our approach as accurately as words by Alok Vaid-Menon: “Creativity reveals all categories to be artificial and unambitious.”
Our narratives are narratives of communities coming together rather than glorifications of individual “hero journeys” of magical saviors. COMMUNITY is the hero of our futures.
Our futures are embodied and interdependent. We revel in expanded sensory experiences and consciously make vital space for neurodiverse and disability inclusive expressions of intimacy, care, and radical tenderness.
With recognition of destructive feedback loops already in motion, we consider sustainability solutions entirely insufficient and aim for regenerative practices in every aspect of our civilizational construct. We prioritize biological over mechanical technologies as the only truly viable long-term strategy. We grow, not just build.
We appreciate the importance of spiritual practices from the dawn of humanity and their role in human culture-making. We therefore quest for spiritual practices that acknowledge ancestral wisdom, whilst also expanding rather than stifling scientific inquiry.
From the interwoven journeys of our Ancestors to the future living fabrics of our cities, we celebrate the role of creativity beyond the elitism of disciplines previously labeled as “artistic.”
We must depart from colonial/neocolonial individualist cultures of exploitation and greed, and endeavor to nurture cultures of equity, contribution, and planetary mutuality. We envision the values of a material degrowth society.
What are the goals?
- Build connections and partnerships between stewards and organizations in our ecosystem
- Help stewards learn new tools and build or improve their skills
- Nurture a sense of belonging and form a shared identity in our community
- Provide inspiration and emotional support
What’s on the agenda?
- Webinars and workshops – propose a session and activity you’d like to organize through the form
- Networking – we’ll have some mixers and activities to boost connections
- Project Showcase – pitch your project and get feedback
- Reading sessions – read and discuss relevant books or articles with a group
Don’t limit your imagination! You can host games or any fun activities that you think could lead to reaching the goals of this program.
Who’s invited?
We’re inviting community stewards from the wider blockchain ecosystem in order to have a balanced cross-pollination in both technical and cultural sectors.
- Public good foundations (e.g. Wikimedia, Ethereum, P2P Foundation)
- Communities & hubs (e.g. CryptoCommons, AKASHA, Decentralized Science)
- ReFi (e.g. VitaDAO, grassroots economics, ReFi Summer)
- Academia (e.g ETH Zurich, Stanford, RadicalxChange)
- Web3 service providers (e.g. Opolis, BrightID, Aragon Network)
- Web3 developers (e.g. BlockScience, Curve Labs, General Magic)
There would be a minimum viable pre-screening applied to get some initial level of trust.
How do we do it?
- Registration is now OPEN to Stewards and Angels. You can propose and lead an activity/event, or register yourself as a participant or sponsor/donor. We will contact you with the next steps after you register. The earlier you register, the sooner we can begin launching your proposed activity or event.
- We will collaboratively build the curriculum/agenda based on the registration results (e.g. skills gaps, shared topics and proposed activities) as we receive the forms.
- The Gardeners will help in organizing, coordinating and promoting each activity or event. Individual invitations will be sent to those who signed up for the Unconference.
- Activities, events and sessions can be held from October until mid-December. These sessions may be recorded and documented.
- After the last event/activity of the Unconference is completed, we will gather the documentation and prepare them for distribution. We will also do a retrospective to assess your experience and what we may improve in the future.
How to contribute?
✅ Engage as you like – there would be a bunch of different events and opportunities with recaps and reminders for your comfort
🎁 Give first – let’s practice gift economy, propose the agenda (in the Typeform below), coach and support your peers
👩🏽🏫 Be open – there’s an abundance of good ideas if you’re ready to take or give
🙏 Praise - Acknowledge all kinds of contributions to this program and our community
🤣 Have fun – always important, let’s play and take it easy
💭 Provide your thoughts – we are open to feedback and suggestions
What do I get?
- Access to inspirational and smartest people in the space during the program
- Skills development and new tools (even toolboxes)
- Better working opportunities (there’s always demand for great talent)
- A feature and feedback on your work, project and ideas
- Emotional and intellectual support with your challenges
- Potential access to funding opportunities in selected Impact DAOs
What is the price to participate?
Participation is open price, meaning donating any amount or giving back is completely voluntary either for Angels or Stewards. The Trusted Seed Unconference is sponsored by:
Interested in becoming our sponsor? We definitely need more! Check out our 💝 Sponsorship Proposal.
As an individual, you can donate here: