ETHPrague is a different kind of hackathon. Or is it? With the rise of NFTs and the popular perception of cryptocurrencies as speculative investments, many builders within the Ethereum community and beyond have begun to prioritize creating tangible value for society, offering solutions for real-world issues, and exploring non-financial use cases. There are many amazing communities and events in the ecosystem that focus on and represent these values with their different initiatives. While aligned with these fundamentals, the ETHPrague hackathon is still unique in a couple of different ways.
The organizers encouraged participants to explore social and environmental issues that go beyond the scope of the blockchain and crypto bubble. This approach fosters a creative, problem-solving atmosphere that encourages participants to think outside the box. By integrating these ideas with Ethereum technology, attendees can devise innovative solutions that were previously impossible. The lack of strict rules also allowed builders to experiment with visionary projects.
The hackathon welcomed solarpunk or sustainability-focused projects that addressed environmental and social issues, even if they did not rely solely on blockchain technology. Projects were evaluated based on the problems they attempted to solve, their creativity, collaborative nature, and potential long-term impact, rather than their final outcomes. The goal was to push the boundaries of innovation, and design a system that is more beneficial to society and nature, fostering a culture of creativity, collaboration, and out-of-the-box thinking. By placing greater emphasis on the process of innovation, rather than just the results, organizers encouraged hackers to push the boundaries of what was possible and develop truly groundbreaking solutions to the world's most pressing problems.
🙌 Mission
👩💻 👨💻 Keep Building!
At the hackathon's opening ceremony, the organizing team presented the audience and hackers with a deeper understanding of the solarpunk values, mission, and rules of the hackathon. They covered topics and concepts such as "bright green environmentalism" and the solarpunk vision, which seeks to create a brighter future by taking proactive steps and envisioning solutions to social and environmental issues, rather than relying on existing technologies or being passive and pessimistic. The solarpunk movement is a relatively new and innovative approach that is gaining traction worldwide. Its proponents believe that instead of resigning to the current state of the world, we should actively strive to build a better future through sustainable and innovative technologies. This is a refreshing change from the more pessimistic approaches to sustainability that have dominated the conversation in the past. To watch the recording of the hackathon opening, click HERE.
In addition to the hackathon rules, hackers were introduced to a couple of guidelines. They were encouraged to strive for the following while building their projects:
These approaches differ from traditional cut-throat competitions and provided a unique opportunity for hackers and builders to collaborate on solarpunk-inspired projects and create a more sustainable and resilient ecosystem. By working together and sharing ideas, the participants were able to learn from each other and contribute to the development of new and innovative solutions to environmental and social issues.
In this way, the hackathon was not just a platform for competition but also a space for collaboration and community building.
As the hackathon has grown significantly since last year's event, a dedicated hacker house was provided for hackers at VNITROBLOCK, just one block down from the conference venue. Attendees absolutely loved this awesome building with a great inside garden vibe that provided ample space for productive work, focus on hacking, or socializing, while also allowing for convenient access to the main conferences.
The inspirational atmosphere of the upstairs area was complemented by the availability of a quieter basement space that allowed for more focused work. This additional area was an excellent resource for those who needed to concentrate without any distractions. The basement space was designed to be conducive to productivity and efficiency, with comfortable seating and ample desk space. It provided a perfect contrast to the lively environment of the upstairs area, allowing hackers to vary their working environment as needed.