ETHDenver Announces New “Advance Colorado” Partnership Program Powered by the State of Colorado to Further Blockchain Technology Initiatives
The Colorado Governor’s Office of Information Technology, Colorado Education Work Lab (C-Lab), the Colorado Department of Higher Education and Learning Economy will collaboratively power the initiative.
ETHDenver announced today that it has partnered with the Colorado Governor’s Office of Information Technology, C-Lab, the Colorado Department of Higher Education, and Learning Economy to establish a series of educational initiatives in an effort to collaboratively cement Colorado as an international epicenter of blockchain technology and Web3 innovation. Free educational programming will launch February 12 during “#BUIDL Week Colorado,” a week of open-source, free events throughout the state designed to empower Colorado’s growing blockchain technology community.
Following launch, ETHDenver will then host an official “Advance Colorado’’ track at a software development competition event February 14–16 with prizes awarded by the State; C-Lab will curate a series of workshops and research discussions at the event; and ETHDenver will host a live-stream fireside chat featuring Governor Jared Polis and other key political figures from the region. At ETHDenver, program details for a state sponsored virtual “Bount-a-thon” in March 2020 will be announced as an effort to continue developing use cases to which State agencies have primary interest in exploring.
“Last year, Governor Polis said that Colorado is in Blockchain For The Win. We are partnering with ETHDenver to show the rest of the world what that means,” says Russell Castagnaro, Director of Digital Transformation at the Colorado Governor’s Office of Information Technology, “We are excited about the Colorado Government track at the ETHDenver Hackathon, the upcoming Bount-a-thon, and Colorado Digital ID™ via myColoradoTM and look forward to identifying more innovative solutions that solve real-world problems here in Colorado.”
Says John Paller, Executive Steward and Founder of ETHDenver, “This effort is largely one of bridge-building between the existing and the emerging while cultivating the ground that is ETHDenver to further showcase Colorado as the ideal hub for blockchain and distributed ledger technology development. With the support of the Colorado Governor’s Office of Information Technology, C-Lab and the Colorado Department of Higher Education, ETHDenver will multiply its efforts to innovate with advanced technology through education, buildathons, and other programming to accelerate the State’s ability to create solutions for a deep aggregate of exploratory Web3 use cases. With our ties to the top projects from the international blockchain technology community, we will accelerate the State’s objectives and harness global advancements in real time.”
Collaboration has always been important to ETHDenver, and the ETHDenver fireside chat event with Governor Jared Polis has been hinted to discuss topics like possible blockchain legislation, plans for the myColoradoTM app & ID, government and industry partnerships, how Colorado and other states may work together to further build the region’s shared goals, and the Governor’s goals of advancing social good through technology.
The C-Lab released a preview of the programming their team is preparing for ETHDenver around the “Advance Colorado” track, which is likely to include content presented by the US Department of Education, the Colorado Department of Higher Education, the Exponential Edtech Coalition of Colorado (E2C2), the MIT/Harvard Digital Credential Consortium and Opolis. Among other themes, the future of digital identity and credentialing in Colorado, and how to become a self-sovereign worker will be discussed.
“We are incredibly excited about the Colorado Education Work Lab and ETHDenver partnership,” says Chris Purifoy, CEO and Chairman of Learning Economy, “It represents a first-of-its-kind ‘biodome’ experiment, for blockchain and education, connecting the entire state into a decentralized 22nd-century-ready education and workplace infrastructure. It will provide a model for other states and nations. They say one pilot can change the world, and I would say the same for one C-Lab.”
ETHDenver applications for free attendance are still open through January 31 and anyone interested in learning more about blockchain technology and Colorado’s initiatives to further blockchain technology are encouraged to apply and attend. Learn more about ETHDenver and apply on our website.
