Less Conference, More Conversation: Our Fifth Annual Blockchain Summit
This month, Bitfury together with the Global Blockchain Business Council and ACTAI Global kick off their fifth annual Blockchain Summit on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island.
Our first summit in 2015 was dominated by optimism about how blockchain would solve the biggest problems in our communities and countries, while improving our existing technologies and networks.
The reality since then is, as we know, quite different.
Social media, meant to bring us closer together, instead was used by certain groups to promote fake news and emphasized popularity and aesthetics over genuine connection.
Digital currency, designed to put more power back in the hands of the consumer, has not yet made our financial system as accessible, or as stable, as it could be.
Technologists were heralded as our newer, better thought leaders — but often, the most impactful statements they make now are either in government hearings or on stages so large that they resemble pedestals.
This falls far, far short of what we are capable of. I believe the reason for that is a lack of connection, conversation and cooperation.
What we’ve learned from four incredible summits is that measurable change is born when world-class experts sit down face to face (outside of large conference halls) and share their individual experiences and ideas. These honest, vulnerable conversations bring about ambitious plans for change, with committed advocates ready to cooperate.
This year, I fully expect more difficult conversations to happen about how technology can (and cannot) help address the major challenges we’re facing like climate change, fake news, financial access and more. I welcome it. There are no large stages on Necker Island — just groups of peers, carefully curated, connecting honestly about the problems they are trying to solve. These are the connections that set our summit apart, that break down the barriers between our guests and help them form lifelong partnerships that catalyze change.
We’ll be sharing more from the summit later this month — to join the conversation, follow Bitfury on Facebook and Twitter.
