A short while ago in October, a significant portion of the Ethereum community converged in South America as we gathered for Devcon VI in Bogotá, Colombia!
Today, we extend our Thank You(!) to every participant, volunteer, and contributor who played a role in making Devcon VI a triumph. In this blog entry, we will revisit the highlights of a remarkably enjoyable event, and reflect on Community Hubs, the Road to Devcon, enlightening discussions and panels, elegantly designed presentation rooms, and much more.
Check out the Recap Video to jog your memory and soak in the vibe of Devcon VI!
What Devcon represents
For those unfamiliar with the Ethereum community, Devcon is the sole yearly conference organized by the Ethereum Foundation, beginning from a modest gathering in Berlin (ÐΞVcon-0) roughly a year before Ethereum’s initial blocks. For some within the Ethereum ecosystem, Devcon functions as a sort of family reunion, while for others, it serves as a significant platform to discuss and discover the latest advancements, ranging from technical research to application launches and beyond.
Throughout the years, it has become evident that Devcon also benefits the community in various other ways. In preparing for Devcon VI, we aimed to define those objectives. Now, we wish to articulate them again and reflect on how we endeavored to meet each one.
1. Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange
Devcon is not merely a conference showcasing presentations; it is also a distinctive venue to collaborate with numerous vital builders in the same environment. This year, we aimed to provide them with opportunities to converse, approach a whiteboard, and work collectively.
At Devcon VI, we introduced workshop spaces, dedicated co-working areas, bookable meeting rooms, and a hacker basement where attendees congregated to connect and collaborate. We additionally provided a co-working space after the event at the venue.
The hacker basement – Photo by Shintaro Yoshimatsu
2. Educating, Communicating, and Generating New Concepts
Devcon presents an opportunity for both learning and teaching. Attendees journeyed to Devcon to grasp the forefront of development within the Ethereum domain and to share their experiences from the past year with a wide audience, both on-site and online.
Across the four days, 60,000 viewers globally tuned into the Devcon livestreams (21,780 on the opening day alone). Delivering high-quality live streams and videos was pivotal for Devcon Satellite Events – educational gatherings worldwide arranged for those unable to be in Bogotá. The community coordinated Devcon Satellite Events in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Malaysia, Portugal, and Turkey.
Community Hubs were designated areas powered by the community for the community. Whether you began your day with a cacao ceremony in the Regens Hub, chose to go anonymous IRL by crafting a mask in the Temporary Anonymous Zone, witnessed the launch of the inaugural Token Engineering Fundamentals program, or explored your principles regarding decentralization in the Design Hub, we hope you felt more like part of a multifaceted community than just an attendee.
This edition also marked the first Devcon to showcase “Impact Booths”, which were allocated spaces for teams and initiatives aiming to positively influence Ethereum and the broader ecosystem. Remarkable developments arise when clients, rollup teams, and other influential groups unite in a single location. Allegedly competitive rollup teams formed friendships, while some earned a rare Gitcoin plushie by showcasing their favorite public good, others secured a pair of the first-ever socks.sol merchandise, or took on the challenge of exchanging as many ENS POAPs as possible with fellow attendees to ascend the leaderboard.
The Latin American community created its own vibrant space: a Colombian Chiva Bus. Here, participants facilitated discussion rounds, recorded podcasts, and kept the music lively well past the conclusion of presentations for the evening.
The ETH Latam crew in front of their Chiva Bus
3. Utilize our largest platform to convey a message
Devcon presents a pivotal occasion to relay messages to the world about Ethereum. Being the biggest conference in our field, the broader technology sector and mainstream entities pay careful attention to Devcon.
Devcon VIwas the initial occurrence after The Merge occurred in September of this year! 🐼Ethereum Mainnet is now operating with proof-of-stake for consensus, and Danny Ryan discussed how hectic the last few months have been for the Ethereum core developers, the challenges they encountered while combining the consensus and execution layers, and what it signifies that they now function as a single chain – Ethereum.
Additional presentations that are highly recommended to (re)watch include Aya Miyaguchi’s discourse on Executing with Subtraction in the Infinite Garden, Kurt Opsahl’s presentation The Value of Cryptocurrencies in Supporting Human Rights, and Pia Mancini’s talk The Future is Collective.
In addition to our suggestions, we also want to inform you about some of the community’s top choices this year:
4. Utilizing tech developed on Ethereum through “dogfooding”
“Dogfooding” refers to the act of using one’s own products or services. Devcon serves as a conference created by and for our community, and we aspire to implement tools designed by our community wherever feasible and advantageous for participants. Devcon aims to empower attendees to learn and engage directly with products constructed on Ethereum.
Starting with ticketing, 268 individuals took part in the on-chain raffle and auction prior to the commencement of general ticket sales.
Smart Token Labs played a crucial role in enabling Devcon VI ticket attestations, which permitted attendees to confirm their status as Devcon VI ticket-holders without revealing a wallet address or other personally identifiable details. Through their platform, various third-party entities provided permissionless benefits exclusively for Devcon VI participants.
Speaking of dogfooding, how did you arrange your hotel stay in Bogotá? Participants were able to settle their accommodation costs using cryptocurrency, courtesy of Winding Tree.
You can now view all presentations and discussions from Devcon VI on more open and robust platforms as well – Swarm and Etherna aided us in making the Devcon Archive more decentralized by hosting videos from discussions and workshops. Look into the recap from the Swarm team for additional details on their efforts at Devcon VI.
Numerous environmentally conscious participants offset their travel emissions using the carbon offsetter by Discarbon. At present, attendees have collectively offset the equivalent of 403.9 Tonnes of CO2. Voters on the snapshot proposal opted to retire these credits sourced from the Cordillera Azul National Park REDD+ Project in Peru.
Moreover, it goes without saying that everyone accumulated a great deal of POAPs throughout the event.
Panel: Signing in With Ethereum: the Most Powerful Protocol in Web3?
5. Expanding the Ethereum Ecosystem
Devcon represents a chance to reach, inspire, and engage more local Ethereum communities across the globe. This year, the Latin American Ethereum community carved the Path to Devcon by organizing approximately 14 community events throughout Latin America, all leading to Devcon VI in Bogotá, where the leaders of the Latam Ethereum community arranged ETH Latam Day just one day before the event commenced. View their recap video here.
We firmly believe that Ethereum can create a tangible impact in South America, and it is incredible to witness the strength of the Latin American Ethereum community today.
EF’s Executive Director Aya Miyaguchi recently mentioned that she “strongly believes it’s vital for builders to explore and see all different realms of the world they strive to transform.” Some participants of Devcon took advantage of the opportunity this event presented to delve deeper into South America after Devcon. They became acquainted with a community and a region that waspreviously unfamiliar to them, or they arrived earlier and took the Path to Devcon.
The Path to Devcon map
Devcon serves as a chance to connect with blockchain-related teams and individuals from various sectors. Once again, UNICEF was a guest and speaker at Devcon, alongside Arkadiy Kukarkin from the Internet Archive, and geopolitics and tech writer Bruno Maçães.
The Ethereum Foundation’s Next Billion team coordinated a one-day event for Devcon participants, government representatives, non-profit and civil society organizations, and “anyone keen to discover how we can utilize Ethereum as a public asset aimed to assist billions in coordination and prosperity.” The event emphasized the ‘real-world’ challenges encountered by individuals using Ethereum to generate impact.
The programming segment Opportunity & Global Impact showcased numerous engaging talks and panels addressing how Ethereum can bridge “gaps in representation across cultures, nationalities, and economic strata.” (Next Billion)
Devcon VI attracted numerous attendees who were new to the Ethereum ecosystem and participated in Devcon for the very first time. With additional programming tracks such as Governance & Coordination, and Cryptoeconomics, along with a diverse array of crypto art and music throughout the event, we hope they felt inspired by our remarkable community by the conclusion of the week.
Expanding the Ethereum ecosystem also involves supporting those who “have the potential to create a positive influence on Ethereum and its community, but who were unable to partake without financial aid.” The Devcon Scholars Program held its second class this year, granting support to 50 individuals to attend Devcon. Check out some of their narratives and viewpoints on Devcon VI here!
6. Enjoyment!
Fun has always been an integral part of Devcon and the broader Ethereum ecosystem. That’s why Devcon merchandise is vibrant, Jonathan Mann is performing The Merge Song on stage, and the opening video features animated dancing bears merging into a panda symbolizing Ethereum.
Referring to Devcon merely as a conference overlooks the vibrant stages crafted with a keen attention to detail, the adult playground with activities like giant Jenga, and the hacker basement filled with digital art awaiting discovery.
Ix Shells and Rosendo Merel Choy – Photo credit to Shintaro Yoshimatsu
Many of the enjoyable activities at Devcon VI were realized by the community itself. The music stage in the Chiva Chillout emerged from a community initiative inspired by a Devcon Improvement Proposal (DIP) by The Fellowship of Ethereum Musicians that evolved into a more extensive project. You can view a video capturing highlights from all four days here. Daily, attendees could participate in a graffiti tour organized by CRYPTOMURALS, while the teams from Social Dist0rtion Protocol and daedalus industries worked on the Treasure Hunt Challenge “Time To DAI” for participants.
7. Input & Ongoing Enhancement
We continuously strive to learn and enhance, and we appreciate everyone who provided us with invaluable input (you can still provide feedback through our attendee survey and earn a POAP.)
There are several insights we gained this year. Wi-Fi connectivity was a problem again, particularly on the initial day, and we realize there is space for enhancement, and our SIM cards for participants were more crucial than ever! The food options could be even more diverse – offering improved vegetarian and vegan selections. Female, Transgender, Non-Binary and other genders madeup 20%+ of Devcon VI’s participants. Nonetheless, we can enhance our efforts to ensure both Devcon and the ecosystem are more inclusive regarding gender diversity & inclusion in a still-male-dominated environment.
As our gathering has expanded significantly with over 6,000 attendees, we acknowledge the increased potential for disagreements among some participants. The primary guideline in the Devcon Code of Conduct states to “treat each other well,” and we are dedicated to fostering a welcoming atmosphere for everyone. We will evaluate our Code of Conduct and explore enhancements based on this year’s insights.
What Lies Ahead?
We are optimistic that we won’t need to wait three years for the next Devcon. The moment has already arrived for you to contribute by suggesting ideas to enhance Devcon.
Aya’s presentation regarding subtraction led us to rethink how we phrase DIPs. Devcon Improvement Proposals are now aimed at collaborative community contributions regarding what should be altered (subtracted, added, or adjusted) for the next Devcon7.
Where will Devcon7 be hosted? In brief: We do not yet know. However, the decision will be challenging, as we have numerous outstanding suggestions for Devcon7 venues from the Ethereum community members.
We anticipate that you’ll share our excitement as we provide more details in the approaching weeks. For now, we sincerely thank all attendees for joining us in Bogotá, along with the speakers, the Impact teams, Supporters, Community Hub coordinators, DIP contributors, and all volunteers who made Devcon VI a reality. ❤️🦄
Until we reunite, feel free to explore additional photos captured by the Devcon team here, and discover more images from Shintaro Yoshimatsu here.
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EF Devcon Team
