‘Web3 Lets Us Create Assets Worth Collecting’ – Interview Bitcoin News
In an age where contactless interactions are encouraged or society adopts new ways of making payments, it is considered by some to be essential for progressive organizations and institutions to keep up with the times. As history has shown us, organizations that are quick to learn or embrace new ways of doing things can sometimes outperform those that insist on continuing with old ways.
Using Web3 to raise awareness of the plight of hungry people
It seems that keeping up with the times is what Princess Charlene of Monaco and her charity, The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation SA (PCMFSA) are already doing. In collaboration with internationally renowned South African artist Junaid Senechal-Senekal, the foundation recently launched its first non-fungible token collection which went on sale on 1 October. The NFT collection of 15 pieces contains paintings of countless children and each has a watermark of Princess Charlene’s face.
The aim of the NFT sale is to raise funds to feed hungry children in South Africa. Princess Charlene also told Bitcoin.com News that while the foundation’s efforts may not completely end global youth hunger, she at least hopes the NFTs will help remind the world that hundreds of millions of people still go to bed hungry.
In her written responses to questions sent by Bitcoin.com News, Princess Charlene explains why the PCMFSA has embraced Web3. Below are Princess Charlene’s full responses to Bitcoin.com News’ questions.
Bitcoin.com News (BCN): The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation SA has been around since 2012, and judging by the projects it has completed in several countries, it can be said that it has been quite successful at what it does. Now I understand that the foundation, together with Feed2gether, plans to auction off non-fungible tokens (NFT) and use the funds raised to buy food for hungry children. Can you tell our readers why the foundation has chosen this method?
Princess Charlene (PC): As a foundation, we always strive to make our patrons part of the initiative they support. Web3 allows us to create assets worth raising, connecting each customer directly to the initiative they support and to patrons with similar philanthropic ideals. We see it as building community while uplifting community.
BCN: Can you briefly explain to our readers about this 15-part NFT collection and the stories told by each piece?
PC: Although Junaid [Senechal-Senekal’s] The work is fantastic to begin with. What makes this piece special is the dedication Junaid showed to the cause and the special “Easter eggs” he put into the work while creating it. This artwork is painted over 15 separate canvases, and although it forms part of an art installation, each section is a worthy piece in its own right. The portrait of HRH Princess Charlene connects the pieces forever in the background of the installation. Junaid did this to show the world’s admiration for the princess’s power to inspire.
BCN: How much does the foundation hope to raise through the NFT auction, and where can well-wishers who wish to support this initiative purchase the NFTs?
PC: Our goal is to generate $2.2 million in initial sales, but we can only dream of what the secondary market will do with that. The NFTs are available for purchase on Momint.
BCN: Where are these funds, or the food to feed the hungry children, most needed?
PC: You won’t believe the number of requests we’ve received since launching the feed2gether program. I wish we could point you to one city, district, province, country or continent, but the saddest part of the answer is that the need is worldwide.
Although we may naively wish to raise enough funds to solve the problem of youth hunger, realistically we know that we must optimize all funds raised and use them as efficiently as possible. As a foundation based in South Africa, we will focus our efforts in South Africa… Never forget that more than eight hundred million people go to bed hungry anywhere in the world at any given time, and we need to bring this realization to people’s attention around the world. Maybe then we will all be able to start feeding the world together.
BCN: In addition to the NFT auction, does the foundation accept direct cryptocurrency donations, and if so, what are some of the digital assets that the foundation accepts?
PC: We are in good cooperation with Blockkoin which expands our web3 availability. One of the first projects they are working on is a new donation site that allows anyone to donate to the foundation in any currency their exchange accepts, cryptocurrency and fiat currency.
BCN: Critics of NFTs often claim that they are used to perpetuate fraud or other dishonest activities. They point to regular reports of wash trades or the so-called carpet-pulling incidents linked to NFTs. In your view, what do you think needs to be done to help eradicate this negative perception of non-fungible tokens?
PC: We believe, just like email scams, scammers will use any new technology to scam unsuspecting victims. Unlike other technologies, blockchain makes it much easier to track fraud and money laundering. Which is partly why it gets so much airtime in the news, it’s easy to find, track and assign a value to it, so it’s easy to report on.
It is also not relevant to talk about a “rug pull” here because PCMF is an established charitable entity, not a new web3 community [that] going nowhere. To get to the point of your question, what the tech needs are more reputable offerings like ours that provide real utility and teach users how a legitimate project works. Make it harder for fraudsters and fly-by-night scammers to abuse the technology as they want to know what legitimate projects have to offer.
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Image credit: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Zigres / Shutterstock.com
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