Due to technical issues, this episode is only available in written format.

 Hello, how are you, Doro?

Oh, good. I'm good. Thank you. Yeah, getting over a little bit of a cold. My voice is a little off, but happy to be here.

Yeah, it's that time of year, isn't it? Welcome to Diversity in Blockchain’s ChainChat series. We make a chain of questions asking each guest to leave a question for the next guest. And the question for you is interesting. What has been your greatest learning experience about humanity while working in Web3?

I didn't realize how important trust is to everything in society. How I take trust for granted. I can put my money in my bank account, and it's still there. I'm employed, and I get my salary every month. If I enter a contract, I usually get what I'm requesting in the contract. But this is not the case for everyone. And especially in developing countries. You can see the difference, or they don't have trust in institutions. They're supposed to safeguard them. Blockchain is a solution, with smart contracts, financial tools, and other things people can have the same access that I have overall had. That was never that clear to me. Trust was always a personal thing for me, like do you trust a friend, person, or colleague? But seeing how you need to trust institutions, regulators, and governments — how that's not a given for everybody, and how Blockchain can solve that- was my biggest humanity-based learning so far.

So tell us a bit about yourself. What is your experience in Web3?

My name is Doro Unger-Lee. I'm the head of university programs at Algorand Foundation. Algorand is Layer 1 protocol, and as part of the Foundation, I manage all university engagement programs. I entered the blockchain space through the backdoor. I used to work in higher education as a Senior Program Manager. For one of these roles, I worked at UC Berkeley in California, where I met some cryptographers in a program I led at Simon’s Institute for the Theory of Computing. I stayed in touch with these cryptographers, and they called me out of the blue and said We’re at Algorand Foundation. We're gonna start all these programs. Do you want to help us run them? I obviously had learned about cryptography a little bit. I had general audience knowledge about Bitcoin and Ethereum, but I arrived at the Foundation as the new girl on the block and learned quickly. It’s an exciting space to be in, it's a real frontier, and every day is different. I'm very grateful to be here but didn't come through the normal channels. 

How does the Algorand Foundation work?

As part of my role, I run the university programs, and there are two flagship programs I can highlight. One of them is the ACE program, the Algorand Centres of Excellence program, where we support universities across the globe to advance blockchain education and research, community building, and hands-on learning for students. We put out a big request for proposals in the fall of 2021. We were inundated with applications from really everywhere across the globe with fantastic proposals. And from these proposals, we selected the ten lead centers, which each work with sub-organizations. In total, 48 universities and nonprofit research organizations across the globe. 

The task we've given them is to develop blockchain courses, develop teaching materials, and create hackathons where students support the local student clubs at their ACE, then community events, symposia, conferences, and create new courses and on whole fields of study really. One good example is Nanyang Technological University in Singapore which we work with. They just launched a Master's in Blockchain program that accepts applications now and kicks off in the fall. 

The other program I can highlight is our ABCs program, our Algorand Blockchain Clubs program. This is spearheaded by our Student Engagement Lead, Eva Machado, who supports blockchain student clubs across the globe. Blockchain clubs are very common in the States and the UK. But we're really trying to foster this club culture in Latin America and the rest of the world because these student clubs often arise out of necessity because they don't have a faculty who can teach them blockchain. They started teaching each other and forming these clubs and societies to teach each other about Web3 and the opportunities there. We made it a priority to work with these blockchain clubs and support them. And we work globally. We do hackathons for them, events. We teach classes, and we support them in any way we can. So these are the two big programs that we're running. We're also doing other things, but in the interest of this meeting, we'll just keep it to that.

It's really important what you're doing because one of the biggest barriers to entry into the whole space is education. It's a recurring theme that there aren't enough resources, and there isn't enough material. And so I find that aspect of what Algorand is doing especially interesting. Any success stories that you want to share? Anything that you're particularly proud of that the foundation has achieved? 

In January, we had an ACE conference in Barcelona with the ACE program faculty and student leader. We tallied all the people we've reached in the first four months, and it’s around 15,000. Excluding trends in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). I was surprised by how many people we could reach out to, how quickly, and how the universities are the perfect breeding ground for this. 

One big initiative that we're running right now is the MEGA ACE Hackathon. One of the ACE teams is called the MEGA ACE because it comprises 16 universities in different countries, from Kenya (Nairobi) to Greece (Athens) and from Argentina (Buenos Aires) to others here in the United States. They're all over and kicking off a huge hackathon in April where they're really getting everyone together. We are going to do workshops and teach the students what Algorand is and how can you build on it. We have many judges from all over the world who will contribute to mentoring these students and also judge the prizes. It's big. As a team here at the Algorand Foundation, we do everything we can to support them. 

We run workshops, also in Spanish, for our Latin American friends. We do them in English too. With this, we're trying to reach different target audiences and make it a big thing. And this really was initiated by the MEGA ACE themselves. We want to go global, and we're going to reach all these people. It's fantastic to see how excited everyone is — at the ACE Conference, there were 120 people in one room, and everybody was just excited about developing blockchain courses, moving ahead, and thinking about what kind of homework they give the students or how to plan a hackathon. The faculty is so entrenched in making an impact on the students. Not even advancing their own careers but making the students a priority. I found that really refreshing and motivating.

That's going back to the first question, the humanity aspect of it all. There are a lot of selfless people in Web3 that genuinely want to make the world a better place. Where is the April hackathon being held?

It's global. They're going to do some in-person events. We're in those areas. There'll be locations on the West Coast, at Purdue… There are five or six locations globally, but anybody can join. So you don't need to be a student at any of these schools. Anybody interested in starting to hack online can join.

That's amazing because, with university courses, where some of the more structured education in the space is, there's going to be the barrier of paying for that education as well, which kind of cuts off certain groups of the population. So that's good that there are these kinds of events that anybody can join!

All the outcomes for the ACE program are open source. And part of the funding that is used for the ACE program is also there to support bursaries for students so they can continue on the Master's program. They can stay here longer in school, work on their startup, or do some creative idea that they otherwise couldn't afford to do. There are different areas in how we try to be inclusive. One of them is to open source everything that we do, but on the other hand, also use the funding to enable students to come or PhD students to start the research.

Excellent. Have you noticed the kind of demographics of the people that generally participate? Are you seeing more women come in or more of the other underrepresented groups?

Part of our request for proposals — or there was a requirement — is to include diverse teams and have inclusive work environments. We didn't want these white male Computer Science (CS) students to be the only target of this program. We wanted to see different fields involved. We also wanted to ensure that, for example, women — to mention one diverse audience — were included on teams. As part of leadership and as part of the core team, to be active as speakers. What's important is that we made that a requirement. We, as a Foundation, took the stance that We need to see more. People need to see themselves in their leadership and with their teachers and their peers. That's how you connect to a community, feel a sense of belonging, and feel you're seen and heard. That's like the red thread that goes through everything that we do. It's really important to work interdisciplinarily and that's how you get members from other fields. 

A lot of our ACEs, if you look at their descriptions, don't just work in CS. They work together with economics, law, ecology subjects — you name it! Art schools… it's really all over the place. You can bring that technology to people who are not technical but then together, come up with good ideas that are really innovative and also take into account the viewpoints of people who are different than you. Many ACEs also work across geographies. The MEGA ACE works in 16 countries. We also have an ACE in Australia that works together with universities in Hong Kong and Fiji. They're doing a lot around the topic of sustainability and bringing sustainability concepts and ideas to the Pacific region. I could go on and on with other examples, but I think working interdisciplinarily and enforcing that we need to see diverse teams is very important to drive the space forward.

Yeah, absolutely. Technology is kind of the nucleus of our society, and everything is around that, so it can bleed over into all of these different disciplines. What about any friction that you've noticed along the way? Any hurdles you have either been able to or have not been able to overcome? 

Yeah. There are still some hurdles in terms of university bureaucracy. For example, it's not easy for some of the universities we work with to use grant funds to purchase cryptocurrencies. Let's say they have a hackathon and want to give somebody 5,000 ALGOs as the first prize. It's really bureaucratic for them to buy ALGOs because the university as an institution does not have any processes in place. Part of the nice side effect of what we're doing is it also administrative learning and trying to build processes around that. Then when we talk to the student clubs (this is not the case for the majority), there are a lot of clubs of students who come to us and say: I want to start a blockchain club, but the university thinks I want to mine Bitcoin in the basement, do illegal things, use all this energy… There’s a lot of ignorance that we need to work with at the same time as supporting the students. Especially in smaller schools or in developing countries, not everybody knows what blockchain is or how it can help, so there's still a lot of educational work to be done. To summarize, I think lack of knowledge and then also what I call The Crypto Fear when you know institutions are really scared of what it is and how can impact their operations. It's really something that we still have to work with every day.

Absolutely. Maybe not Algorand because you’ve already touched on that, but are there any practical ways that you think new startups or protocols can implement diversity?

I think you have to do it at all levels. Your leadership has to represent minorities and be more than window dressing. You can say, Oh, we're all about women, for example. But then there are no female speakers at the event. There's no female person on their leadership board, and I think you have to put your money where your mouth is and actually adhere to that. What I really want in the long run is that right now, we have a lot of women in Web3 events or diversity in Web3 activities, but we just need it to become normal for diverse audiences to be included in the space.

Excellent. Where did you learn your most important lesson about diversity?

From my own professional experience. There's still a lot to learn, and there's still a lot to do. When I was younger, I believed everyone was the same and had the same opportunities. But the longer you're in the professional space, the more you see the issues. I think the best resource is your colleagues, who you can talk to about what it's like to be diverse in blockchain. How to address certain situations. And working with mentors, people that you trust, as I referenced initially. Those who can help you navigate the space and find the best way forward. It's still not as easy as it should be. There's still much to do to make Web3 more inclusive and diverse. At Algorand Foundation, we're doing quite a bit to make that happen. We have a very diverse team with diverse leadership, and we're trying to represent all audiences and geographies at our events and in everything we do. But there's a lot more to be done to really make that extra step to be 100% inclusive.

Definitely. Alright, my next one is about the present and the future of Algorand given the current markets — how do you see it going?

We had a big Algorand conference in Dubai last fall, and our CEO was also addressing the market and saying there's a lot of bad stuff going on. It's really a challenging situation, but it's good to keep moving forward. We can’t just hold still and wait until the market goes up. Again, we have to keep figuring out what the good things are and keep doing them and supporting the community even though there's a lot of noise. Committing to the things you believe in and the programs and activities you're running is crucial. The university engagements are really valuable and have a lot of impact, and it's the right and the good thing to do. That's something you can lose sight of. Even when times are tough, you have to keep doing the right thing. I find it personally very rewarding to work with the faculty and the students. Just seeing how motivated they are by this technology, how many opportunities they see, and how much good it can do in the world. You need to keep your eyes on the prize, so to speak, and really keep doing what you're doing if you believe in it and not get sidetracked by negativity or the downmarket.

Absolutely. The majority of the people that are still around at the moment are of a similar elk. People that are doing it for the good of doing it, and find it rewarding. More spiritually than financially. Then a lot of people are in it for a quick cash grab. Any other wisdom or insights you want to share?

No matter how old or where you are, just get started if you're interested in the space. Go to an event, even if you're shy and introverted and you don't know what blockchain or cryptocurrency is. An event in your neighborhood or your town, and check it out. Learning about how the technology works and seeing how much opportunity there is, is important. Push yourself. I've met so many incredibly kind people in the Web3 space. Just recently, I was at an event in London, and there were so many women, and also women in their 50s and older interested in this, wanting to learn and be there. It's important to be proud of your curiosity. Don't be afraid of what you don't know. Be proud that you're curious and interested because many people don't have any interests. Trying to learn something new is a fabulous thing. Not knowing everything in a certain field is totally okay. Women especially need to switch from feeling like: Oh, but I don't know everything, to: OK, but I know a lot. If you're curious, that's something to commend you for.

I really liked the “Be proud of your curiosity.” Even when I was learning Spanish, for example, I was always too scared to give it a go until I was absolutely sure what I was saying was right. Rather than just throwing something out there and doggy paddling along. Would you mind leaving us a question for our next guest?

Name three activities or events Web3 organizations could implement to activate diverse audiences.

I like it. Thank you very much for your time.