DeSci LATAM: Connecting Latin American Science with Blockchain Innovations

Public Good Projects Discussion
1

Project Name:

DeSci LATAM

Project Description and why it’s classified as a Public Good

DeSci LATAM is a public good with a mission to promote the advancement of science in Latin America, by bridging the gap between the scientific community and the blockchain ecosystem. Founded in June 2022, DeSci LATAM aims to make the knowledge of decentralized science (DeSci) accessible in Spanish and Portuguese. We achieve this by organizing events, producing educational content, and seeking to collaborate with universities and research centers. Our resources are freely accessible and address critical issues in Latin American science such as funding, visibility and resource scarcity, fostering collaboration and innovation for the greater good.

Main Project Funding Sources

Gitcoin Grants and QF ETH Bogotá

Amount Raised

4500

##Seeking Funding for:
Project-specific funding
Funding for general operations

Token Launch: No

Project Roadmap:

Milestones Achieved:

  • Organized the first DeSci LATAM event in Buenos Aires.
  • Co-organized an event in Rio de Janeiro.
  • Participated in a DeSci panel at ETH Brazil.
  • Presented at Vitalia, discussing DeSci and our activities.
    More information about our milestones: Changelog

Tell us more about milestones you’d like to achieve

  • Increase the creation and distribution of educational content about DeSci.
  • Side event at ETH Argentina: DeSci DAY Argentina 2024 (August)
  • DeSci LATAM Virtual Conference (September)
  • Presence at major events like ETH Chile, ETH Argentina, ETH Uruguay.
  • Include the DeSci category in hackathons.

Funding Goal and Budget:

Our aim is to raise $20,000 to cover the cost of organizing events and producing educational content. The funds will be allocated as follows $6,000 for content production 10,000 for events 4,000 for team and staff expenses

Our Team:

Brenda: Virtual and in-person event host, networking, and design.
Nahuel: Project Manager, development, and technology.
Daniela: Community Manager, Streaming Coordinator, and Event Planning.

Collaborators
Laura: Portuguese host and content creator.
Fabián: Content Creator.

Social Credibility:

  • Successfully organized and co-organized major DeSci events in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro.
  • Invited to speak at prominent conferences such as ETH Brazil and Vitalia.
  • Active presence on social media and engagement with the DeSci community.

Project Importance:

Humanity is facing an evolutionary challenge because science faces many obstacles in its progress. DeSci comes to solve many of these problems, and we aim to raise awareness of these solutions. Our goal is for science to adopt and evolve these solutions, thereby significantly improving the way scientific research is conducted and how it benefits humanity.

Project Social Media and Links:

Discord Contact:
cryptonahue

Additional Information:

We are currently working with @crecimiento, a movement of emerging cities, and we are helping in the area of DeSci to support Argentine science.

2

Hello,

As you are representing DeSci LATAM (Latin America), I have several serious questions about your grant request and background:

  1. LATAM Representation: All members listed are from Argentina, yet you claim to represent all of Latin America. There is no reference on your website or social media to the contributions of the other two collaborators to DeSci LATAM. Why do you identify as DeSci LATAM instead of DeSci Argentina or another regional name? Who endorsed your representation of LATAM?

  2. Social Media Activity: Your X account does not promote or retweet projects and achievements of other DeSci LATAM initiatives from countries outside Argentina. Why is there a lack of promoting other LATAM DeSci projects if you are DeSci LATAM?

  3. Founders Background: I cannot find any substantial DeSci or traditional science contributions from the founders. Can you clarify your contributions to science since your inception? not talking, papers or contributions made by your team.

  4. Knowledge and Expertise: I listened to an X Space interview with your team member Brenda (minute 25) [x.com]. She struggled to explain DeSci and its differences from traditional science, even claiming “Traditional Science doesn’t exist”. Can you explain why the metodologies in traditional science are not valid for you?

  5. Github Content: Your GitHub repository contains only generic website files, with no DeSci-related work. Where are the DeSci tutorials, educational content, or academic contributions?

  6. Science Community Engagement: Can you list any traditional scientists you have onboarded to DeSci programs or communities and when? e.g. join a DeSci DAO, IP funding, research funding, etc.

  7. Activities and Outreach: Your X account shows a few spaces inviting people to talk (about 4/5 since November 2023) and some tweets about grants. What other significant contributions have you conducted in the last 8 months?

  8. Grant Necessity: Your grant request includes organizing livestreams, blog posts, virtual sessions, and content creation. Why can these activities not be carried out without grants, and why haven’t they been done before?

  9. Hackathon Participation: You emphasize including DeSci categories in hackathons, yet you did not mention or participate in a significant DeSci hackathon in LATAM this year (Mexico). Why not, and how did you attempt to get involved? What happened?

  10. Partnerships: Have you established partnerships with universities and research centers yet?, since when? if not, why?

  11. Previous Grants: I noticed you received an AuraSCI grant, but I couldn’t find details about the application or the grant itself. How much was this grant, and what impact did it have on your activities and this potential grant?

Thank you for addressing these concerns.

1 Like
4

Hello Juani,

Thank you for your questions and concerns. Below, we provide detailed responses to each of the points raised:

LATAM Representation: Our mission is to support scientific progress in Latin America, which is why we decided to name ourselves DeSci LATAM from the start. Regardless of where our members live and their nationalities, our goal is to support science throughout LATAM. Although our team is currently divided between Argentina and Brazil, we are actively working to include more collaborators from different countries in the region. In fact, we already have collaborations in Brazil, Uruguay, and Colombia, and we are in the process of expanding even further. We invite you to check out our networks in Portuguese and see content from our panel in Rio de Janeiro, where a DeSci panel was held at ETH Rio and DeSci Rio in collaboration with DeSci World and IberoAm on our YouTube channel. We are also part of the creation of DeSci Argentina, specifically in that country.

Social Media Activity: We collaborate with other projects in the region and are open to content suggestions. If you have a project that you think we should collaborate on, please let us know.

Founders’ Background: So far, our focus has been on disseminating DeSci to the scientific community, and every person who learns about DeSci thanks to us is a great achievement. Our background is related to web3 and marketing; however, we have advisors in various branches of science who are available to DeSci LATAM.

Knowledge and Expertise: We understand that there might have been a misunderstanding about what Brenda was explaining. Science is one, and movements like DeSci and Open Science aim to improve how science is conducted. We do not judge any traditional methodology; we simply promote the use of blockchain to innovate in science. We appreciate your feedback as it helps us improve the clarity of our message.

Github Content: We are working to improve our Github repository. If you have experience and would like to contribute, we would be happy to receive your help.

Engagement with the Scientific Community: We have held events in Argentina and Rio de Janeiro, where many attendees learned about DeSci for the first time thanks to us. We will continue to produce content related to DeSci. At these events, both in-person and online, various topics are covered. In the case of DeSci Rio, we were pleased that 80% of the attendees were scientists, many of whom were hearing about DeSci for the first time at that event.

Activities and Outreach: Since November, we have worked hard with the DeSci Bankless team on the DeSci Unconference, which took place in December with 5 simultaneous stages and over 20 speakers. In January, we took a break and resumed our activities in February. You can see more details in our changelog at www.descilatam.org/es-AR/changelog.

Grant Necessity: We are a public good, to be able to devote more time and cover the costs associated with our activities, we need funds. That is why grants for public goods exist. Without these funds, it would be difficult to scale and achieve our proposed objectives.

Hackathon Participation: We are pleased to know that there was a DeSci hackathon in Mexico. We hope there will be many more around the world and we aim to have a greater presence at future events. We hope to attend the next ETH Mexico and, if not possible, we will support from a distance. We learned about this because one of our advisors, Carolina Menchaca, was part of the jury.

Partnerships: We are in the process of formalizing and announcing our partnerships. We will publish more details soon.

Previous Grants: You can check our progress and details of all the grants we have participated in on our Karmagap. Here we will publish information about our applications, objectives, and updates.

Thank you for your questions, and we are committed to improving and being more transparent with our community.

Please share your X account so I can follow you and know who you are on that network. That way, maybe we can talk in a Space and our DMs are open.

Best regards,

DeSci LATAM Team