Kevin Nyango
TechInPacific – The Blockchain Pacific Junior Challenge Program is the first PNG program in Papua New Guinea that enables four secondary schools in Port Moresby to participate. These secondary schools are Kopkop College, Port Moresby International School, Kila Kila Secondary School, and Don Bosco Technical Secondary School.
These four secondary schools in Port Moresby are challenges to working with Blockchain company Coin-sure, youth development company Em Stret, and the Australian Government to ‘co-author 4 Proofs of Concepts’ to find practical solutions to four real-world problems in the country.
Each of these schools provides a proposal as the solution to the real problem faced by Papua New Guinea. Kila Kila Secondary School proposes a Blockchain-based Land Titles Registry and Management System to eliminate corruption by preventing title duplication and delay in processing. Don Bosco Technical Secondary School proposes a Blockchain-based global carbon emissions trading platform to fight against climate change by creating an economy for the preservation of forest stocks using a compensation mechanism. Kopkop College proposes a Blockchain-based National Identity Registration and Management System to build public service records systems. The last school, Port Moresby International School proposes a Blockchain-based digital currency to create PNG Monetary Policy and can be implemented in the sectors where cash is risky and problematic to use.
Nou Frederick Vada from Coin-sure Limited and Blockchain Pasifik are the ones who supervise all the Proofs of Concept from these school teams. They provide a consultation and supervision for the school teams to develop their own proposals through weekly sessions that already started since September 11 and will be concluded on October 9, 2018.
Vada speaks about the supervision and how the program has made these students are able to provide practical solutions to complex problems using technology.
“The Blockchain Pasifik Junior Challenge wants to test the assumption that today’s young people, who have grown up in the world of immersive technology, can better articulate the disruptive power of emerging technologies,” he says.
The program is a part of the Blockchain Pasifik event that will take place at the International Convention Centre in Port Moresby from October 11 to October 12, 2018. These school teams will present their proposals to parliamentarians at the Blockchain Briefing for Parliament Session on October 10, 2018. This session will be co-hosted by Blockchain Pasifik, RMIT APEC Study Centre Australia and ABAC PNG and take place at Stanley Hotel.
Vada says that this session gives the students an opportunity to present their proposals at the level of government while at the same time allows them to provides solutions on real issues that affect PNG.
“If our stakeholders feel that the program can be extended than the four schools will be used to trail yearlong programs for each project. For the student teams, we are basically training these students how to run tech start-ups. So they are being exposed to a lot of planning and management skills,” Vada says.
