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Last Updated: Jul 22, 2019 - 11:55:34 AM |
Deputy Prime Minister to give opening remarks at 2019 Bahamas Youth Blockchain and AI Hackathon & Conference
By Rhonda Eldridge and Azaleta Ishmael-Newry
Jul 22, 2019 - 10:31:31 AM
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Bahamian co-creators and catalysts for the first Youth Blockchain AI and Hackathon are Felix Stubbs, Crachad Laing and Rhonda Eldridge, working closely with local blockchain enthusiasts and changemakers. Lisa McCartney, director at Windsor School, is an honorary education catalyst. Shown in the photo from left to right are Darius Ferguson from Palmtree Digital Services who is hosting a learning camp for 15 youth from the East Street South area, Crachad Laing, STEM and science teacher at Windsor High School in New Providence, Elena Sinelikova, co-founder of CryptoChicks, Rhona Eldridge, CEO of non-profit HAP – Harness All Possibilities and Felix Stubbs, Retired CEO of IBM, former District Governor of Rotary District 7020 and businessman. Photo by Azaleta Ishmael-Newry
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Nassau, Bahamas – Hon. Kevin Peter Turnquest, Deputy Prime Minister of The Bahamas and the Minister of Finance will give the opening remarks on Friday, August 23rd at the first Bahamas CryptoChicks Youth Blockchain and AI Hackathon and Conference. John Rolle, Governor of the Central Bank of The Bahamas, and a number of local and international speakers and mentors will also participate and host various workshops, providing local and global insights and developments in this fast evolving technology for all stakeholders in community, small business, enterprise, academia and government.
“The response for this event has exceeded our expectations and we are grateful to have everyone come together to build and embrace new technologies, community and an exponential mindset on accelerated learning, knowledge and skills sharing, inclusion and early stage entrepreneurship,” said Rhonda Eldridge, one of the founding catalysts. “We have added a new hackathon track and to date, there are almost 130 youth and young adults under the age of 25 who have registered. As well, we have mentors who are learning material to assist with the hackathon and conference.”
Once registered, a four week mandatory online blockchain curriculum sponsored by Blockgeeks, must be successfully completed and is supplemented by interactive online technical workshops to prepare registrants for the three day hackathon and conference that is being held at Windsor School - Albany Campus in New Providence from August 23-25, 2019. Fifteen youth are being supervised by Palmtree Digital Services in a summer school like environment and other younger youth are being mentored by parents and supporters of the program in Nassau and Eleuthera (currently).
Crachad Laing who teaches STEM at Windsor School - Albany Campus says, “Normally, you would have to go abroad and spend years and much more money compared to the great opportunity you will experience here at home with this program and event we have put together for August.”
According to Elena Sinelikova, co-founder of CryptoChicks, “Blockchain is a powerful technology whereby a record keeper is stored on an individual’s computer, connected by the internet. It doesn’t belong to any one person. It belongs to everyone. Blockchain is protected by locking an anti-hacking mechanism called cryptography. The information inside blockchain is stored in blocks that are connected by the cryptography and form a chain called blockchain.”
The Hackathon section is a friendly, problem-solving contest that provides participants with a collaborative learning experience to solve business or community problems using technology. There are five hackathon tracks that each - except the Build Your Game Track - has a cash prize and focuses on business, application and gaming. They include: 2 in Build Your Business Track -1 for 18 to 25 years old 1 for up to 17 years-; 2 in Application Development Track -1 for 18 to 25 years old and 1 for up to 17 years old- and lastly, 1 in Build Your Blockchain Game Track for up to 12 years old.
Youth and young adults ages 10 to 25 years old are invited to register for the online curriculum as prerequisite learning for Hacker teams to pitch their minimum viable projects that will be judged by local and international judges.
Bahamian co-creators and catalysts for this Bahamas Blockchain AI and Hackathon event are Felix Stubbs, Crachad Laing and Rhonda Eldridge, working closely with local blockchain enthusiasts and changemakers. Lisa McCartney, director of the Windsor Schools, is an honorary education catalyst.
This youth event is being hosted by three non-profit organizations: CryptoChicks International, based in Canada, the Rotary Clubs of The Bahamas and Harness All Possibilities Inc., out of the U.S. with the support of local and international sponsors and donors. It promises to be an educational and insightful event including presenters, panelists, youth champions and workshop leads such as Matthew Arnett, Ryan Austin, E. Stefen Deleveaux, Bobby Chen, Rashan Smith, Darius Ferguson, Hamid Bhatti, Alexandra Levin Kramer, P. Jillian Bethel, Matt Hinkley and others.
CryptoChicks International educates women and youth globally by hosting decentralized Hackathons and Conferences, having reached approximately 19,000 persons with a goal to incubate local blockchain and artificial intelligence opportunities for them. Its core team of 11 women, men and youth boast 190 plus years of formal education, 170 plus years of professional work experience, producing more than 170 projects, in just over the past 2 years.
Harness All Possibilities is a US 501(c)3 social impact enterprise founded in 2016 by Bahamian Rhonda Eldridge, a finance professional with 30 plus years in the alternative investment industry including 8 years working with and advising founders and entrepreneurs in technology, regtech, blockchain, mobile commerce and finance. Harness All Possibilities has hosted, curated and been an ambassador for various individual accelerated learning programs, related workshops and events focused on our emerging future of work touching 3,000 plus attendees and many more through social media.
Rotary is a trusted local and international community partner with 1.2 million members in more than 35,000 clubs. Its members in action in The Bahamas work on a multitude of projects including supporting youth and disadvantaged communities.
Bahamians curious about blockchain and artificial intelligence and the impact on work and business opportunities today and in the future can register to attend the conference at www.bahamas.cryptochicks.ca using the conference registration button.
For more information please contact Rotarian Felix Stubbs at 242-424-6163, 833-224-4257, or by downloading the MobileAssist, App on the App Store or Google Play or checking out more at: https://tinyurl.com/y55geksy
© Copyright 2019 by thebahamasweekly.com
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