According to the latest report from HAP (Harness All Possibilities), released in early October, their work in the blockchain, Web3 and the future of work, space have impacted thousands, since starting six years ago. This small non-profit has a vested interest in The Bahamas where its founder, Rhonda McDeigan-Eldridge hails.

In 2022, the proportion of youth learners in HAP programs increased by 60% with just over 1300 youth who have attended Digital Inclusion and Web3 events and 350 who attended Crypto learning sessions. Conferences and workshops are local and international and cover four key areas of learning. Those areas include the Future of Work, Blockchain Business School (2019), Crypto and Web3, and Policy and Regulation.

The expediential learning continues and one of the attendees will soon attend DevCon in Bogota, Columbia. Some adult and youth learners are finishing their ConsenSys developer's certificate and others are eagerly awaiting more events that are in the pipeline.

HAP’s celebrated Blockchain Business School (BBS) Conference and Pitchathon in August 2022 had local and international speakers, and corporate, individual and community partners, fostering a community-building mindset, and approach to accelerate 21st-century learning. More than sixty youths along with hundreds of people online, participated with experts from the technology industry, education, regulators, service providers and social entrepreneurs.

The biggest takeaway at BBS 2022 revealed that meeting the youth where they were and allowing them the opportunity to expand their minds and problem-solve, not only prepares them to conquer issues but reminds everyone to also have an open mind.

The judges were impressed with their solutions which included how to make better use of crown land and vacant land for social good, using solar power, teaching seniors in the Family Islands how to adapt to using the Sand Dollar digital currency, and use of a health dollar – all through adapting and using blockchain technology.

“Technology innovation is accelerating at an unprecedented pace. We’re all grappling with how to keep up, so it's important for us to start students off earlier and for us to adopt a mindset of always learning - so we call it an exponential mindset,” said Rhonda McDeigan-Eldridge.

Attendee fifteen-year-old Justin Clarke, shares, “I started thinking about what I want to do with my future in terms of gaming, making games, and making money. The BBS camp really helped me to learn more. So, it's much easier for me to find all these contacts, and all the people I've made friends with, who can help me in the future.”

Clarke and his brother, eight-year-old Jacob, have participated in BBS since its first event in 2019. They participated in the coding workshop that was spearheaded by thirteen-year-old Phelton Petit-Frère and seventeen-year-old Rodgeno Albury who were joined by seventeen-year-old Kathryn Corkish of the Cayman Islands. Hailing from Eleuthera, Petit-Frère and Albury were students of the many summer programs offered by Bytes Bahamas. Both young men earned their developers' certificates from the ConsenSys Academy, through a partnership offered by HAP. Corkish who has been sponsored by PwC Cayman and HAP to attend the August event has completed hers. She stated that the information was “mind-blowing.”

BBS also collaborated with FemSTEM Bahamas and BETACamp to bring an array of learning opportunities to youth. These female-driven organizations are helping to close the gaps that are caused by the fast pace of technology growth.

Speaker, Joe Santos, an impactioneer and a social entrepreneur, spoke from his office in Portugal about the importance of social good. He works with persons on the autism spectrum and has reached 70,000-plus over the past seven years. “The secret of social impact is touching one person at a time, but teaching them for change, and how to see the world, and they, in turn, will impact others.”

Anthony Stubbs of Infinox Capital, a FinTech company in The Bahamas, was a first-time donor and judge. “The Pitchathon opened my mind that these youth were pitching and doing it well. They were sharp and I was blown away. They examined their cases and were problem-solving,” he said. “The lingo and technical jargon may take some time to adapt but I am quite sure they are aware of what is going on.”

Stubbs added, “We must own our country's future and stop thinking that we have to meet the kids where they are.” He also advised, “Those who may not be able to afford a tertiary education might be a first-round pick for a blockchain company that may be able to sponsor them.”

Educator Sharleen Hanson who runs Boost Academy in New Providence was one of seven educators participating in HAP’s Teach-The-Teacher 2021-2022 Program. “We need to see more events like Blockchain Business School. The founder of this conference understands the importance of keeping up with new technologies, and the key role that education plays in this. She has created an opportunity for young people and educators to ride a wave into an innovative future - not only through attendance at the conference but also via training programs, such as ConsenSys Academy’s Blockchain Essentials course, of which I was recently a part. This course provided a sufficient background for me and others in my cohort not only to understand the material but also to put together a framework for training others.”