UNICEF is planning to sell 1,000 data-driven NFTs ahead of its 75th anniversary to raise funds to connect 1 million schools to the internet.
UNICEF announced that it is planning to launch the United Nation’s largest-ever NFT collection to date. As part of the move, the UN children’s agency will issue 1,000 unique data-driven artworks titled Patchwork Kingdoms – a collection aimed at helping to connect schools and children around the world to the internet.
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The drop coincides with the commemoration of the agency’s 75th anniversary, and some of the Ethereum-based NFTs will be digitally watermarked to mark the occasion. In contrast, others will be connected to events at the beginning of the upcoming year.
Profits raised from the NFT sale are destined for the UNICEF Global Office of Innovation initiatives, including Giga, a project to connect schools to the internet through new technologies like low-orbit satellites, machine learning, and blockchain.
We are launching a set of 1,000 #NFTs to mark our 75th anniversary. This will be the UN's largest-ever NFT collection.
Funds raised will help get schools and students around the world online.
@Gigaconnect @ITU https://t.co/EUAPHukwQD pic.twitter.com/KhFHnHtGi8
— UNICEF (@UNICEF) December 10, 2021
Giga has already been responsible for connecting more than 3,000 schools and 700,000 children to the internet, and it is seeking to help another million more gain access to the internet.
To create the “Patchwork Kingdoms” NFT collection, UNICEF partnered with Snowcrash Labs and data visualization scientist and artist Nadieh Bremer.
The artworks will draw data from more than 280,000 schools from 21 countries, and each artwork will represent a subset of those schools. The artworks picture building blocks above and below two horizontal lines, where the top blocks represent connected schools and the ones below the line represent unconnected schools. As more schools gain access to the internet, the Kingdoms will grow in size and vibrancy.
Ownership of the NFTs will provide the buyer with a snapshot of Giga’s current progress. As more schools are connected, owners will be able to collect individual schools, or as the press release puts it, “to connect Patchwork Kingdoms,” and watch how the network of cityscapes grows as Giga achieves more progress and connects more schools and communities in the real world.
With @Gigaconnect, @gheduservice and @unicef are working to connect schools in #Ghana to the internet!
Thanks to data provided by @gheduservice, @StatsGhana, @ghanalibraries & @BLUETOWNwifi, 18,000 schools have been mapped so far!#ForEveryChild, a chance to stay connected. pic.twitter.com/zZ0UNwWcio— UNICEF Ghana (@UNICEFGhana) December 10, 2021
“There are more than 1.3 billion children disconnected in an increasingly connected world. We cannot allow these children to grow up on an information island, cut off from the wealth of information and opportunities available online, and with fewer resources to learn and grow,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “The Office of Innovation is working to close the digital divide through innovations and technology across the world.”
The digital collectibles will be sold directly by UNICEF at www.unicef.fr/giga, using the Ethereum blockchain.