150 millions french-speaking young african with Cardano

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Malik Koné

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Entity (Incorporated)

[GENERAL] Co-proposers and additional applicants

Members of the association West Africa Decentralised Alliance en Côte d’Ivoire

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

10

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

We organize real seminars in Universities, hands in hands coding weeks with young developers and radio talk to demonstrate the strength of Cardano blockchain technology and its use for development:

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

Yes

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

We depend on universities and technological institutes with whom we work to foster Cardano adoption: When we host seminars or coding week, it is often inside such institutions

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

All material will be only under the CC-BY creative common license: This is already done for our previous work

[METADATA] SDG rating

4 quality education : improving education of french-speaking african students

8 decent work and economic growth : given the students opportunities to master skils that they can use to work and develop economicaly

9 Industry, innovation and infrastructure : advocating the development of web3:0 infrastructure in french speaking Côte d'Ivoire

10 reduced inequalities : engaging the population in a part of the world which is often left behind

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

Here show the rational to propose the organization of 4 high quality seminars and 4 hands on coding-weeks to reach out physically to hundreds of french African speaking students:

French speaking young African face the challenge of getting quality information on the newest tool which can help them develop there country and solve the challenges such as corruption, land right verification, community organization in the new massive urban centers:

That information, is too often only found in English: but in Côte d'Ivoire, most residents do not speak English, and those who do are overwhelmed by numerous poor quality sources of blockchain information, complicating their ability to discern the right content. Furthermore, students are keen to learn but lack the necessary pedagogical support and resources to effectively engage with blockchain technology.

Currently, in Côte d'Ivoire, only a handful of us—perhaps two or three Phd -- are qualified to teach blockchain-related subjects in Côte d'Ivoire, while many others actors promote the unrealistic dream of wealth through cryptocurrency speculation.

With over 75% of the population under 35 years old, the future of Ivory Coast is promising. Today's students are tomorrow's drivers of economic change, making it crucial to focus our efforts on them for sustainable impact.

Therefor in partnership with the nation's top university we will organize 4 seminars: They will be hosted in recognize universities:

In total the seminars will reach several hundred of students: We aim for an average above 50 attendees for each over half a day: We will present the basics of blockchain and advantage of the Cardano technology: Live Exchanges , quizzes and little games will engage the public: At the end of the seminar we will guide attendees to open their wallet and show them how to use it:

Beside seminars we will organize 4, 5 days long coding weeks reaching out to 60 futures smart-contract developers:

The institutions will host the coding week geared towards students with some coding knowledge but not specifically blockchain knowledge: The aim is to guide them towards running their first smart contract on plutus and giving them the tools to continues the learning path autonomously:

Why us ?

• As academics, we maintain strong connections with students and young professionals.
• We have already organized numerous successful seminars, courses, and workshops.
• This initiative will involve many students across various universities nationwide.
• in my previous efforts, we did not sufficiently prioritize publicizing our work. With your support, this aspect will be significantly improved. This time media coverage in national newspapers and / or radio station and will highlight our impact.
• The growth in membership and engagement with the West African Decentralised Alliance will further demonstrate our success.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

Our project will significantly enhance the Cardano community by attracting new users, voters, and developers from a region poised for a prosperous future. By engaging the most influential French-speaking hub in West Africa, we increase Cardano’s prospects of becoming the leading blockchain in Africa, and consequently, a major player globally.

We will measure our impact using several indicators:

• The number of new wallet users.
• New accounts created on Catalyst.
• Attendance rates at seminars.
• Extent of media coverage in local newspapers.

These metrics will help us gauge the success and expansion of Cardano’s influence due to our project.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

• I am an educator with over 10 years of experience teaching mathematics and technological subjects in both French and English, in developed and developing countries, including Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire.
• I hold a PhD in computer science from the top university in the country as well as from a French university.
• Since 2020, I have been conducting workshops, curricula, and seminars specifically on blockchain technology and, more particularly, on Cardano. My audiences have ranged from young researchers and university students to high school students and civil servants.

[PROJECT MILESTONES] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

• Milestone Output: Organization of seminars geared towards students.
• Acceptance Criteria: Attendance of at least 200 students.
• Evidence: Code repository of the material presented, video of the seminar, list of attendees, list of new wallet addresses, photos with students and officials.

• Milestone Output: Promotion on national radio of Cardano as a solution for blockchain projects.
• Acceptance Criteria: Interview of the project participant on national radio for at least 10 minutes.
• Evidence: Recording of the interview, link to the publicly available radio program, national media coverage.

• Milestone Output: Organization of 2 5-day workshops for smart-contract developers on Cardano.
• Acceptance Criteria: At least 30 uniq developers in total completing the workshops.
• Evidence: Recording of the workshops, GitHub repository of projects made with the developers, code repository of material presented, list of attendees, list of wallet addresses, photos with participants.

• Milestone Output: Organization of 2 other 5-day workshops for smart-contract developers on Cardano.
• Acceptance Criteria: At least 30 uniq developers in total completing the workshops.
• Evidence: Recording of the workshops, GitHub repository of projects made with the developers, code repository of material presented, list of attendees, list of wallet addresses, photos with participants.

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

• Dr. Koné (Project Lead) github Cardano blockchain Certified Associated (certificate below)
• M. Touré (in charge of Communication) linkedin
• M. Niasse (CFO)
• Dr. Traoré (ressouce person for CNCCI) institution website
• Pr. Zoueu (ressouce person at USP) personnal presentation
• Dr. Valle and Dr. Kamagate (ressouce person at ESATIC) linkedin
• Pr. Babri (ressouce person at LARIT) institution website
• Pr. Goore-Bi (ressouce person at INPHB) institution website
• Dr. Atiampo et Dr. Atta (ressouce person at UVCI) institution website
• Dr. Diallo (ressouce at University of Cocody) personnal website
• Dr. Zouneme Boris, Dr. Morié (ressouce person at Nangui Abrogoua University) institution website

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

**** Seminar Organisation (~₳ 3000 / seminar)

• Communication data: 30K FCFA = $50
• Speakers (half-day): 150K FCFA = $250
• Transportation: 20K to 100K FCFA = $33 to $167
• Location of space: 100K to 150K FCFA = $167 to $250
• Coffee break: 30K FCFA = $50
• Promotion (flyers, goodies, kakemono): 100K FCFA = $167
• Media coverage: 150K FCFA = $250
• Accounting: 20K FCFA = $33
• Contingency fund: 100K FCFA = $167

Total Estimate per seminar: 700K to 822K FCFA = $1200 to $1400

**** 5 Days of Coding Workshop (~₳ 9450 / 5day workshop)

• Communication data: 40K FCFA = $67
• Speakers (5 full days): 1000K FCFA = $1667
• Transportation: 100K FCFA = $167
• Location of space: 200K to 300K FCFA = $333 to $500
• Lunch and coffee break: 500K FCFA = $833
• Promotion (flyers, goodies, kakemono): 100K FCFA = $167
• Media coverage: 150K FCFA = $250
• Accounting: 30K FCFA = $50
• Contingency fund: 300K FCFA = $500

Total Estimate: 2420K to 2520K FCFA = $4050 to $4200

We plan to do 4 workshops and 4 seminares

Total estimate in ADA (~₳ 49800 )

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

Securing local experts in blockchain technology is challenging due to the scarcity of qualified professionals in Côte d'Ivoire, making my experience and qualifications crucial for this project's success. My unique connections within the academic community are rare and vital for bridging Cardano to local institutions. The rarity of students in the technological fields here represents a significant opportunity for targeted educational initiatives to foster a knowledgeable community around Cardano.After four years of dedicated effort to establish a foundation for Cardano in our region, including previous submissions for funding that provided valuable feedback, this project should ignite widespread adoption. The costs associated with this project are aligned with local economic conditions

Côte d'Ivoire is a leading country in the west african french speaking countries: