Cardano Pilgrimage

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

The Cardano Ministry has been hosting spaces on Twitter for the past 8 months that emphasize deep, critical discussion of philosophy, poetry, psychology, art, and technology. Below you'll find a list of some of the topics we've covered thus far:

1. The Nature of Being
2. The Word and the Nature of Being
3. Sophia/Wisdom and the Nature of Being
4. What’s in a Story
5. Dreams
6. The Darkside
7. The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas - LeGuin
8. The Last Question - Asimov
9. Power
10. Gratitude
11. The Library of Babel - Borges
12. Truth
13. Vigor
14. Shooting an Elephant - Orwell
15. Tyanny
16. Art / Programmable Art
17. Assembly Theory
18. The Algorithm
19. Love, Death, & Robots - Zima Blue
20. The Hero's Journey

As you can see, the topics we address are existential, transcendental, and emphasize the humans behind the pfps. From the start our goal has been to humanize the experience of blockchain and to recognize the ways that our time in the markets impacts our mental, spiritual, and even physical health. Given the volatility of price action, and the uncertainty of all markets, this effort is cross-chain. Our spaces foster deep, critical discussion on important topics to individuals from different blockchain communities, however this has not been our primary effort until now.

Our plan to hold spaces that foster and encourage cross-chain collaboration, as well as to enter non-Cardano spaces to clear up misconceptions and provide accurate information about Cardano's robust ecosystem and unmatched security, comes from our understanding of the role Twitter spaces play in blockchain communities, whether they focus on dApps, NFTs, or the metaverse. That being said, our project would engage the wider blockchain communities of Cardano, Catalyst, and other chains holding spaces.

If funded, our project would be implemented as a series of episodes that would invite folks from different communities to discuss the technomoral rules of the chain they are working on and wider technosocial practices we should aspire to as blockchains grows and continue to develop cross-chain.

• Aside from these episodes, we would also devote a number of hours to joining the spaces of others, specifically those without Cardano representation, to promote cross-chain collaboration as more bridges are established on Cardano. We call these "Pilgrimmages".
• Part of the plan would also be to reach out to NFT artists working on other chains who would be willing to join the Cardano ecosystem, creating NFTs in collaboration with Cardano artists.

Because all of our outcomes involve promoting cross-chain discussion and collaboration, some of our outputs would include educational materials, infographics, an immersive webspace to house these resources, and the NFTs mentioned above. Though we do not tend to record our spaces, we could see ourselves recording the specific episodes pertaining to this proposal as outputs to host in the Cardano Ministry wallet, which would serve as a vault of sorts for quick access.

[IMPACT] Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.

Our proposal seems both timely and efficient at addressing the concerns established in Challenge 9 for Cross-Chain Collaboration. Our spaces already promote cross-chain discussion and focusing our attention on that topic specifically as we continue to build our spaces seems like a great way to create new connections between blockchain communities and to enhance existing collaboration. This is very much in the spirit of what we aim to do.

If the goal is to fight tribalism & maximalism, which are indeed harmful, then spaces such as ours offer a way to leverage human experience over blockchain preference. Furthermore, it is by addressing the larger questions that we tackle at the Ministry that people can best understand that we have common challenges to resolve.

Our proposed solution very much includes partering with folks from other communities to ensure that Cardano is not misrepresented and to build a culture of critical discussion that is cross-chain. Whoever we work with, the goal will be to analyze each chain objectively, as well as the values created and upheld by each system. That being the case, there is not one of the subjects listed on the challenge that we would not address:

• Awareness & Understanding
• Organisation & Governance
• Culture, Diversity & Inclusion
• Innovation & Decision-making
• Collaboration Tools & Platforms
• Incentivized Participation
• Cost & Efficiency
• Regulation & Compliance
• Security & Privacy

Furthermore, any goals of collaboration with Cardano must surely include an understanding of Cardano's Project Catalyst, meaning that we would encourage new proposals whilst informing others about the merrits of voting & assessing proposals.

Note: some light reading will be required =)

[IMPACT] What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?

There is little to no risk with this project since it involves something we are already actively doing in the community. There are also at least three core members collaborating on tasks, each of us capable of carrying and directing a conversation on Twitter spaces.

As for graphics, artwork, or materials we'll need created, we're working with at least 2 artists to make sure we can meet the deadlines for the project.

Because of the nature of the project, even if we had to reschedule a space, we could still deliver the number of episodes and active engagement we are proposing.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed plan, including timeline and key milestones for delivering your proposal.

Upon notification of funding, we would simply turn our regularly held spaces into cross-chain collaboration spaces, meaning we already have a system to work within. We would hold spaces:

• Wednesday @ 11:00 a.m. PST (english/spanish)
• Fridays @ 8:00 p.m. PST (english)
• Sundays @ 8:00 p.m. PST (english)

As far as entering spaces held by non-Cardano groups, that would depend on their schedule at the time of funding. We'd likely perform these "pilgrimmages" to other spaces on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, or Saturdays, depending on what works best for all parties involved. Below is a general timeline of what this could look like:

Week 1

Episodes 1-3: Cross-chain collaboration

2 Twitter Pilgrimmages

Informational materials/graphics

Immersive Webspace created

Week 2

Episodes 4-6: Cross-chain collaboration

2 Twitter Pilgrimmages

Informational materials/graphics

Cross-chain Collab NFT contest 1 / giveaways

Update Webspace

Week 3

Episodes 7-9: Cross-chain collaboration

2 Twitter Pilgrimmages

Informational materials/graphics

Update Webspace

Week 4

Episodes 10-12: Cross-chain collaboration

2 Twitter Pilgrimmages

Cross-chain Collab NFT contest 2 / giveaways

Update Webspace

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.

Our current budget breakdown is very general. We're budgeting in time spent developing the content for the discussions we hold, as well as the aesthetic, form, and function of the Cardano Ministry.

Hosting: $15000

• 12 episodes (2-4 hrs) + 8 Pilgrimmages

Project Management: $10,000

• Lesson Planning
• Research & Prep time
• Community engagement
• Webspace management
• Project Management & Onboarding

Artists: $5000

• Infographics
• NFTs for giveaways
• Minting costs
• Decals / Stickers

Marketing/Promotion: $10000

• Twitter giveaways
• Twitter contests
• IG Ads
• Google Ads
• iHeart Radio promo

Developers = $8000

• Faucet for Ministry token
• Web development

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide details of the people who will work on the project.

The Cardano Ministry is hosted by Nostradamus, Rod.G., and Genki.ada. The Ministry tokens we will issue were created by @occult_artista.

Notstradamus studied natural sciences and found himself a career in the Silviculture. He has extensive experience as a tree planter and has recently launched a successful seed collection company. He has a passion for ecological restoration and protection as well as social upliftment. He loves the philosophy engendered by Cardano and is interested in leveraging blockchain to benefit nature and people alike.

Rod is an educator in his day to day life. Currently, he teaches courses in rhetoric, literacy, and literature in San Diego. He has a passion for pedagogy and is interested in the use and function of web3 technologies (blockchain, crypto, AI, robotics, Metaverse) in higher ed. Rod is also interested in the Rod is also an official agency partner with Muse.Place, which is an immersive webspace builder. You can check out some of his work by heading to Muse.Place/rodg

Genki is an entrepreneur and has been in the crypto space since early 2016. With a background in management, he is currently in web3 full time doing investing, de-fi, NFT's, crypto trading, marketing etc. He has a passion for Japanese art & culture. He wants to see crypto as a technology bring a better financial system to the world. He is also a moderator for the Ore Ore Ore project and is also a passionate cNFT collector. Genki also dabbles in making NFT art and has a small collection on display at Muse.Place/cardanoministry

[FEASIBILITY] If you are funded, will you return to Catalyst in a later round for further funding? Please explain why / why not.

Though we have no immediate plans to request more funding, we will remain open to the idea depending on the success of our campaign.

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or any member of your team working on any other proposals in this Fund9?

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or your team working on any other proposals from previous Funds?

[AUDITABILITY] Please describe what you will measure to track your project's progress, and how will you measure these?

Most of our metrics will track engagement. One specific goal of ours is to increase the number of wallets holding Cardano. This serves a dual purpose for us since new holders can become new delegators to our pool (ticker DRMZ). Of course, in practice, we always advocate for other spos. We all need the love, after all.

Keeping these new wallets in mind, one way of tracking the engagement would be to track the number of wallets that hold our Cardano Ministry token.

Progress would also be measured on a week to week basis based on a variety of engagement metrics we could use:

• Completing and issuing out graphics and helpful resources
• Initial creation and building out of immersive webspace
• Published schedule for events planned (post funding)
• NFTs minted as part of this project
• Community involvement on Twitter / 12 episodes + "Pilgrimmages"
• Community engagement via suggestions for reading/discussion materials / polls
• Cross-chain Involvement with Project Catalyst

[AUDITABILITY] What does success for this project look like?

In simple terms, our goals are to engage audiences in critical discussion about humane topics and to provide accurate, factual knowledge about Cardano's ecosystem to other blockchain communitites. Both of these to promote cross-chain collaboration.

If our project is funded, our metrics will remain consistent and those who join us will:

• experience thought-provoking engagement and community building
• feel that they are part of the Cardano Community; we are transparent, inclusive, and equitable
• be more open-minded and likely to partner with projects building on Cardano
• have more knowledge about how and why to participate in Project Catalyst

[AUDITABILITY] Please provide information on whether this proposal is a continuation of a previously funded project in Catalyst or an entirely new one.

This is an entirely new proposal.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Rating

We note that our proposal aligns with some of the Sustainable Development Goals listed below:

Goal 3: Good Health & Well-being

Goal 4: Quality Education

Goal 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth

Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, Infrastructure

Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities

Goal 12: Responsible Consumption & Production

Goal 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals