Cross-Chain NFT Cultivation Events

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

The Monet training events and curriculum design will fill the training and information gap in South Africa in promoting art creation on the Blockchain. We’ll host a series of events in the artist district in Cape Town in South Africa. Not only is Monet creating a training curriculum that will be freely available to anyone as open-source material, but it will host a series of cross-chain friendly training events to educate and excite local artists about the digital art space. The events will be Cardano-led to educate artists on topics such as: 

• What is an NFT, and why isn’t it just a jpg?
• Differences and similarities between Blockchains and NFTs
• Primary and secondary marketplaces 
• Drop sites and hype 
• Ranking tools 
• Minting
• Past projects and success factors
• Setting up a wallet
• Why art is essential for the ecosystem and the long-term vision and application of NFTs 

We’ll collaborate with platforms such as The Art Bank and The Art Suite with their central message of promoting artists and art by buying and holding the art they purchase. This is particularly important to illustrate that there is a movement away from “pump and dump” and that there is a long-term vision for the artists.

You can read more about the project on our dedicated Catalyst proposal page on our website here - https://www.monetsociety.io/catalyst-proposals

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

The cross-chain skills training events will be Cardano-led in a predominantly Ethereum-enthusiastic Africa. We’ll take the opportunity to show that Cardano is a welcoming and forward-thinking community. Much of the curriculum and language are relevant and applicable for other blockchain users and not just Cardano. 

The events will create a space with the freedom for comparison and objective conversations between artists and creators for the greater good of the community. In addition, the Monet Cardano events will show how the Cardano community promotes a collaborative ecosystem for a multi-chain future.

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

The main challenge is marketing the events as cross-chain events rather than Cardano-only events.

To mitigate the risks, we'll rely on our marketing gurus to use savvy explanations and proven methods to expertly market this as a collaborative event to all Blockchain enthusiasts and curious alike.

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

Phase 1 Pre-launch (1-4 weeks): 

• 40 Days - Marketing, networking, PR, articles, interviews, 
• 30 Days - Location scouting, rental agreements, staff interviews, hiring, and training. Looking for at least two dedicated staff member hires for six months.  

Phase 2 Program launch (5-16 weeks):

• The first event is launched 40 days after funding is secured, one major event per month thereafter, and smaller skills workshops 6-9 months after funding is secured. 

Phase 3 Post-Program (16-28 weeks):

• Ongoing mentorship and training. Feedback on materials and curriculum provided to remove any nuances or esoteric language to make it easy to grasp and follow for anyone. 
• Reports creation and survey report for each event one month after the event was hosted. 
• Impact study report three months after all events have concluded.

Managing workload

Fund 9 will be the first time for the Monet Society to propose in Catalyst. We are submitting two proposals to this Fund in two categories. Although it’s in two separate categories, the proposals are closely related, and one can strongly support the other. The two proposals form part of a comprehensive rollout plan between Monet Societ and The Art Bank in supporting artists and art in the Cardano ecosystem and bridging the gap in education and resources required to grow adoption and utility, starting in Africa. 

We have a decentralized and diversely skilled team operating across several time zones. However, three of our core team members are located in Cape Town on hand to lead the project setup and rollout when funded. Our versatility and the extensive network we’ve built up over the years, particularly in Africa, equips us with the tools to successfully take on both projects simultaneously if both projects are funded. 

Here is a link to our Catalyst page on our website detailing our approach in more detail - https://www.monetsociety.io/catalyst-proposals

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.

Budget Breakdown

• $10,000 Marketing Costs - Promotional Videos, Short 5-minute Documentary, Twitter, Discord, Traditional Printing, Posters at artist hangouts. 
• $30,000 Event Costs - Venues & hosting, catering, setup, decoration, projectors, etc. 
• $10,000 Staffing Costs - Hiring of 2 full-time staff members for 6 months. 

Costs incurred out of pocket - $25k Content Creation per month - Monet is currently spending around 25,000 USD per month on educational content creation for training materials. We have a team of 4 working full-time to create educational content, including educational videos, artist interviews, blogs, explainer content, and comparison write-ups. Most of this content will be used to create a curriculum for the events and will be freely accessible on the website. 

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

Dee Boshoff - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dee-boshoff-53818393/

Marketing guru and local Capetonian

Murray Walker - https://www.linkedin.com/in/murray-clive-walker-59b9b1174/ 

NFT expert, collector, marketing, events manager, and local Capetonian

David Harris - https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidharris1/ 

Advisor and cross-chain blockchain expert.

Aaron Arfman - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-arfman-cfa-1209a95/ 

Cardano expert and ecosystem guru since 2017

John-Patrick van Rensburg - https://www.linkedin.com/in/provident/  

Marketing expert, event planner, franchise expert, and local Capetonian

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

Yes. There are many categories that apply to promoting Cardano in Africa and as a non-profit collaborating with Catalyst is a surefire way to create a footprint on the continent and do some real good.

[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?

Maximum attendance for events and social exposure for three Major events and four smaller workshops with measurable skills training deliverables - we’ll have an assessment to measure their current knowledge and skillset around NFTs, Decentralization, Multiple Blockchains, Cardano, etc., a standard set of questions before attending the event and then once again after completing the course and going through the materials presented (a lot of this will be self-led after the event and incentivized) a week or two thereafter to answer any follow-up questions and for Monet to provide additional support.

Key metrics to measure:

• Number of attendees at the event 
• Number of assessments completed at the event 
• Skills Assessments completed in follow-up assessment (email delivery) 
• Number of NFTs Minted from attendees after the event (6-month window)
• The number of public tweets and retweets with event Hashcode, media referrals, and published articles. 
• Number of new wallets registered from event attendees

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

Success will be when we fill our venues with maximum attendance for events and social exposure with measurable skills training deliverables using the abovementioned measuring tools listed under KPIs.

The ultimate success is when we can impart a sense of skills transfer to the attendees. The ‘pay-it-forward’ methodology of one artist that Monet trains then goes into the ecosystem to train other artists. This can be a prerequisite for some artists we train up outside the full-time staff. It’s important to get artists involved in a social capacity.

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

Entirely new project.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Rating

SDG goals:

Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

SDG subgoals:

11.4 Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage

4.7 By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development

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