Guam is the USA’s westernmost point. As such, it’s the first place where the sun rises on U.S. soil, approximately 14 hours ahead of the east coast – hence the slogan “Where the American Day Begins”. It's known for its stunning beaches too!
It's a small island with a population of only about 170,000 people. Thus, it's an ideal place to set a Cardano Hub! It's easier to organize and spread the word around.
Here's our plan:
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Cardano HQ - since I have a small space (see attached photo) where I usually conduct meetups, I can make this a Cardano HQ where I will conduct the monthly meetups as well (for 3 months). While this accommodates only 10 to 15 people at a time, my experience tells me that a smaller group usually has better outcome. People are more engaged and they are more open to ask questions. As they go home, they could be spreaders up to their 'extended' families (families and friends are big in Guam).
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Cardano Beach BBQ - in month 3, as we get to have more people interested in Cardano, we can have a simple BBQ setup in one of Guam's beautiful beaches. The purpose is to invite someone from the media to cover this (while not a guarantee, there's not much news in the island so there's a good chance that it can be covered). We'll make sure that we take a photo of a banner that says "Cardano in Guam" with the beach background as well!
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Audience with someone from legislature (senator) - We'll also try to invite someone from the legislature to one of the sessions entitled - "What roles can blockchain play in Guam?" (or something of a similar theme).
The biggest challenge now is understanding Blockchain in general. When people get this part, explaining Cardano would be easier. Thus, sessions will focus on building awareness of blockchain, its uses and benefits, then introduction to Cardano.
Initially, this will target ordinary people like me who originally had limited knowledge in this space. I will invite experts on the field during the meetups to do online sessions.
The main challenge is how do we encourage the local community to drive adoption and awareness of Cardano. This is quite ideal for an island setup like Guam where the community is small and tight. There are less activities going on compared to a city location.
Thus, activities we will do is what's typically done the island way - face to face in small groups and BBQ settings. In addition, communication will also be done through Zoom online meetings, WhatsApp and Telegram group chats to enable members to keep in touch.
The solution of building a hub sounds simple. But community building is easier said than done. I know because I have been working and talking with groups of people for many years now.
This requires organizational, speaking, and motivational skills to name a few. And sometimes you have to work within a limited budget too!
Risks can be mitigated, however, by proper planning and execution. This is where experience comes in. Of course, it helps that putting small groups together is something I regularly do (at least prior to the pandemic that limited gatherings). It helps as well that I have a solid base of network I have built in the past couple of decades of stay in the island.
Just a quick note that since we would do face to face meetups, there could be potential restrictions on social gatherings and meet ups if there would be a surge in Covid cases again. If this happens, we can resort to online meetings instead.