Following a partnership with Valentino promoting global COVID-19 vaccination, UNICEF has announced plans for launching the United Nation‘s largest-ever NFT collection to date, releasing 1,000 unique data-driven artworks titled Patchwork Kingdoms, which will contribute to connecting schools and children around the world to the Internet.
The Ethereum-based NFTs will be digitally watermarked to commemorate the UN agency’s 75th year. As mentioned, the funds from the sale will go to the UNICEF Global Office of Innovation, including Giga, which seeks to connect schools to the Internet using new technologies such as low-orbit satellites, machine learning, and blockchain. Giga has connected over 3,000 schools benefitting more than half a million children and has mapped over 1 million more as can be visualized here.
The collection of NFTs, created by data visualization scientist and artist Nadieh Bremer, incorporates data on more than 280,000 schools from 21 countries with each artwork representing a subset of those schools. The building blocks above represent connected schools and the blocks below represent unconnected schools. As more schools gain access to the Internet, the Kingdoms grow in size and vibrancy.
Buyers of the NFTs will own a snapshot of Giga’s progress at this moment in time, and future developments will allow for the ability to “collect individual schools, connect Patchwork Kingdoms, and observe the network of cityscapes grow as Giga evolves and more schools and communities are connected,” according to an official press release.
“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.”
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
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
In other news, Kanye West’s unreleased TLOP Track “Can U Be/Forever Mitus” is being sold as an NFT.
wazup.