Devcon 2024: Learning Artifacts
Devcon SEA Community track scholars Learning Artifact
Situated right in the heart of Southeast Asia, Devcon has naturally drawn many Web3 enthusiasts from Malaysia, including myself. With over 300+ hours of dev-centric content (as the “Dev” in Devcon suggests), it’s easy for newcomers to feel overwhelmed or intimidated, with thoughts like:
“I wish I could contribute, but I’m not technical.”
“Maybe this industry is too complex for me.”
“It’s a DEV world.”
But as a non-technical person in the same shoes, let me tell you: it doesn’t have to feel that way! I’d like to share another perspective from my journey.
What I have learned:
There Are Many Ways to Contribute
Different sharing formats ie: Breakout Rooms/ Roundtable discussions about real-life stories
The Artistic Side of Ethereum
Future plans:
For growing and sustaining ETHKL in the long term
There Are Many Ways to Contribute
Devcon thrives on community-driven coordination, where every role—from volunteering to co-hosting—contributes to the event's success. The scale can range incrementally from volunteering → co-hosting Events → Beyond, depending on your bandwidth.
Volunteering at Devcon
Volunteering is a great way to get started in the Ethereum community. It involves helping out during the event, working closely with the Devcon team, building strong bonds and friendships, and meeting others who can help you move forward.
Hosting ETH SEA Day
Prior to Volunteering at Devconnect in 2023: An example of myself contributing more this year is co-hosting ETHSEA Day: An event organized by local SEA communities in collaboration with the Devcon Team, one day before Devcon.
Key takeaway: Take it slowly with volunteering to Devcon/Devconnect first, and you will find more doors/ get inspired to find your forte in contributing to the ecosystem.
Link: https://www.ethsea.org/#about
For other ways to contribute to Ethereum, you can also check out ethereum.org! Shared by friends in the Ethereum Space.
Different sharing formats ie: Breakout Rooms/ Roundtable discussions about real-life stories
Beyond talks and panels, in my opinion, one effective way to learn from people is via Breakout room discussions.
The reason I like this format is you get a chance to engage in two-way communication and really get to know each other (The Session is as below)
The session I joined was a 3-hour discussion of Hour discussion, and I was interested in Tomislav Mamić story titled Municipal Quadratic Funding. Tomislav aims to assist cities in using QV and QF mechanisms on Ethereum to allocate funding for public projects in Croatia.
What I really like about the session is that it struck a strong impression compared to other talks, as it involves the human aspect of the sharing, and we got to talk to Tomislav Mamić, which cleared most of our doubts and deepened our understanding.
Link: https://nxbn.ethereum.foundation/fellowship/Tomislav
The Artistic Side of Ethereum
Another interesting event that caught my eye is none other than the “Exhibition by the Devcon Scholars Program Artists and Writers Cohort”
This series of artistic works offers different interpretations of Ethereum through the lens of the five senses, blending physical and digital realms. Each project uniquely explores Ethereum's ethos—be it through cryptographic poetry, sensory installations, or interactive rituals—showcasing its artistic side as a medium for creativity and boundless collaboration.
This session inspired me to explore more ways of integrating art into Ethereum, moving beyond its typical technical portrayal.
Link to the projects: https://www.infinitegarden.art/
For growing and sustaining ETHKL in the long term
ETHKL is now at the stage where there’s an existing grassroots community that has accumulated over the years. The next step would be to scale and onboard more new people into the space. And my learnings, correlating to the numbering above, could help take the first step in making it happen:
Using my connections and experience in Devcon, to bring back and share more opportunities and exposures to the community (Like what I’m doing via writing this artifact).
Switching things up via Hosting different formats of Meetups on real-life stories such as above, that emphasises roundtable discussions and two-way interactions, for better impressions and attendees learn better.
Beyond just hackathons, providing a showcase for art is a great idea to onboard more people from different fields to make ETHKL more diverse.