BTA Convenes Inaugural Blockchain Summit at Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center

On May 7, the Blockchain Trust Accelerator and the Rockefeller Foundation brought together 17 top leaders from government, the technology sector, and civil society on the shores of Lake Como for a landmark three-day summit. Participants worked to develop a grand strategy for deploying blockchain technology in social impact and governance solutions.

The Rockefeller Bellagio Center, the birthplace of impact investing and the Green Revolution, was a striking backdrop for the event. “The Bellagio Center has provided the platform for some of the most important social innovations of our time,” said BTA Co-founder Tomicah Tillemann. “This summit marked the beginning of a broader effort to bring increased levels of trust, accountability, efficiency, and security to societies worldwide using blockchain technology. We forged solutions and a community that can help government and the social sector move into the 21st century.”

Participants included Bermuda’s Premier, E. David Burt, Rockefeller Foundation Vice President Zia Khan, representatives from the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, and senior leaders from civil society and tech companies including Microsoft, ConsenSys, and Hyperledger. (For a list of participants, click here.) A full report on the summit’s outcomes will be published by the BTA later this summer.

Several summit attendees sat down with journalist Laura Shin to record episodes of her podcast, Unconfirmed.  For more information on how to harness blockchain for governance and social impact, listen to Cara LaPointe of Georgetown University, Robert Opp of the United Nations WFP, and Tomicah Tillemann of the BTA in episodes recorded at the Bellagio Center.