Network States

1/ The word we heard most often at the end of yesterday’s Belarusian Diaspora Day in Lisbon was “Freedom.” This summed up the event perfectly, as we explored how technology and the Network State can help secure this basic human right.

can’t thank James • Â and Tomas Ruta enough for making this event possible!

We tackled the real-world challenges facing the Belarusian diaspora—legal, social, and economic—and discussed how decentralized systems offer tools to reclaim our freedom, rebuild our community, and shape a better future.

Here’s a quick highlight reel:

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- Mike Ananyin Fonseca’s presentation on blockchain-based elections to Coordination Council recognized by the US Congress and EU Parliament
 
- Nika Wegosky inspired us with a talk about a decentralized online public court system, showing how we can seek justice even when our institutions fail us

- Human Constanta / MYFROMBY.INFO provided crucial insight into how they’re helping emigrants with social adaptation, keeping our most vulnerable supported

- We also dived into the complicated world of Portuguese Aliens Passport issues. For those whose passports have expired, this is often a significant challenge

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My role was to tie all of this into the broader Network State vision, and show how this is not some far-off fantasy but a living, breathing example of how technologies can empower communities in crisis.

And we weren’t alone! 🙌 We were joined by visionaries like:
- @niklasanzinger from Vitalia
- @marklutter from Braavos Cities
- Patri Friedman from Pronomos Capital
- Florian Fournier from ThreeFold Foundation

Mid-event, things went a bit sideways, but we managed to turn things around thanks to an absolutely heartwarming World-Building Workshop offered by Sofiya Vetryakova and Double.U Creative Agency. It truly brought everyone together and was the perfect way to close the day.