### The 2nd Half of 2024: Strategic Development in APAC

The second half of 2024 was strategically aimed at developing the Funding the Commons community and key stakeholders in the APAC region.

We just completed our 10th international conference in [Tokyo](https://www.fundingthecommons.io/tokyo-2024) (July 24-25), and we are on the cusp of preparing for four additional events in Southeast Asia this fall: the Builder Residency in Chiang Mai, a virtual hackathon, a design jam, and a flagship conference in Bangkok.

These events are designed to help us broaden our community of Asian builders of public goods. We are also focused on creating and spotlighting real-world use-cases that can be used as fuel for policy advocacy. We have already had success inviting public sector leaders, including [Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike](https://x.com/FundingCommons/status/1815925061762548182), [Mr. Masaaki Taira](https://x.com/TAIRAMASAAKI/status/1815992116537090457) (member of the House of Representatives and leading regulator of web3 and AI in Japan, who participated in a panel with our CEO), and [Audrey Tang, former Minister of Digital Affairs of Taiwan](https://x.com/audreyt).

Additionally, we are collaborating closely with UNICEF to support projects in Asia that may qualify for the residency application. We are leveraging our partners to provide the stipends necessary for builders from various countries in Asia to join us in Chiang Mai for a 3.5-week experience nurturing public goods developers with mentorship and a supportive environment that can accelerate their work. In turn, our aim is that these local participants will have the ability to work on public goods funding protocols and tools that specifically fit Asian ecosystems.

---

### Calendar of Events in Asia This Year

**5 out of 6 flagship events:**

#### TOKYO CONFERENCE: FtC x DeSci Tokyo

- **Date:** July 24-25
- **Location:** UN University, Shibuya
- **Status:** Completed

**Key Metrics:**

- **Total Attendees:** 538
  - Walk-ins: 218 (72% attendance - 303 registrations)
  - Speakers: 60
  - After-party: 239
- **Twitter Activities During Promotional Period** (June 24 - Aug 2)
  - 342K organic impressions
  - 554 reposts
  - 3.5% engagement rate
  - 546 new followers (expanding our reach in Japan)
- **36 Talks Recorded:** *Target launch Aug 15th on YouTube & Spotify*
- **8 Original Pieces of FtC Content Featuring Key Speakers:** *Target launch Aug-Sept*
  - Audrey Tang - Pluarality.net
  - Glen Weyl - Plurality Institution & RxC & Microsoft
  - Aya Miyaguchi - Ethereal Foundation
  - Chris Szymczak - UNICEF
  - Scott Moore - Public Works
  - Ken Suzuki - University of Tokyo, SmartNews Inc.
  - Behind the Scenes Video - FtC x DeSci Tokyo
- **Professional Photos:** Over 4000 professional photos to share with our community to continue social media activities for an additional month.
- **Traditional Local Media Exposure:**
  - [YouTube: What is "Digital Democracy"? Interview w/ FtC Speaker Glenn Weyl (7.6K views)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lg8oltqORw)
  - [What is "Digital Democracy"? Interview with leading scholar Glenn Weyl by Txbiz.tv](https://txbiz.tv-tokyo.co.jp/wbs/newsl/post_300521)
  - [Wired JP Twitter Post (15.5K views)](https://x.com/wired_jp/status/1817053062311375227)
  - [Creating a Future for the Global Commons: Funding the Commons Tokyo's Challenge](https://wired.jp/article/funding-the-commons-tokyo-2024/)
- **Post-event Long-form in Local Language:**
  - [Medium: Decentralizing Research Towards “Open Academia”: Ten Years of Academia](https://rshibato.medium.com/decentralizing-research-towards-open-academia-ten-years-of-academist-and-beyond-b3756155a90b)
  - [Note.com - FtC Lecture: "Decentralization of Research Towards Open Academia"](https://note.com/academist/n/n163977a82936)
  - [Note.com - Beyond Web3 as a Business (History of Open Source Hacker Culture)](https://note.com/obi/n/n9c648fca7c9f)
  - [Dao Magazine - Designing for Plurality: A conversation between Glenn Weil and Audrey Tan @Funding the Commons Tokyo 2024](https://note.com/dao_magazine/n/n5afb28f47e08)
  - [Note.com - Local Government & Quadratic Funding](https://note.com/yamashita_kenngo/n/nf99dbc7cc2dd)

---

#### CHIANG MAI RESIDENCY: FtC + Earth Commons

- **Date:** October 7-31
- **Location:** 4SEAS in Chiang Mai

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#### BANGKOK IN-PERSON HACKATHON: FtC x APAC DAO

- **Date:** November 6-7
- **Location:** DistrictX, Bangkok

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#### BANGKOK DESIGN JAM: FtC x APAC DAO

- **Date:** November 6-9
- **Location:** DistrictX, Bangkok

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#### BANGKOK CONFERENCE

- **Day 1:** Funding the Commons
- **Day 2:** Earth Commons x DeSci
- **Date:** November 8-9
- **Location:** Venue TBC, Bangkok

---

### More Info on Our [Residency Program](https://www.fundingthecommons.io/residencies)

Funding the Commons Residency is an experiment that supports innovation in construction and design oriented toward mechanism designs for Public Goods Funding. Our aim is to explore new methods and technologies to better fund the commons in Public Goods and understand the impact and effectiveness of that funding. Also, measuring what is being funded, how effective the funding is, what needs to be built to distribute, allocate, and govern funding, as well as evaluate impact.

In this experiment, we want to explore the effect on building community, the advantages of collaborative production, receiving feedback, conducting workshops, working with mentors, and rapidly producing products. Production that probably wouldn’t be possible working alone and remote.

What makes the Funding the Commons Residency unique is that we focus on the human component first, prioritize creative freedom, promote a safe space, prioritize mental health, foster connections and development, promote learning, and provide a healthier and more regenerative work environment.

We believe in inspiring growth, continuous education, and upholding values such as gratitude, generosity, teamwork beyond individual projects, inclusiveness, and connection.

---

### Residency Partner Highlight: Pagoda

Pagoda starts as a humble assemblage of Asian web3/Ethereum ecosystem builders, thinkers, and leaders. We aspire to be a resilient and interoperable support network that provides change-makers in political, economic, technological, and spiritual sectors with an alternative lifestyle and career path focused on humanitarian care across Asia.

Pagoda cultivates high-trust relationships through peer support & mutual care, so that people grow & develop to be better equipped for doing meaningful work in the world.

In other words, people who spend time in Pagoda tend to develop a sense of belonging, grow more emotional maturity, develop skills & confidence, and find new opportunities to make a beneficial contribution to the world.

**Team:**

- Christopher (The Philippines)
- Sig (China, based in Chiang Mai)
- [Songyi Lee](https://www.linkedin.com/in/songyilee/) (Korea)
- [Vivian Chen](https://www.linkedin.com/in/viviantp6/) (Taiwan)

---

### Why Chiang Mai?

Chiang Mai, known as the "Rose of the North," is a vibrant city in northern Thailand renowned for its rich cultural heritage, natural beauty, and thriving digital nomad community. The city's unique blend of tradition and modernity makes it an ideal location for the Funding the Commons Residency.

**Strength of Chiang Mai:**

Chiang Mai’s strengths lie in its ability to blend the old with the new, offering a unique environment where traditional wisdom meets modern innovation.

**Pagoda in Chiang Mai:**

Pagoda’s presence in Chiang Mai reinforces our commitment to creating a resilient and interoperable support network across Asia. By hosting the residency in Chiang Mai, Pagoda strengthens its mission to weave the diverse threads of Asia into a united tapestry, fostering a decentralized world that honors our shared heritage and distinct voices.

---

### Key Milestones

- **May - July:** Ideation & Definition of Key Partnerships
- **July - Aug:** Call for Applications & Collaborations with APAC builder communities to promote residency to high-caliber public goods applicants
- **Aug 15:** Final Selection of Applicants
- **Sept 1:** Final Sponsorship / Mentorship Decisions for Track Design
- **Sept 1 - Oct 7:** Final Production Elements
- **Oct 7:** Residency Begins
- **Oct 31:** Residency Ends
- **Nov 8-9:** FtC Conference in Bangkok - Opportunity to present residency outcomes on stage to 500-700 expected attendees during our flagship conference near the DevCon main location.

---

### Key Considerations & Budget

1) **Manpower:**

- **Production (July - September):**
  - Residency Organizer: 1 (Remote Full-time)
  - Logistic Support: 1 (On-site Part-time)
  - Program Design: 1 (Remote Part-time)
  - Network Support: 1 (Remote Part-time)

- **During Residency (October):**
  - Residency Organizer: 1 (On-site Full-time)
  - Logistic Support: 2 (On-site Part-time)
  - Facilitation: 2 (On-site Part-time)

2) **Budget (Estimation Only):**

| Category                        | Estimated Cost (USD) |
|---------------------------------|----------------------|
| Accommodation (35 participants + staff) includes venue & equipment rental | $35,000              |
| Food (35 participants + staff) includes venue & equipment rental         | $15,000              |
| Travel Expenses                 | $5,000               |
| Swags & Workshop Materials      | $5,000               |
| Admin & Staff Support           | $20,000              |
| Contingency Fund                | $2,000               |
| Organizational Coordination Fee | $8,000               |
| **Total Estimated Cost**        | **$90,000**          |

---

### People Curation

**Criteria from the past:**

- Open source contributions
- Diverse backgrounds and life experiences
- Willingness to support other builders in a p2p fashion
- Outcome-oriented: The projects that builders create during the residency
  - 75% highly technical builders in open-source community

---

### 2023 Residency References

- **Video from 2023 Berlin Residency:** [Watch Here](https://youtu.be/NXrqTm9UBZI)
- **Video - What is a Funding the Commons Residency:** [Watch Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ToX5EbFLE8&t=9s)
- **40 Builders Participated**
- **15 Sponsors / Mentors**
- **Achievement:** One of the projects incubated during the residency and given its first grant by Funding the Commons post-residency allowed our community member to receive the ETH Next Billion Fellow Award.
