Funding Restriction: Working with Children

[David_NEAR]

This is a PSA to anyone who receives funding from the NEAR Foundation directly AND/OR by proxy via funding verticals that are funded by NF and the Community Fund.

There are few groups that are as vulnerable as children. Oftentimes, when working with children directly, individuals are, rightly, required to undergo stringent screening and background checks in order to ensure the children’s safety.

In light of the above, and taking into consideration the inability for children to consent to the same extent as adults, we’re implementing the following policy:

The NEAR Foundation and the Community Fund will not be used to:

• Fund direct or indirect work with children or legal minors aged 17 or younger
• Onboard children through targeted onboarding campaigns
• Create crypto-asset investments for children’s planned future use (wallets, NFTs, etc.)
• Target children, regardless of the goal of a particular campaign

This is to protect the children, NF, and any parties which would potentially have been working with them.

There’s no doubt that many children today will grow up to be the Web3 gurus, developers, and degens we all adore. However, the nuances of working with children, and their default vulnerability, make them impossible to work with without the highest level of checks and balances.

Let’s focus on building an open, accessible, and decentralised web for future generations to continue building atop whilst protecting the most vulnerable in our society.

Thanks a tonne for reading, and let’s keep BUIDLing!

[tabear]

Thank you for this statement, highly appreciated

[frnvpr]

Thank you David, this will greatly help moderators!

[sterryo]

We will keep building

[thephilosopher]

Thank you, David. These are very legitimate concerns.
Let’s keep building NEAR ecosystem!

[bgem]

That’s a very cool perspective
Thanks for that. #family-dao

[IgbozeIsrael]

This is a resolution worthy of

@David_NEAR

This is to protect the children, NF, and any parties which would potentially have been working with them.

given that many accusations could even come as a result of security challenges that may arise. a good one

[waldmatias]

Hello @David_NEAR,

Thank you for the information and it is the right decision when putting security on top of the list (as it should) concerning children.

But, what if an accredited school vouches for a particular training program? I’m thinking of a “Introduction to Computer Programming using Rust” course targeted at high-schoolers on their last year of education (16-18 year olds), which would soon be joining higher ed (Universities).

Colegio Humboldt

The course would be taught in-school premises and overlooked by School Board Members as an ‘after school hours’ type of activity.

I would love to hear your feedback, as I’m already working on Program Syllabus.

Thanks!
Matias

[David_NEAR]

Hey,

It’s a hard rule for funding verticals IMO, not appropriate to make exceptions simply because of the nature of working with children.

In that case, it might make sense to restrict it to 17+.

That said, there are alternative funding routes through grants which may still be open to funding something like this.

[waldmatias]

Gotcha. Thanks for the quick reply, and have great day!

[REK]

@waldmatias

But, what if an accredited school vouches for a particular training program? I’m thinking of a “Introduction to Computer Programming using Rust” course targeted at high-schoolers on their last year of education (16-18 year olds), which would soon be joining higher ed (Universities).

It’s a very good thought.

We provide Arduino training to high school,middle School students.
Also, blockchain lectures happen once a month.
In May, I plan to introduce a few projects in the Near ecosystem to children.
If you create an education model that fits the high school curriculum. I can apply this education model in Turkey.

[waldmatias]

Thank you @REK! Teaching electronics to kids sure fosters STEM, which is just the kind of thing young minds need early on. Less social-BS, more Science! Do you have a thread on the near.gov forum about this education-related project? Feels more appropriate to continue the conversation there.

[JulianaM]

Thank you so much @David_NEAR for addressing this topic here. It is something that some members including me were waiting for, an “official” position of NF. Great to have guidelines to move forward!

[Natashacremonese]

I fully agree.
I am an art teacher and social educator, I have been teaching children for over 5 years.
It is important that the professional (pedagogical advisor, teacher, etc.) knows the status of the child, and I think it is important for the country to always be present even more on the internet.

[shiftshapr]

@jlwaugh Pertinent to what we were talking about. As you said, better to focus on young adults. Thanks

[whoiscavenaghi]

Awesome appointments, great work as always! Thank you very much @David_NEAR

[satojandro]

Thanks for providing clearer guidelines.

I would just like to add that this is just a blanket ban on funding initiatives involving underaged people from NEAR Foundation or proxy funding verticals.

While it is unfortunate that we are not able to fund these kind of activities for the many reasons that David has stated, I hope that this does not discourage community members from continuing with lines of work that would be beneficial towards this demographic.

My recent experience at ETH Denver was mind-blowing: I met multiple 18yr that were head of engineering or founders leading successful rounds of funding, along with another large cohort of underaged attendants that were part of a contingent sponsored by a not-for-profit specifically dedicated to the inclusion and participation of ambitious, bright young people in the space.

Another important note; it is not possible to restrict access to information online. So I would imagine the strong qualifier here is that your content is not targeted at underaged people. It would be a real shame to lock out smart and curious people from learning resources just because of their age (NEAR Education not allowing underaged students) or YouTube channels (or any other form of content with rich analytics) being defunded because it has underaged viewers.

As always, it is important to make a very clear difference between the legal needs and requirements of the NF when it comes to funding (internal operational constraints), and the pragmatic reality of the value these groups provide and different ways they can still be involved that do not involve funding from official sources.

[satojandro]

How much funding would be required for something like this? Could be an interesting case study of sourcing the funding directly from community members (private donors. Set up an AstroDAO and present the opportunity on various sociall media channels.

[REK]

@waldmatias

Do you have a thread on the near.gov forum about this education-related project? Feels more appropriate to continue the conversation there.

Since the educational content is under the age of 18, I did not make any educational models about Blockchain.
But as a non-profit community (IEEE), we provide training on Arduino and simple coding projects.
However, if we start an educational activity in Turkey, people under the age of 18 can be trained through professional trainers.
We want to start training activities as Turkey DAO, I will open a thread on gov.near soon.
I guess the thread will be opened by the end of April.