United Nations Development Program Partners Algorand to Train 22,000 Employees in Blockchain Technology

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has partnered with the Algorand Foundation to launch a blockchain academy in a bid to train staff on the technology.

Speaking at the Algorand Impact Summit on Nov 30, Robert Pasicko, a UNDP expert announced the partnership to drive sustainable development as the agency performs its core functions including poverty alleviation.

According to the press release, the Algorand Foundation, the body responsible for the development of the Algorand network, will launch a blockchain academy in 2024 to equip over 22,000 UNDP employees globally with associated skills.

“The Algorand Blockchain Academy will launch in 2024 and is designed to bolster UNDP staff capacity through education and training in blockchain technology and its practical applications for sustainable development.”

DLT education for sustainable development

The distributed ledger technology (DLT) education program will consist of lectures, assignments, and workshops tailored for employees across 170 countries.

Duro Unger-Lee the head of education at Algorand noted that the partnership with UNDP will drive innovation in many ways for the good of most communities.

“We see this education and tooling initiative as a critical first step toward identifying and delivering actionable, on-the-ground use-cases of blockchain to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in a number of areas.”

Pasicko also added that blockchain technology will be used to address complex global challenges with workers acquiring the necessary skills.

“We are thrilled to be in a position to leverage the credibility and expertise of the Algorand Foundation and key members of their ecosystem in order to upskill, empower, and inspire UN practitioners around the world,” he added

Blockchain to solve global problems

Over the years, several international organizations have leveraged DLT to solve problems in diverse industries leading to wider research and adoption of the technology.

The recent Algorand and UNDP partnership highlights four cardinal issues; financial inclusion, supply chain transparency, real-world asset tokenization, and digital identity.

As the UNDP goes on its social welfare mission, people in disadvantaged rural areas need to be brought into fiscal planning and development to reverse the trend of the unbanked population.

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Bringing financial services closer to every community will solve poverty in many ways as people will have the right incentives to create businesses to cater to people in border towns.

For more efficiency, supply chain transparency is needed to tackle production and distribution issues. From food production to pharmaceuticals, blockchain can automate the entire process, saving costs and expanding businesses.

There is also a recurring issue of fake and substandard products which can be solved by utilizing DLT from production to retail stores.

As big traditional finance firms move towards tokenization of assets, the United Nations and other international organizations look to bring the initiative to more countries as part of broader plans toward sustainability.

Finally, digital identities will be created to ease agency operations in multiple countries.