Vitalik Buterin’s Mom Aims to Introduce More Women to Blockchain and Crypto
Natalia Ameline, mother of Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, is focused on launching crypto and blockchain literacy programs throughout the world.
Ameline, who is the co-founder of Toronto-based CryptoChicks, a non-profit blockchain educational hub that aims to achieve gender balance in the crypto space, told CoinDesk that her organization has run various programs in countries like Canada and Pakistan.
Ameline, a former financial analyst at Unilever, revealed that CryptoChicks has helped 608 students and junior developers learn more about crypto-related technology. The Canadian company has offered educational courses through a partnership with crypto-focused website Blockgeeks, which is managed by Ameline’s ex-husband, Dmitry Buterin.
Courses designed by CryptoChick’s management cover topics ranging from how Bitcoin works to more advanced lessons on smart contract programming. Students are also taught basic business principles, and how to apply them to the cryptoasset industry.
Notably, CryptoChicks has acquired funding for its coding workshops from established tech firms including Microsoft, IBM, and giant financial institutions such as the Royal Bank of Canada. The management at CryptoChicks is currently preparing to launch its first hackathon in the Bahamas next month.
Says Ameline,
“[CryptoChicks is] an educational organization, not a political organization. We want to provide women and youth with the maximum opportunity to make their own choices.”
Elena Sinelnikova, the other co-founder of CryptoChicks, says that although the organization’s educational workshops are accessible to all genders, certain programs are focused on recruiting mainly female participants and involving girls at an early age.
Founded in 2017, CryptoChicks has received a total of $350,000 in donations, which the organization has used to fund around a dozen blockchain-focused educational conferences.
Speaking at the Ethereal Summit New York 2019, Ameline describes the hidden social impact of blockchain.
“The fourth technological revolution paves the way for the great, amazing, economical and social changes. And one thing that differentiates it from the previous revolutions is the speed of change at which the changes occur. These changes will send ripple effects throughout all our society but one of the things that will be impacted in a very profound way is the disruption of skill.”
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