AKASHA at ETHRome 2024: Announcing the Urbe Hub

Ciao, amici! ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น

We're excited to share that the AKASHA Foundation participated in ETHRome 2024, where we had the pleasure of reconnecting with old friends, making new ones, and sharing some thrilling news.

Layer 0 will always be the people

At AKASHA, we've always believed that blockchain is socio-technical.

It's not just about the 1s and 0s, it's about the people behind the screens too.

This philosophy has driven us to focus not only on software and developing decentralized social media, but also on connecting the people in the Ethereum community.

From left to right: Mihai Alisie (AKASHA Foundation), Limone.eth (ETHRome), Andreea Cia (ETHBucharest) and Lorenzo Patuzzo (AKASHA Barcelona Hub) โค๏ธ

From Barcelona with Love

Our journey began in 2017 when we planted our first seeds in Barcelona. What started as a humble hub, nurtured by our very own Lorenzo, has blossomed into a whole ecosystem of innovation:

  • 2 warehouses in the Clot district
  • 55 residents and over 800 members united by a shared vision
  • 250 events organized with over 10,000 unique participants
  • The Green City Lab for tackling urban challenges with sustainable solutions
  • The AKASHA FabLab for turning ideas into physical prototypes
250 events were organized in Barcelona to promote sustainable culture and civic engagement

From our first IPFS meetup in December 2017 to the sold-out world premiere of "Vitalik: An Ethereum Story" just last month (which we highly recommend watching), we've come a long way.

But last year in Barcelona, in that same hub, we met a super cool group of friends coming from Italy โ€“ the incredible team from Urbe. Their energy and vision were a double shot of espresso, and they managed to rapidly grow a driven community of Ethereum builders in Rome.

The AKASHA & UrbeTalk Meetup in Barcelona (2023)

We kept crossing paths at various other web3 events, until AKASHA attended the first edition of ETHRome in 2023. When we saw what they were able to create and the buzzing energy at their hackathon, we knew it was time to take our connection to the next level.

Drumroll, Please... ๐Ÿฅ

We're absolutely thrilled to announce a collaboration between Urbe and AKASHA!

Together, we're creating a physical hub, right in the heart of Rome: a creative haven for web3 builders and visionaries. The Urbe Hub is a permanent home for the Ethereum community, and the first of its kind in Italy! โœจ๐ŸŽ‡๐Ÿฅณ๐Ÿคฉ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿš€

What can you expect from this hub?

  • More hackathons
  • Knowledge transfer workshops from experts to the next generation of innovators
  • Coworking areas
  • Exhibitions, talks, events
  • A home to the Urbe Campus
  • And of course, some legendary parties to keep the Roman nights alive! (togas optional, but encouraged)

This isn't just our project โ€“ it's yours too! ๐Ÿค

Community is energy. It's the pulsating force that drives innovation. But energy needs a conduit, a space to flow and flourish. That's why AKASHA is stepping up by sponsoring the Urbe Hub.

The spirit you've felt during ETHRome? The connections you've made? We're giving them a permanent home, right next to the ruins of ancient Rome.

But the AKASHA-Urbe hub in Rome isn't just our project โ€“ it's yours too. So, whether you have ideas, want to participate, or would like to host an event at the hub, please reach out to us. We're all ears!

Grazie mille for your enthusiasm! Arrivederci for now, and see you at the hub, it's opening at the very beginning of 2025! ๐Ÿ˜Ž