Westminster Law Lecturer Daniela Gandorfer and the non-profit organisation LoPh+ that she co-founded won three categories of the Austrian Blockchain Centre (ABC) Research’s Austrian Blockchain Award for their project titled Decentralised Right to Breathe (De.RtB). The Best Sustainability Award, Best Smart Technology Award as well as Overall Winner all went to them.
The awards ceremony took place at the Vienna University of Economics and Business in Austria during the fifth annual Austrian Blockchain Conference on 18 June 2024. The Austrian Blockchain Awards recognise and reward exceptional and distinctive blockchain innovations that exhibit disruptive application possibilities, a sustainable business strategy and proven practical adequacy. The Awards are initiated by the Austrian Blockchain Centre (ABC) Research, which is the country’s largest competence and research centre for blockchain technology, and the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber.
Daniela Gandorfer, Lecturer in Law and Technology LLM at the University of Westminster who is currently teaching classes on blockchain and on new blockchain-informed governance models, is one of the co-founders of LoPh+, a women-led nonprofit organisation based in Vienna that focuses on the relationship between emerging digital technologies and climate change. The organisation specialises in community-based governance frameworks and decentralised justice. Supported by seed money and grants from Princeton University from 2000-22, funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and in partnership with Berlin-based software company MCS Data Labs GmbH, De.RtB is one of the significant impact initiatives featured in LoPh+ that highlights breathing conditions across the world and illustrates that blockchain is a powerful tool for decentralised governance and community empowerment. By supporting local communities, it aims to tackle environmental injustices, promote actionable insights, draw attention to underserved communities, and rewards users for engaging in environmental stewardship. All these efforts contribute to the development of a self-sufficient ecosystem that prioritises environmental consciousness and health.
As a component of De.RtB, a varied group of social justice activists, web3 developers, legal experts, technical engineers, and digital artists created the NFT collection A Thousand Breaths (ATB). By combining environmental metrics with individual breath data, it produces dynamic NFTs. Its purpose is to gather useful information for nearby areas while increasing awareness of differences in breathing conditions worldwide. Their custom breathing device, developed by MCS Data Labs, is exhibited in six nations worldwide. It can be synchronised with a mobile app that allows users to view their dynamic breath visualisations that adapt to their location and environmental changes, as well as an Android tablet app that walks users through the process of registering and visualising their breath on chain.
The project has also won numerous other awards with the latest one being the international World Omosiroi Award 2024 in Japan.
Gandorfer said: "Winning the Blockchain Award 2024 is not just a recognition of my individual efforts but a resounding endorsement of our collective vision. It underscores the critical importance of venturing beyond traditional governance models to embrace a decentralised, community-driven approach. This accolade reaffirms our commitment to empowering communities through innovative technologies, challenging existing power structures, and collaboratively building a sustainable and equitable world for all beings. It is a milestone that fuels our mission to transform how societies operate, ensuring that every voice, human or non-human, is part of shaping our future.”
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