INTRODUCTION
Humanitarian justice and art have long been inherently linked, alongside other creative mediums of expression such as film, literature, and music. Both provide an intrinsic articulation of core human themes of equality, hope, identity, and oppression. From Picasso’s “Guernica” and the art of numerous Hiroshima survivors highlighting the atrocities of war, to the art of Khadija Saye being celebrated in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, and also the Manchester Bee and Oasis’s song “Don’t Look Back in Anger” becoming an eternal symbol and icon for hope amongst Mancunian communities following the tragic bombing in 2017 at the Manchester Arena. Humanitarian justice aims to reduce disparities between people regardless of age, identity, or race and provide support for those in need. Art, whether visual or auditory, contests and challenges these discriminatory notions whilst seeking to bring communities together.
Art provides tools for advocacy, awareness, and relief in their rawest form. It encapsulates human expression at its most primal, with creativity driving people to their direst state. It is often censored in oppressive regimes, restricting people’s ability to speak out against national strife imposed by malicious leaders. Digital art, however, in the form of virtual worlds, has provided a tool against censorship – for example, through the incredible work done by Reporters without Borders in creating a Minecraft world and library containing banned articles and documents from the likes of Russia, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, and Iran available for all to access.
Web3, and in particular NFTs, on the other hand, have a much less stellar reputation as a tool for driving humanitarian progress. Often considered largely “expensive JPEG images”, Ponzi schemes, scams, and rug pulls, beneath this, there are a multitude of tangible uses for NFTs – in art, in technology, and in their convergence in humanitarian justice.
UNDERSTANDING NFTS
An NFT, i.e., a non-fungible token, is a digital asset created on a blockchain utilising smart contracts, for example on the Ethereum chain, which is non-fungible – a unique item that cannot be interchanged. It has had many uses such as art, decentralised finance, music, luxury items, fractionalised house ownership and a whole host of other initiatives across industries, often representing a tokenised form of a physical asset. This essentially provides a decentralised, reliable, and eternal proof of ownership of a digital asset, such as artwork. Through this, some incredible projects have come together to provide an unprecedented level of direct contribution to justice.
The conflict in Ukraine has faced resounding condemnation across global communities, however, this has often been coupled with a feeling of helplessness from ordinary people. R3LIEF, a project featuring top Web3 influencers and artists alongside those personally affected by the crisis, raised over $1 million in just 30 seconds upon launching an art collection featuring over 57 artists. Funds, all available to see on the blockchain, have been provided to help paramedics, provide emergency supplies and fund volunteer programmes. Likewise, Stand Up For Unity has raised well over $100,000 through NFT auctions to support displaced Afghan families following the resurgence of the Taliban. Art, through NFTs, has proved to be a tool allowing regular people to help provide aid to war-torn countries and help rebuild the lives of people in crisis alongside crucially providing irrefutable evidence of the usage of these funds.
ART AND IDENTITY
Identity is a central theme in both humanitarian justice and art. Looking to change the lack of female representation in art and many facets of society, numerous projects seek to create a community and a cohort of initiatives to help change the face of representation across the globe. World of Women, arguably one of the most successful NFT projects ever created, supports emerging artists through the creation of a fund which benefits from all WoW primary sales. Likewise, causes seeking to empower and educate women to achieve their potential are regularly donated to by the organisation and receive a portion of royalties – with all transactions verifiable on the blockchain. Boss Beauties, another NFT project, funds scholarships and education alongside providing a platform to catalyse women-led innovation. Many of these projects are run through decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs), which is a governance structure that seeks to implement the ideals of Web3 – fairness, transparency, and equality. It eliminates any need to have a trusted third party or a hierarchical management structure – it is run by the participants, for the participants. They make use of tokens / NFTs, often through gated access, that provide an equal structure of voting power in the direction of an organisation or project. This democratises and empowers people to be involved in making change, at all layers of direction and involvement, should they seek it.
CONCLUSION
Web3 is still in its infancy, in terms of both tangible utility and in the amount of value it provides in helping those in need. Many applications are focused on “fan-based” initiatives and utility, or providing access to communities. One thing that is clear, the need for advocacy, community, and funding in relation to fighting injustice is ever-present and a long-standing challenge. As Web3 and NFTs continue to evolve in terms of their innovative uses, so too will their ability to accelerate change and provide relief in the face of humanitarian crises.
Raj spent time working in The Hague in human rights before leading and advising emerging technology strategy and innovation for the largest global companies. Alongside his current career in Web3 Strategy, he mentors startups from war-torn countries.