My First Bitcoin: El Salvador's Grassroots Initiative to Educate the Nation on Cryptocurrency.
El Salvador has been a pioneer in cryptocurrency adoption, becoming the first country to make Bitcoin a legal tender in June 2021. To help citizens adapt to this new form of currency, a grassroots initiative called "Mi Primer Bitcoin" (My First Bitcoin) was launched by American activist and journalist John Dennehy. This program has received support from the El Salvador government and aims to educate Salvadorans on Bitcoin and its benefits.
When Bitcoin was first adopted as legal tender, very few Salvadorans knew about concepts like seed phrases, Satoshis, or mining. To address this knowledge gap, the "Mi Primer Bitcoin" program was founded in 2021, offering free Bitcoin education to citizens. It has since received funding from the LookingGlass and IBEX Mercado, a Bitcoin and Lightning Network service provider.
The initiative began with small classes in meeting rooms and AirBnBs, and quickly grew in popularity. By April 2023, the class numbers reached an all-time high of over 800 students. The curriculum covers financial literacy, the history of money, and the problems that money solves, as well as Bitcoin education.
This grassroots program targets teenagers, who are most eager to learn about money and most likely to spread the Bitcoin message across the country. The Bitcoin Diploma examination, taken in week 10 of the program, tests students on creating a wallet, restoring it on another device, making an on-chain transaction, and understanding the concept of final transactions.
One year after the program's launch, Dennehy estimates that about 10% of El Salvador's population are active Bitcoin users, and as much as one-fifth of merchants now accept the cryptocurrency. This progress in El Salvador could serve as a blueprint for other countries to follow, as Dennehy's ambition is to create a successful template that can be applied globally.
If you're new to Bitcoin, initiatives like "Mi Primer Bitcoin" can be a valuable resource to understand the basics and benefits of using cryptocurrency. As the world continues to adopt digital currencies, grassroots educational programs like this can play a crucial role in helping people embrace this new form of money.
How can this help you in Swift Current, Saskatchewan?
You can download their guide used as study material here.
You can read more here: https://thebittimes.com/el-salvador-s-my-first-bitcoin-how-to-teach-a-nation-about-crypto-tbt21957.html