Surrounded by the North Sea and without natural dunes, the Netherlands built vast dikes to protect farms and communities from flooding, for half the population and land are below sea level.
Rising tides of technology face the same approach: the Dutch government realize the failures of web2 and is taking proactive steps to steer a safer, inclusive, transparent, and verifiable internet.
Who keeps a country’s internet safe and transparent? Who works to increase trust on the internet? Blockchain technology makes a better digital society possible.
Marloes Pomp is the initiator and program officer for various blockchain projects within the Dutch government and is responsible for the international strategy of the Dutch Blockchain Coalition. The Dutch Blockchain Coalition is a jointly developed partnership by industry, government and knowledge institutions. Together they have assumed a leading role and joint responsibility for the success of the national blockchain action agenda to drive a ‘Blockchain for Good.’
Currently, Marloes is CEO of WordProof. WordProof wants to create a new standard for a more reliable and trustworthy internet with the help of blockchain technology.
“Decentralisation is the next step in the digitalization of society,” said Marloes. “Dutch organizations, government bodies, and industries are working in tandem to realize a safer internet. Blockchain systems are verifiable, transparent, robust, flexible and agile. Web3 is an opportunity to change the principles and values of web3. If we leave the future of the internet to the Big Tech companies of today, we will have the same problems as the current internet. It can – and must – be improved through the decentralisation.”
Marloes’ professional interests focus on tech innovation within the public domain. She’s set up numerous blockchain, AI and immersive tech projects within the Dutch government and serves as a new technologies management training expert. Prior to the blockchain and AI activities, Marloes worked in several roles as a project leader and researcher at government organizations, including the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the City of Amsterdam and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, she serves as an advisory member for the SIDN Fund, the Dutch Court, The Blockchain and Society Board of the University of Amsterdam (VU) and the Research Foundation Flanders. Marloes also works as an advisor at the Netherlands AI Coalition.
She is a member of the Steering Committee of the European AI Forum. On this platform, entrepreneurs and policymakers jointly determine the path forward for European AI innovation. She also works part-time for the Data Science Initiative, supporting The Hague’s Peace and Justice ecosystem with state-of-art AI and machine learning tools and knowledge. The goal is to grow this into a European AI Security Hub.
The opportunities web3 provides excites and inspires Marloes: “My work focuses on bringing the creative and tech sector together for these professionals to exchange knowledge and inspire each other. It also creates a space for investors and other interested parties to learn more about web3, the Metaverse and its potential. The nature of tech is that it develops from small innovation cycles.”
Her approach is to follow innovations with an open mind: “In 2017, we were playing with crypto kittens when we had no idea what they were; now, it is one of the largest NFT providers. Looking back on them, we can see we were testing how digital ownership works.”
Blockchain and web3 technology have the potential to impact the world in limitless ways. Marloes’ viewpoint is that, “The role of communities and networks will become more critical; the ownership economy will transform business models; new types of organizational forms such as DAOs will change the future of work.”
“The Metaverse doesn’t exist yet,” explained Marloes. “The Metaverse is a seamless convergence of our physical and digital lives, creating a unified, virtual community where we can work, play, learn, relax, transact, and socialize. The Metaverse will impact every industry. For organizations, a presence in the Metaverse will be just as significant as a website is now. The Metaverse can really improve things, especially in the field of education.”
Building an internet of the future that’s socially inclusive, safer, reliable, and transparent is not a job for Marloes; it is her life’s mission. Web3 gives her that platform.
