Celebrating Pride Month in Cardano

Cardano is more than just currency or technology. It is intended to be a global ecosystem. It is simply impossible to create an equitable global ecosystem without input from diverse voices. This isn’t about promoting one group above another. Rather it is simply a methodology of welcoming every single person who is invested in the future of Cardano and acknowledging their presence. Pride Month provides an opportunity to raise awareness and celebrate our diversity and inclusion.

2022 Pride Month Planning

Sammy, the operator of StakeWithPride pool, is leading the planning of the Cardano Pride Month celebrations. Last year’s celebrations were focused on the SPOs. This year an effort is being made to expand the celebration to include the NFT community. There will be three distinct efforts this year: NFT pride, a June 3rd Stoners Club giveaway and art for Cardano stake pool operators.

The first area of focus is on NFT projects. Interested project can collaborate by timing releases around June and using the common #CardanoPride hashtag. Also they can consider using the new Pride flag colors that include Transgender and people of color. At the end of the summer there will be a showcase  of all participating projects.NFT projects across the Cardano ecosystem are encouraged to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community with related drops, characters, or traits.  Everyone is encouraged to celebrate.

The second order of business is the Cardano Stoners Club June 3rd giveaway. The giveaway celebrates queer people, queer artists, queer art, and all the straight allies that are supporters. Hosted by Williboy and Big Joe, Master of Ceremonies by The Hidden Order, and flyer art provided by iAnnet. Participating projects can share their project backstory and what Pride Month means to them. 

The third area of focus is to provide customized art to stake pool operators. If you are interested in having any of the gifs below customized for your stake pool, please DM Sammy on twitter for more information.

Sammy and StakeWithPride Pool

All of this aligns with StakeWithPride pool’s mission of being both an advocate for LGBTQIA+ issues and a stake pool operator. Sammy’s perspective might have something to do with his upbringing. He spent his early childhood in the Democratic Republic of Congo. With grandparents from both Africa and India he was impacted by a diverse mixture of cultures and viewpoints. In middle school his parents sent him to boarding school in Québec Canada where he learned that being gay was not something you had to hide. Gradually, through friends and support groups, he came to understand that the best thing he could do was just be himself and not hide from his feelings. Eventually, as he reached adulthood, Sammy evolved from support group participant to activist mentally, and Canada to San Francisco Bay Area physically.

A trailblazer in every regard, Sammy also has a unique, but not unheard of, view of SPOs as well. He believes that there is a valuable place for part time SPOs in the Cardano ecosystem, as long as they are operated securely and professionally. He feels that it is perfectly reasonable for a small pool to sustain itself with a small group of personal friends as delegators and avoid the stress of becoming a fulltime marketing agency, assuming that the resulting revenue meets the operator’s needs. Sammy feels that the ecosystem should welcome both part and full time SPOs because both support decentralization and enhance network security

While Sammy’s intent is to remain a part time stake pool operator he remains a full-time evangelist for both Cardano and LGBTQIA+ causes. He has created some fabulous resources for the Cardano Community such as the video promoting SPOs:

Or this wonderful compilation he made when smart contracts went live:

Sammy is also continually focused on creating an inclusive environment in the Cardano community. His efforts in creating a welcoming community have been noticed as you can see here in this clip from Around the Blockchain about last year’s efforts:

If there is an overriding message here is that everyone is not only welcome, but is needed to build a truly global Cardano community. We want to hear your voice! If you would like to help celebrate Cardano Pride month, please DM Sammy at Pride Pool to find out how you can help!