Summary of Proposal
The ZuZone Community Hub brings together founders of Zuzalu-aligned permanent hubs and pop-up cities to share practical experience, strengthen collaboration, and showcase communities experimenting as long-term governance sandboxes. It reflects ZuZone’s mission of helping hubs build, grow sustainably, and collaborate across the ecosystem to create a stronger, more connected global community
Motivation and Rationale
The ZuZone Community Hub brings together the growing community of Zuzalu-aligned permanent hubs as a collaborative space within Devcon. It connects independent communities experimenting with new ways of building, living, governing, and coordinating around Ethereum values, while also showcasing Sanctuary Tech practical solutions that help communities become more resilient, self-sovereign, and sustainable.
The hub gives founders, builders, researchers, and supporters a place to share lessons learned, exchange ideas, and build collaborations across regions. It also helps attendees discover communities, projects, and people they can contribute to long after Devcon ends.
Unlike a one-time talk or workshop, a Community Hub creates space for ongoing conversations, peer learning, and spontaneous connections throughout the week. It allows visitors to meet hub founders, explore different approaches, ask practical questions, and learn how permanent communities are being built and sustained.
By strengthening collaboration across hubs and highlighting real-world Sanctuary Tech initiatives, the ZuZone Community Hub supports Ethereum builders beyond technical development. It helps connect people with communities, collaborators, and environments where ideas can be tested, refined, and grown into lasting impact.
Implementation
We need a flexible space for both intimate discussions and presentations.
In addition to the standard AV setup, we would appreciate mobile whiteboards, reconfigurable seating (including a mix of comfortable lounge seating and chairs for workshops), and a moderation kit. We also plan to bring community showcase materials, banners, and printed resources.
If possible, we would prefer the Community Hub to be located in a quieter corner of the venue rather than in the middle of the main room. This would provide more privacy for conversations, improve sound quality during discussions, and create a more welcoming environment for meaningful exchanges.
Programming
Our programming brings together founders from the growing community of Zuzalu-aligned permanent hubs alongside builders working on Sanctuary Tech. Sessions will explore sustainable hub development, governance and coordination, cross-hub collaboration, local and sovereign AI, community infrastructure, privacy-preserving technologies, and open-source tools that strengthen resilient communities
9:30 – 10:30 | Hub Spotlights
Lightning talks from 2–3 hubs sharing what they’re building, lessons learned, and current challenges.
10:30 – 11:30 | Community Roundtable
An open discussion on topics such as governance, sustainable hubs, community operations, local experimentation, and cross-hub collaboration.
11:30 – 12:00 | Open Networking & Hub Showcase
Meet founders, explore community projects, and continue conversations.
12:00 – 1:00 | Lunch Break
1:00 – 2:00 | Sanctuary Tech Session
Talks and demos featuring builders working on local and sovereign AI, decentralized infrastructure, privacy-preserving technologies, coordination tools, and other technologies that strengthen resilient communities.
2:00 – 3:00 | Open Office Hours
A dedicated time for attendees to connect with hub founders, contributors, researchers, and supporters for mentoring, collaboration, and partnership discussions.
3:00 – 4:00 | Founder Fireside / Guest Speaker
A featured conversation with a hub founder, ecosystem leader, or Sanctuary Tech builder, followed by audience Q&A.
4:00 – 5:00 | Community Networking & Collaboration
An open collaboration session for founders, builders, funders, researchers, and newcomers to connect and explore opportunities together.
5:00 – 6:00 | Community Exchange & Closing Circle
Open discussions, announcements, collaboration opportunities, reflections from the day, and a look ahead to the next day’s programming
Audience
The ZuZone Community Hub is for founders, builders, researchers, community organizers, and supporters interested in resilient communities, Sanctuary Tech, and long-term coordination within the Ethereum ecosystem.
We hope to engage both established and emerging hub builders, open-source contributors, researchers, funders, and anyone exploring new models for community building and governance.
Devcon India provides a unique opportunity to connect with India’s growing Ethereum and open-source community, welcome new contributors into the global community, and explore collaborations with local builders interested in launching or joining Zuzalu-aligned initiatives.
Team
The Community Hub will be led by Yamit Deutsch (ZuZone) and Chance. Additional founders and volunteers from Zuzalu-aligned permanent hubs will join throughout Devcon to host sessions and welcome attendees.
As members of the ZuZone ecosystem, the team works closely with permanent hub founders across the community and is well positioned to facilitate meaningful collaboration. The Hub will remain a neutral, welcoming space focused on open knowledge sharing, peer learning, and community building. Programming will be community-driven and represent a diverse range of hubs and perspectives. English will be the primary language, with support from participating founders and volunteers whenever possible.