Summary of Proposal
Scenius Hub is a collaborative thinking space where anyone can bring a project they’re working on, share what they’re doing to move it forward, and name where they’re stuck. The room then thinks together with the presenter - offering ideas, connections, and concrete help.
Motivation and Rationale
Creators and product builders often build their solutions in silos, not realizing that people around them, no matter the background, could offer alternative viewpoints, connections, or even their time and skills to help.
Scenius - the concept of a collective genius recognizes that
great ideas are often birthed by a group of creative individuals—artists, curators, thinkers, theorists, and other tastemakers—who make up an “ecology of talent.” ― Austin Kleon, Show Your Work!
At Scenius Hub, presenters will show ideas, projects, and real blockers in front of a room and leave with new insights and potentially collaborators. Presenters and attendees will enter collaborative thinking sessions, facilitated by Scenius Hub hosts, to help develop original ideas in new productive directions.
Each project, workstream, or call for help will be logged on a shared digital board to keep the conversation going async during Devcon, and afterward.
The hosts have successfully tested the concept at Proof of Retreat 2026, where people from diverse backgrounds lived and created together for 4 months, sparking numerous collaborations and projects.
Implementation
Standard Devcon kit. Most critical items:
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1 screen
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2 whiteboards
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Sticky notes
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Markers
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Chairs/beanbags
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Work desk
Programming
Scenius Hub will run all 4 days, 9am-6pm.
Each day will have a theme:
- Day 1: Breakdown — censorship-resistant communication, emergency payments, preserving knowledge during collapse
- Day 2: Resilience — mutual aid, local energy/food systems, resilient governance, OSS sustainability
- Day 3: New Worlds — new governance models, public-goods funding, digital citizenship, cooperative AI
- Day 4: Renaissance — artist patronage, independent science, cultural archives, better public spaces
Presentation slot length: 30-60 min, including Q&A.
The calendar will open two weeks pre-Devcon, and source presenters from personal connections, Devcon Telegram groups, and during the conference.
Any project, stage, or domain can take a slot: Protocols, hardware, governance problems, consumer apps, art, film/documentaries, smart contracts, early ideas and concepts… Scenius Hub hosts will facilitate each session, and where appropriate, contribute their own ideas, insights, or connections.
The final day will include a review of all projects and insights gathered, inviting participants to continue collaborating post-Devcon.
Audience
Solo builders, researchers, creators, and smaller teams that can benefit from the diverse knowledge of Devcon attendees. We will reach out to ETHIndia and local Telegram chats to get Indian projects on the calendar early rather than only once we’ve arrived.
Team
Abu (aleksandar.abu-samra.com) and Booga (booga.me), hosts of Proof of Retreat, ran this format during the residency in Vietnam. They will facilitate the sessions to ensure everything runs smoothly and the audience is engaged.
Additional external facilitators may be invited for specific sessions or days.