- Referenda/
- Medium Spender/
- #1539/
JAM China Academy (Educational Roadshow)
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PolkaWorld vote AYE on this proposal!
In our third week as a DV, this is the most well-structured and detailed proposal we’ve come across so far.
This is exactly the kind of clarity and planning we hope to see more of in OpenGov.
Clear strategic focus and compelling value proposition:
• The proposal sets a precise goal: to promote JAM education and awareness among Chinese universities, entrepreneurs, and policymakers, laying the groundwork for long-term ecosystem entry points.
• It persuasively outlines how JAM aligns with China’s strategic focus on RISC-V chip development and technological self-reliance.A credible and experienced proposer:
• The proposal is led by Qinwen, former China Lead at the Web3 Foundation. Her team’s project, Lollipop, is the first officially announced project building on JAM—demonstrating deep alignment with the core ecosystem. Many in the community have asked about PolkaWorld’s relationship with Qinwen—so we want to be upfront: we have no financial ties. But over the past six years, we’ve stood side by side—Qinwen from the Foundation’s side, PolkaWorld from the community’s side—both consistently contributing to Polkadot’s growth in Asia. We fully recognize her commitment and contribution to the ecosystem.
• The broader team includes respected figures in Web3 education, media, and research, all with solid track records.Thorough execution plan:
• From curriculum design and target audiences (students, entrepreneurs, government) to the ambassador system, offline events, and media rollout, every component comes with clear deliverables and budget details.
• The timeline is well-defined (preparation starts in May; lectures and outreach run from June to October), with specific milestones.
Bonus point: We also noticed the personnel cost is just $22.8/hour—remarkably cost-effective! For comparison, PolkaWorld runs at $19.6/hour, while many proposals in the ecosystem list rates around $100/hour or even higher.
Finally, we’d like to offer some additional perspective.
Following Gavin Wood’s JAM tour in China, Qinwen shared with us her intention to translate the JAM Gray Paper. Over the past two months, we’ve observed her and her team deeply immersed in the research and translation process—not simply converting words from one language to another, but demonstrating a clear and deliberate commitment to bringing JAM into the Chinese-speaking world.
And this is far more than a translation task. Anyone who has read the JAM Gray Paper would understand that recreating its dense mathematical structure—manually typing out every formula, every symbol, every line from scratch—is a meticulous and mentally demanding process. It reflects not just technical diligence, but a sincere determination to make this groundbreaking protocol accessible, understandable, and meaningful for an entirely new audience.
In addition, she authored the piece “Three Enlightenments of Blockchain Grandmaster Gavin Wood: Decoding JAM’s Transformative Blueprint”—a work that reflects not only technical clarity but also thoughtful design and cultural resonance. While it may appear as just another article, the level of effort behind its structure, aesthetics, and storytelling speaks to her long-term commitment to bridging Web3 innovation with public understanding. It’s also worth noting that all of this work was self-funded and has not relied on any prior treasury support.
Even in the current proposal, the team has set their personnel costs at just $22.8/hour, which is highly competitive compared to many other educational proposals in the ecosystem. While larger programs like PBA serve a broad and essential purpose, we believe it’s equally important for OpenGov to support smaller-scale, high-leverage educational efforts that demonstrate strong alignment, clarity of execution, and cost-efficiency.
JAM Implementers DAO Abstains on this proposal due to lack of quorum -- comments thus far as follows:
📅 Timing Concerns:
Multiple members expressed that the proposal may be premature, suggesting it would be better timed after the public testnet and service SDK are available. This would help attract ecosystem developers beyond just node client builders.
💰 Budget Scale & Scope:
The $288k request was seen as too large for a 4–5 month scope. Comparisons were drawn to previous IUR-style proposals, which operated effectively on much smaller budgets (~$10k USD).
📢 Marketing Funds:
A $60k marketing allocation was flagged as excessive. Some felt this should be handled separately by a dedicated Marketing Bounty with professional oversight.
🎓 Ambassador Incentives:
Objections were raised to $1200/month ambassador subsidies, especially since similar educational or ambassador programs (e.g., Ethereum Protocol Fellowship, Polkadot) do not provide such compensation levels.
🌍 Global Impact:
There was a call for the educational focus to have a broader, more global reach, rather than appearing narrowly targeted.
This is an incredibly thoughtful and high-impact proposal that is super important for successful blockchain adoption in China. From translating and promoting the JAM Gray Paper to developing a full educational curriculum and localized strategy, Qinwen and the Lollipop Team have demonstrated big vision, and I personally read the chinese version of the JAM paper by Qinwen, it is in high quality and super beautiful, I am also excited for the course that is designed for Chinese computer science students, students are the future, I would like share my support and big AYE from me