Modular Carnival

The Brazilian Web3 ecosystem is no stranger to Web3 events, but Modular Carnival in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, delivered something unique—an experience deeply rooted in Brazilian culture. Taking place from February 25th to March 1st, right before the country stops to celebrate Carnaval, one of the largest celebrations in the world, this event broke away from the mainstream.

During the last quarter of 2024, CeLatam invited Latam researchers to contribute to the “Hacking Growth” projects, where we joined efforts to understand the State of the Art of the tokenization of Real World Assets and Regenerative Finance in Latin America and Stablecoins in Brazil. The three teams divided the work into researching and showcasing, and Modular Crypto created space within Modular Carnival for a panel to showcase the results.

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Representing CeLatam, I had the opportunity to speak at the Café Stage— the stages were branded merging according to elements of the local culture (Coffee, Cheese Bread, Cheese, etc). I presented the findings of the Hacking Growth research published last year, and dived into how impact-driven initiatives can fundraise.

Usually, the speaker's experience is way better than that of the participant, as you can share your point of view, making it easier for people to connect with you and explore it. But for this one, there was no need for a stage for people to feel free to connect. I saw two companies and a Web3 National Community being built during the event, all of them by people who had just met for the first time, two of them from people attending their first Web3 event.

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Not Just a Web3 Event in Brazil—A Brazilian Web3 Event

One of the most striking aspects of Modular Carnival was its commitment to moving beyond the conventional formula of Web3 conferences. Instead of generic “let me sell my product” panels, every talk delivered meaningful content, addressing relevant challenges and opportunities within the ecosystem. The event didn't just take place in Brazil—it embodied Brazil. 

From its branding to venue selection, and audience engagement, everything was infused with a local essence that made it stand apart from other global Web3 gatherings.

It was localism!

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A Regional & Global Representation

While the event was proudly Brazilian in its execution, it also served as a regional Web3 hub. I counted representatives from six different Latin American countries (Guatemala, Ecuador, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, and Brazil). As Brazil prepares to host ETH LatAm, this event served as proof that the country is ready to welcome our hermanos from Latin America, and provide a meaningful experience for both the people, and the sponsors.

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Engaging the Next Generation

One of the most remarkable elements of Modular Carnival was its audience. From something around 1k people, around 90% of attendees were high school students, many of whom were experiencing Web3 for the first time. Rather than simply attending talks, they were onboarded through a gamified experience. By searching for hidden Web3 terms throughout the venue, they collected on-chain certifications that could be exchanged for prizes.

In conversations with some of these students, many were genuinely excited about the possibilities Web3 could offer for their future careers, the spark in their eyes was evident to anyone that already had the same feeling while attending the first Web3 event. A few even expressed interest in launching Web3-based projects. The event not just successfully sparked curiosity and ambition among young minds, but also delivered the first hackathon prize to a group of young people that had their first contact with web3 intro a few weeks earlier. 

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The Venue & Local Integration

The choice of venue was another highlight. Minas Centro, located right in front of Mercado Central—a bustling cultural and culinary landmark—allowed attendees to seamlessly step out and experience a piece of Belo Horizonte. Mercado Central is a treasure trove of local culture, offering everything from artisanal cheese (Minas Gerais is Brazil’s largest cheese producer) to rare gems and even airsoft guns. The ability to cross the street for a quick local snack added to the immersive experience of the event.

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More Than Just a Conference—A Celebration

The event didn’t just cater to attendees—it also made an impression on the event staff. I took the time to speak with several members of the organizing team, and their excitement was palpable. Unlike many conferences where staff members are detached from the content, at Modular Carnival, they were just as engaged as the students.

Even the food reflected the thoughtful curation of the experience. Unlike the typical conference fare, the meals at Modular Carnival were notably healthy, aligning with the overall intention of creating a holistic, enriching event.

Final Thoughts

In 2022, Brazil had its first major Web3 event with Ethereum Rio. Several meetups sparked by initiatives such as Rio Crypto Hub, Play4Change, and local communities took place, nurturing the soil for another round of significant events with NFT Brasil, Blockchain in Rio, Blockchain Festival (in São Paulo), and ETH Samba. 

The second generation of events was primarily local. People willing to build local communities launched several local events in at least four of the five regions of the country (and Brazil is not a small country), highlighting local communities in places such as Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Florianopolis, Curitiba, Minas Gerais, and Salvador.

Modular Carnival launched the Third Generation of Web3 events in Brazil, learning from the success of previous events, inviting everyone to build together, and delivering a very Brazilian welcome to the attendees.

While the first generation of events brought attention and a large event to Brazil, the second generation nurtured small communities. This third generation of events, if following the example of Modular Carnival, will be characterized by larger regional events, not for cities but States, welcoming the Web3 community in Latin America and focused on meaningful content and gamified onboarding.

It was mostly an inspiring event. I doubt that a single builder there didn’t experience the feeling of being willing to build a similar event in their city. 

Modular Carnival was a refreshing departure from the typical Web3 event. It was about community, culture, and local impact. By prioritizing education, accessibility, and local integration, the event set a new standard for a regional Web3 gathering.

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Open Doors and Celo presence in Belo Horizonte

By the end of the presentation, three researchers came to me (one senior Professor and two young researchers), asking how to learn more about the “Hacking Growth” research and the panel about impact of capital allocation. The Professor, who is the Head of the Computer Science Department in the Federal University of Ouro Preto (one of the most prominent research centers regarding RWA in Brazil), introduced me to the department and to the KryptoLab, their Web3 research facility, opening a new door for us to experiment with DeSci and ReFi with the Federal University.

The most significant part of the audience (90% of 1100 people) was composed of high school students; it was the result of the partnership between Modular Crypto and ColaBH. I asked the lead of ColaBH, Filipe Saboia, about how they did that, and they not only explained their strategy but also revealed that they leveraged the partnership by bringing Blockchain na Escola in and onboarding 840 students to Celo through Valora in one week.

Verber, the project's current lead, and an old friend, asked for a meeting to discuss potential coordination with Celo Hubs in LatAm to scale the initiative to other countries in LatAm.

The crew from ColaBH also shared that last year they organized the first Web3 event in Belo Horizonte, where people paid local commerce with Celo, through Valora.

When I asked Verber about how it feels to be pioneering Celo's presence in Belo Horizonte, he reminded me of the Bankless event, Descentraliza BH, in 2022, supported by AgroforestDAO (from remaining funds from their event, they would return to ReFi Spring), where I shared about Climate Collective and Celo. Interesting surprise and make it worth to know Celo’s presence in Belo Horizonte. My surprise made Verber invite CeLatam to publish an article about Celo in Belo Horizonte to prepare the ovens for experimentation with MiniPay.

However, one of the most significant opportunities for CeLatam to foster new use cases for Celo in Brazil came because I was attending the event but from someone who was not in the event. Rafael Freire is the founder of Liga Colaborativa dos Povos, Senior Coordinator at GAMBA, the oldest environmentalist group in the State of Bahia, the oldest in Brazil, and advisor to the National Fund of Nature Protection; knew that I was traveling to attend the event and asked if I was willing to extend my trip joining him, and a crew from one of the largest newspapers in Brazil to check the impact of clean energy projects implemented in the northeast region of Brazil.

Our team is still digesting the information with Rafael, but soon, we will publish an article describing the results of the trip. I can say, in advance, that we’re talking about major international use cases for MRV tooling and impact capital allocation frameworks.

For CeLatam, this was more than just an opportunity to share insights—it was a chance to participate in a new chapter in the history of Web3 in Latin America. With young builders stepping into the space, local ecosystems thriving, and a truly engaged audience, the future of Web3 in Latin America looks promising.