https://nasacademy.com/blog/article/maliha-abidi-the-nft-artist-whos-building-the-first-metaverse-school
With the world of web3 and the metaverse on the horizon, many people are already jumping on board to make sure we’re building it right.
One of those people is Maliha Abidi.
Maliha is a young Pakistani artist, activist and NFT creator who is working side by side with other organizations to build the first school in the metaverse.
Maliha grew up in Pakistan and at a very young age, she realized that there was a lot of injustice in the world. She witnessed things like child marriages, girls without access to proper education – and when she moved to America at 14, it only got worse.
One thing Maliha had always used as a way to cope was art. She loved to draw, create, and express herself especially through drawing portraits.
As Maliha transitioned into her new life in America, she noticed there was a lot of ignorance in the world when it came to cultural differences. So many acts of hatred were happening all around her – and she knew she wanted to help.
So, she did what she knew best: she started drawing.
Maliha drew portrait after portrait to raise awareness for social justice, raise money for organizations fighting for equality, mental health and especially, women’s and girls’ education.
She even started selling some of her art to help her pay for University. And after her work started getting attention, the father of Malala Yousafzai from the Malala Fund donated $100 to help her fund her post-secondary education.
If you look at Maliha’s work, she draws portraits that represent women from all around the world. One of those pieces being an image of a woman with gray skin to represent how regardless of skin color, women are still women.
Since beginning her journey, she’s been traveling around to different countries, speaking at different conferences, writing books, and her work has even been featured by big media outlets like Glamour Magazine, BBC, Popsugar, Malala Fund, TRT World.
And as her career has flourished, she was able to give back $16,000 to the Malala fund.
Just recently, Maliha has started to take a different path with her work to take it to the next level. She dove into an important and growing industry to try and build a more inclusive future for all: Web3.
Her husband first introduced her to the world of NFTs, and she saw a great opportunity to bring women into the space on the ground floor using her art.
As women were often left behind in the tech leadership space the first time around with the Web2, Maliha wanted to see the next technological breakthrough include not just people of one gender and one race – but all genders, and all races.
So, Maliha quickly jumped in the space. She created an NFT collection with her portrait art called Women Rise. The project was started by a full Pakistani team, with 5600 unique holders and a mission to bring 100,000 more women into the crypto and Web3 space by the end of 2022.
They’ve also started working on creating the very first school in the metaverse! This is a global campaign where they are partnering with other organizations to bring education to young girls and underprivileged communities, and create a cultural shift in education and tech.
Their plan is to also help bridge the digital divide by providing countries and communities with the tech they need to be part of this future. This way, everybody can build the career skills they need for the jobs of Web3, have access to basic education within the metaverse – and the chance to learn from global teachers.
To Maliha, NFTs are not just about owning digital assets or selling art to make millions.
She sees this technology as a decentralized runway to bring opportunities that have been kept from so many communities, and especially women. People’s voices who have never been valued or heard finally will be – and opportunities in tech, education finance and the overall economy will be far richer than ever before.
When it comes to crypto and NFTs, a lot of the discussion is around money and using advancements like this to “get rich quick”. But Maliha sees it as a way to create financial independence for us all – and not only to grow our bank accounts, but to advance human rights and make the real world change as well as the digital world.
Maliha is joining Nas Academy to teach a free live workshop all about how to use NFTs to make a difference in the world around you. Join this interactive space to learn more about how you can use NFTs and Web3 to promote your message, help others – and also get the chance network with other like minded people from all around the world. Join the waitlist today.
Create a Social Impact Within The NFT/Crypto Space
By Admin Nas Academy
By Admin Nas Academy
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