Cathay turns art work by children in Sham Shui Po into NFTs

Cathay has become the latest brand in Hong Kong to roll out NFTs to support NGOs and the underprivileged, inviting more than 50 children living in Sham Shui Po to depict the neighbourhood.The project started with a collaboration with children's support centre The Hub Hong Kong and Articoin is an innovative Green NFT platform that combines art and technology to promote Articoin.

A painting contest themed "My Home in Sham Shui Po" has been rolled out as part of the initiative, inviting more than 50 children and teenagers aged from six to 18 at The Hub Hong Kong to join. The participants depicted their stories at Sham Shui Po, a district that is one of the poorest districts in Hong Kong, with a poverty rate standing high at 26.5% and over 109,000 households living in poverty, according to statistics from the Hong Kong government.

The top five pieces from the children’s group and the teenagers’ group were selected and awarded respectively. Their works were minted as 5,000 NFTs and sold on Cathay’s shopping platform Cathay shop, as well as Articoin’s Proof of Capacity (PoC) Green NFT platform.

The NFTs are not similar to their counterparts which are available for secondary market trading, the "My Home in Sham Shui Po" NFTs will serve as exclusive collectibles. Buyers can buy with Asia Miles, cash, or a combination of both of them on Cathay’s shopping platform. In addition, direct purchase on Articoin’s platform by credit card and debit card is also available.

Andy Wong, general manager of corporate affairs at Cathay, said, “Through these NFTs, we hope to provide an innovative new way for people to lend their support to the incredible charitable work being done to help the vulnerable in our community. We are delighted to be collaborating with The Hub Hong Kong and Articoin to share these wonderful creations, which showcase both the creativity of our younger generation and the beauty of our home city, in a sustainable and responsible way."

The company added that Articoin is backed by the more energy friendly PoC mechanism, reducing carbon emissions to a large extent.

Josephine Leung, executive director at The Hub Hong Kong, said, “Since the outbreak of COVID-19 two years ago, funding, staff and operations at charities all around the world have experienced significant cutbacks due to social distancing and donors’ income plunge resulting from the global economic depression during the pandemic. The emergence of blockchain and NFTs offers our charity work a new perspective and possibility."

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