Consensus 2015 is a digital currency summit to be held on September 10 in New York City. This event was made possible by CoinDesk in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab’s Digital Currency Initiative and is planning on providing 50 diversity and inclusion scholarships.

These scholarships are being offered to women and people of color between 18 to 25 years of age, as the group aims to increase the diversity in the digital currency community. Based on a recent study conducted by CoinDesk, fewer than one in 10 bitcoin owners (8.2%) are female, while over 72% describe their ethnicity as “white”.

Digital Currency Summit

The MIT Media Lab’s DCI and CoinDesk will work with local groups to select Consensus Scholars, such as CODE2040, Girls Who Code, Microsoft-sponsored TEALS programme and National Center for Women & Information Technology.

“Our hope is to expose more young people, from a diverse set of backgrounds to the powerful potential of digital currency. The Consensus Scholarships will allow young people to ask questions, gain unique insights and meet with leaders in the digital currency movement,” said Brian Forde, director of the Media Lab’s DCI.

Aside from being able to participate in the digital currency summit for free, scholarship recipients will also gain mentorship from leaders in the industry such as executives from Citi and other speakers during the event to develop a deeper understanding of the digital currency economy.

In addition, Consensus 2015 is donating 10% of tickets, worth a total of $75,000, while the Media Lab’s DCI is actively working with a number of organisations to identify scholars and facilitate mentorship at the summit. Meanwhile, the MIT Media Lab’s DCI is focused on bringing together digital currency experts from all over the world to explore cryptocurrency developments, trends, and opportunities in various fields such as technology, banking and finance, and social impact.