Five years ago, we had a big idea: Let's invite some of the world's smartest and most interesting people, from a broad cross-section of government, business and non-profits, to an intimate and collegial summit on Sir Richard Branson's Necker Island. There, we'll identify creative new ways that blockchain technology can make the world a better place. Then, we'll turn those ideas into action.

This week, the Blockchain Summit — organized by Bitfury, ACTAI and the Global Blockchain Business Council — celebrates its fifth anniversary as one of the most important and impactful gatherings in the blockchain ecosystem.

This year, the Blockchain Summit will focus primarily on government. Our honored guests — some of today's biggest game-changers in technology, academics, policy and regulatory issues, media, business, conservation and digital finance — will confront the broken systems and services that are failing their citizens every day. With an eye toward blockchain and other emerging technologies, we will identify ways that we can best repair them.

To discover how we can make the world a more just and livable place, we must start by talking about our governments and the rules they create and implement. We will discuss how these institutions have supported innovation and analyze if (and how) they are applying the same innovative spirit to themselves and their responsibilities.

We'll talk about the declining levels of trust and blockchain's role in repairing that. We'll discuss security issues and blockchain's ability to create digital identities. And we'll talk about efficiency — reducing costs, streamlining processes, decreasing audit burdens, and ensuring data integrity.

We'll highlight the importance of smart and innovative regulation. The world is changing so fast; Regulators need to embrace an agile approach to emerging technologies that enables them to evolve and grow.

We'll ask hard questions, like where can we, and the policies and technologies we discussed during this summit, do the most good now? We will discuss two critical issues — the state of journalism in our world today, and the cruel realities of climate change. And we'll analyze where technology is, and isn't, a solution.

And finally, we will learn about the oldest and most successful use case of blockchain to date — digital currencies — and hear from our resident visionaries and experts about other innovations in store for blockchain and crypto.

We'll do this, as always, in an atmosphere that encourages deeper levels of thoughtful conversation than could possibly exist at other conferences. This is what our summit is all about — drawing people out of offices and away from emails and phones so that we can think, talk, and learn from one another, with blockchain as a critical tool in our toolbox.

I encourage you to watch our panel discussions, which will be broadcast on "); background-size: 1px 1px; background-position: 0px calc(1em + 1px);">Facebook Live, and follow our "); background-size: 1px 1px; background-position: 0px calc(1em + 1px);">social media channels for news and updates about the Summit. And let us know what you think. Our Summit will only truly succeed if it sparks discussions and change beyond Necker Island. If we inspire you to imagine new solutions to old problems, reach out and join the conversation. It's only by working together that we can truly make a difference.

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