Zanzalu is a Zuzalu spin-off in Zanzibar from May 15 to June 21.

We are targeting 60-100 residents in Fumba Town, a small community 30 minutes south of Stone Town, the primary city.

The themes of Zanzalu are charter cities, web3, and pop up cities, with a strong emphasis on attracting African talent.

We have a core team of 9 people including Mark Lutter, Eva Klaus, Brooke Bowman, Chance McAllister, Thor Kampefner, Eric Annan, Elaine Wang, Noah Chon Lee, and KC.

Vision:

Our vision is to empower a community of builders, thinkers, and leaders to meaningfully progress human flourishing through technological, scientific, and social innovation.

Mission

Our mission is to cultivate a growth ecosystem in Zanzibar which incubates experimentation, nurtures community, and inspires intentional action. The mission has three distinct components.Bringing together African builders: Africans often don’t have the same opportunities as those from better connected and higher income countries. By locating in Zanzibar we can bring some of the Zuzalu community to Africa.

Bringing together pop up city organizers:

The pop up city model has proven successful! Lots of people are organizing events inspired by Zuzalu. By bringing together many of the pop up city organizers, we can help build relationships and outline a set of best practices.

Encouraging people to visit Zanzibar:

Lots of interesting stuff is happening in Zanzibar! The Indian Institute of Technology opened their first overseas campus in October 2023. The African School of Economics is opening their first East Africa campus in 2024. The Charter Cities Institute is partnering with CPS to develop a satellite city on Fumba Peninsula.

Tracks/Themes

Due to space constraints, we’re encouraging people to come as residents, not as visitors. Because we are focusing on residents, instead of having week-long tracks, we want certain themes to be present throughout the event. Our current thinking is to plan the first week or two, then let the community self-organize for the following weeks depending on what their interest is.

Pop up Cities:

Pop up cities are a new organizational form. Lots of people are doing different versions of them. By bringing together the organizers we can share notes on what works, what doesn’t work, and improve the ecosystem. Further, if there is interest among pop up city organizers, we can form a loose confederation to help organize this emerging space.

Charter Cities:

The Charter Cities Institute is working with CPS-Live on a charter city on Fumba Peninsula. The Charter Cities Institute is also partnering with the African School of Economics to open their first campus in East Africa. There are lots of learnings from this experience that could be useful to other organizers of pop up cities.

Web3:

Web3 is a new coordination mechanism that humanity is beginning to understand. We want to experiment with technology that can help our community and others, as well as figure out how web3 can impact Africa.

Local engagement and culture: It’s important for Zanzalu to engage the local community. We want to invite artists to show their work, host participatory workshops with university students, engage with the government, and more.

Inspired by Zuzalu, here are the values of Zanzalu:

• Innovation: Experiment with solutions that advance human progress and collaborative living; do things that have not been done before, that the rest of the world is not doing.
• Curiosity: Commit to perpetual learning, exploring the edges of technology and science while seeking a deeper comprehension of the world.
• Honesty: Take sense-making seriously; embrace a culture of intellectual humility; acknowledge fallibility and engage in discourse that challenges ideas to refine our understanding; be honest.
• Kindness: Cultivate a community where hospitality and mutual respect are the cornerstones, ensuring a nurturing environment for all members.Bias for action: Work to implement the positive change you want to see in the world; be willing to make personal effort to help achieve our goals; take intentional action and move purposefully.
• Self-expression: Explore and creatively share your talents, interests, and aspirations in the spirit of community; uphold a safe environment that allows for open self-expression.
• Personal growth: Embrace continuous self-improvement; value constructive feedback; foster a growth mindset to nurture individual and collective advancement.
• Civic responsibility: Take accountability for personal behavior; participate constructively in the community to seriously uphold the values and culture of ZuMax; be positive-sum.

Budget:

We plan to offer everyone breakfast, rent coworking and presentation space, hire Zanzibar artists to participate, and subsidize people who might not otherwise be able to attend. We anticipate being cash flow neutral, though that depends on the subsidies we are able to provide. Our immediate need is to reserve housing units so we can start the admissions process.