Countdown to August 5: Last Call for DV Cohort 5 Applications

Governance
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Countdown to August 5: Last Call for DV Cohort 5 Applications

Community, friends, and fellow Polkadot‐builders — in just a few days the application window for Decentralized Voices (Cohort 5) slams shut at 11:59 PM CET on August 5 2025 . If you have been thinking about stepping up as a governance delegate or a new “DV-Light” domain guardian >> now is the moment to Submit.

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What You’ll Need

  1. Polkadot/Kusama address with on-chain identity fields.
  2. A public governance philosophy post on the Polkadot Forum that explains how you decide on your votes
  3. Proof of past OpenGov engagement (on-chain votes, Polkassembly comments, forum threads, etc.).
  4. The official application form (link in the announcement post below).

Quick Tips

  • Be concise but personal in your Forum philosophy post; cite 2–3 past examples of things you influenced or referenda you voted on.
  • Highlight specialized knowledge — economics, infra, NFT tooling, regional communities — for DV-Light.
  • Link every proof point (Subsquare, Polkassembly, GitHub, on-chain analytics dashboards).
  • Clarify conflict policies up front: state you will abstain from self-funding or competitor referenda.

Sample Forum Post Snippet (Steal This!)

Title: “DV Cohort 5 Application — Jane_Dot (DV-Light, Infra & Ops)”

Hello Polkadot community :waving_hand:,

I’m Jane, a core contributor at NodeOps and a longtime Polkadot validator. I’m applying for the DV-Light track to focus on infrastructure, reliability, and tooling referenda. My governance lens: open-source pragmatism, sustainable treasury spend, and bias toward infra that lowers friction for newcomers… (continue with 2–3 paragraphs on philosophy and past votes)

Tagging & Formatting

  • Tag your thread with decentralized-voices and governance for visibility.
  • Keep it conversational, respect the Forum Code of Conduct, and avoid price speculation or marketing.

FAQ Lightning Round

Q: I served in an earlier DV cohort — can I reapply?
A: Absolutely, yes. Experience is valuable, but expect to meet the new “one-delegate-one-human” rule.

Q: Is there any upfront compensation?
A: Only full DV delegates receive an end-of-cohort reward; DV-Light relies on community tips.

Ready? Two Steps Left

  1. Finish your Forum philosophy post (or update the old one).
  2. Submit the application form before August 5

We can’t wait to read your submissions and welcome another wave of passionate voices to Polkadot OpenGov.

Apply now, spread the word, and see you on-chain :raised_fist::rocket:

Questions? Drop them below or email dv@web3.foundation.

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