World Identity Network joins World Economic Forum and partners in building a Good Digital ID Platform
NEW YORK, Oct. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — The World Identity Network (WIN) is partnering with the World Economic Forum (WEF) towards establishing a Platform for Good Digital Identity. The Platform seeks to advance global progress towards digital identities that satisfy at least five criteria: they are fit for purpose, inclusive, useful, secure, and offers choice to individuals.
The partners recognize the need for enhanced collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders, each bringing their unique perspective to the issue. The objectives of the collaboration are described in “Identity in a Digital World: A new chapter in the social contract” – a breakthrough report launched during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) gatherings in New York last week.
Speaking at the “Blockchain Symposium” jointly co-hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the Kingdom of Netherlands, Dr. Mariana Dahan, founder and CEO of World Identity Network (WIN) highlighted the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration in building the right ecosystem for a Good Digital Identity: “We need a diversity of perspectives. It is only by working together that we will bring about positive change in the world. Technology itself is not a silver bullet, nor the single answer to the humanitarian challenges we face. But it can act as a catalyst and provide the platform for collaboration.”
One great example of this is how UNOPS partnered with the World Identity Network (WIN) and the UN Office for Information and Communications Technology (OICT) to seek a blockchain-based identity system to provide a solution for human trafficking in Moldova. The “Blockchain for Humanity” Global Challenge brought together technologists, advocates, innovators, government officials and international development experts to help solve one of humanity’s greatest challenges: more than a billion people – mainly women and children – are unable to prove who they are. Without a proof of personal identity, children in particular can become “invisible” to those who could protect them, facing instead the risk of falling prey to smugglers and human traffickers.
Announced by the World Identity Network (WIN) last year, the “Blockchain for Humanity” Global Challenge ran in parallel with the “Turning Invisible Children into Invincible Ones” campaign. Amplified by CEO Mariana Dahan’s recent TEDx Talk, the campaign has received global recognition when nominated to the D&AD Impact Awards and became a finalist in the most transformational Civic Engagement category.
“A major traditional donor has expressed profound interest in this concept. And we are proud to be part of such important progress,” noted Grete Faremo, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNOPS, in her concluding remarks in New York last week.