Okay, so i didnt know anything about ID2020 until Friday night. I was browsing Twitter and one of my go-to people, Chris Skinner, tweeted “I believe i can fly”. The picture reminded me of the St. Michael statue outside of Coventry Cathedral – which is just outside of my home town. Before too long i realised that this was a UN conference about legal identity. From the tweets it sounded like the conference sparked a lot of debate about identity (of course) and potential solutions (blockchain related) that could provide people with a digital identity. So i started delving into the details, and this is what i found:
Why bother with a legal identity?
There are a couple of reasons (see more below) why a legal identity is important:
- According to the UN, about a fifth of the world population doesn’t have a legal identity, that’s about 1.5 billion people
- Keep in mind the global population is about 7.4 billion – so that is a lot of people.
- Unfortunately, that means that a heck of a lot of people are invisible to the wider society – they don’t exist, and as such are vulnerable to trafficking, prostitution and child abuse
The ID2020 Annual Summit
The Identity conference sounded pretty cool:
- ID2020 is an annual United Nations summit that took place on Friday 20th May
- The ID2020 looks to bring together people who can help create legal digital identities for vulnerable people around the world
- Identity cuts through so may few different areas, and without an identity your options are pretty limited – just ask Jason Bourne…..
- There were some pretty big speakers, leaders and personalities at this conference – from Treasurers, Big 4 Consultancies, and global aid and financial agencies – you get the picture, some big chiefs from across a wide spectrum of business and aid agencies
- We’re at a cross roads right now, where digital has the ability to transform the way in which we do things – and when it comes to identity , there is a strong consensus that blockchain is the way forward
Juicy Identity Tweets from the ID2020 Annual Summit
I have listed at the end of this email a couple of interesting and informative articles, but Twitter is where i found the juicy stuff:
1. The 2030 Objective
#ID2020 Digital Identity Summit at UN Summit. Session 1: Welcome and Opening Remarks #GraphicRecording pic.twitter.com/vCKIZ1OrK3
— Christopher Allen (@ChristopherA) May 20, 2016
2. What is a Legal Identity?
@JohnEdgex how about a ‘Geneva convention’ or ‘Kyoto Protocol’ on universal legal identity?#ID2020 Internationl Law pic.twitter.com/NokcOk9Zel — Ajit Tripathi (@triptananda) May 21, 2016
3. The Challenge: Self Sovereign Identity
The challenge: safe, fair, self-sovereign IDs for all 7 billion of us. #ID2020 comes to the UN. Congrats @JohnEdgex pic.twitter.com/rzExatBffF — Michael Casey (@mikejcasey) May 20, 2016
4. What is a Self Sovereign Identity
#ID2020 Patrick Deegan: What makes a identity self-sovereign? An identifier an individual can register independently and keep forever — Drummond Reed (@drummondreed) May 20, 2016
5. Identity diversity
.@Kyle_ish nails it! We have many different valuable identities. There is no one way to define this, folks. #ID2020 pic.twitter.com/Jk0EN0NqKn — Michael Casey (@mikejcasey) May 20, 2016
6. Old Problems, New Solutions
#DTCC created in 1970s to solve a paper crisis; in 2010s, can’t you solve a digital crisis? T+3 c’mon #ID2020 pic.twitter.com/nPPfKDmLVz — Chris Skinner (@Chris_Skinner) May 20, 2016
7. Who Owns Your Identity?
Art. 6 of UN Decl. of HR neglects to mention who owns ID. @yorkerhodes proposes that individuals owns their IDs (using blockchain) #ID2020 — Laura Spiekerman (@lauraspiekerman) May 20, 2016
8. Identity matters – Financial Inclusion:
Kenya v Tanzania: one has focused on govt ID programs has broadened financial health & #inclusion; & the other hasn’t, is suffering #ID2020 — Ghela Boskovich (@GhelaBoskovich) May 20, 2016
9. Identity matters – Human Trafficking:
Human traffickers first action is to destroy their victims identification papers = let’s get rid of paper identities #ID2020 @UN — Chris Skinner (@Chris_Skinner) May 20, 2016
10. Identity matters – Legal Rights:
Estimated 230 million children w/o birth certificates giving them no legal standing & making them susceptible to human trafficking #id2020 — Ian Glazer (@iglazer) May 20, 2016
11. Identity matters – The Reality:
#ID2020 Digital Identity Summit at UN Summit. Session 2: What is the Reality? #GraphicRecording pic.twitter.com/GVQJ80Q7Or — Christopher Allen (@ChristopherA) May 20, 2016
10. Or Is Identity Simply A Way of Big Brother Keeping Tabs?
“1/5th of the world’s population is without legal identity.”~#ID2020 Oh, u mean 1/5th of the world is actually free, right? #IDisforCattle — Dr. Brian Sovryn Ω (@sovryntech) May 22, 2016
11. Let’s Decentralise
Last 20 yrs every point in ID tech, there’s been fear or fact of centralization. Now can have decentralized approach–@ChristopherA #ID2020 — Marc Hochstein (@MarcHochstein) May 20, 2016
12. Blockchain anyone….?
. @ethereumJoseph bestowing #blockchain knowledge at the @UN with #ID2020 pic.twitter.com/rw5ykPsyRy — ConsenSys (@ConsenSysLLC) May 20, 2016
13. If Blockchain is the solution, how do you manage it?
Amidst all the #ID2020 enthusiasm for #blockchain, did anyone discuss key management for 1.5 billion people? @identity2020 — Steve Wilson (@Steve_Lockstep) May 21, 2016
14. Are We Ready for a Blockchain Solution?
I do hear #blockchain repeatedly offered as part of solutions for #ID2020—key point I make is we are still learning: https://t.co/mPkYD9MgG9 — Christopher Allen (@ChristopherA) May 20, 2016
15. In theory…
Someone just said it on panel… It’s really important to move from the abstract to the concrete as soon as possible #ID2020 — Ajit Tripathi (@triptananda) May 20, 2016
16. Hey, I want a bit of Privacy
Scarily insightful. So easy to throw up data with #blockchain, hard to keep it private. #ID2020 https://t.co/LZEWKHY53S — Timothy Ruff (@RuffTimo) May 21, 2016
17. What about Social Media?
.@Chris_Skinner‘s panel talks about “overdoing identity” – related, his post on social KYC: https://t.co/TeRQxSINl4 #ID2020 — Laura Spiekerman (@lauraspiekerman) May 20, 2016
18. What is Identity, and which attributes to use?
Ahhhh. Just 1 Facebook login has about 1400 attributes associated with your identity #Microsoft #ID2020 @identity2020 — Margie Cheesman (@margiecheese) May 20, 2016
19. Does the Technology Matter?
@evgenymorozov @Engbrg Clearly there are varying opinions on #blockchain, and yes, a lot of hype. #ID2020 https://t.co/cWuDIaPhHQ — James Bryce Clark (@JamieXML) May 22, 2016
20. Technology Can Make It Happen
#ID2020 Digital Identity Summit at UN HQ. Session 5: What Can Tech Do To Make This A Reality?#GraphicRecording pic.twitter.com/NYGCgd6IaD — Christopher Allen (@ChristopherA) May 20, 2016
21. Let’s Do It
#ID2020 Digital Identity Summit at UN Headquarters. Session 8: Getting Started? #GraphicRecording pic.twitter.com/jgBJX5LmtR — Christopher Allen (@ChristopherA) May 20, 2016
22. There is a whole lot more to Identity than Technology
Mark my words: The hardest problem in universal identity is not tech. Its the last mile problem of data collection and verification #ID2020 — Ajit Tripathi (@triptananda) May 20, 2016
23. You can run, but you can’t hide
#id2020 why is self sov identity a myth? Because a sufficiently funded actor can always find you with data #privacy pic.twitter.com/2K0NmiTuS6 — Ajit Tripathi (@triptananda) May 23, 2016
24. I have an Identity, Now What?
It isn’t just about #identity, it’s about what you do with it, @Anjupatwardhan sums up #ID2020 pic.twitter.com/R1l7hm4hKm
— Ghela Boskovich (@GhelaBoskovich) May 20, 2016
25. How To Make a Digital Identity A Reality
#ID2020 Digital Identity Summit at UN Headquarters. Session 9 (and last): Call to Action! #GraphicRecording pic.twitter.com/TphNKFMMDj
— Christopher Allen (@ChristopherA) May 20, 2016
26. Digital Identity Barriers
#ID2020 Digital Identity Summit at UN Headquarters. Session 6: What Could Get In The Way? #GraphicRecording pic.twitter.com/r7venIRZbP
— Christopher Allen (@ChristopherA) May 20, 2016
27. A Timely Reminder…
#Identity throughout history has been weaponized. –@mikejcasey at #ID2020 — Tanaya Macheel (@TanayaMacheel) May 20, 2016
28. At the end of the Day, it is pretty simple
FinServs have 2 parts: #authentication and accounting. Once you prove you are who you say you are, it’s just moving money around. #ID2020
— Tanaya Macheel (@TanayaMacheel) May 20, 2016
29. Is this the Future of Identity?
We were asked to draw what identity will be like in 2031, here’s what I came up with. #ID2020 @ChristopherA pic.twitter.com/XXNNPFEROX— Wayne Vaughan (@WayneVaughan) May 21, 2016
Sources:
- The Finanser – The inhumanity of humans and the importance of identity
- Brave New Coin – ID2020, held at the United Nations, features ‘lots and lots of Blockchain’
- EconoTimes – ID2020 Summit Held At UN Headquarters Featured Blockchain Centric Companies
- Business Wire – ID2020 Hosts Digital Identity Summit at United Nations
- PwC – ID2020 to kick start digital identity summit at UN with PwC support
- Business Wire – ID2020 Hosts Digital Identity Summit at United Nations