Over 1 billion people worldwide are unable to prove their identity through any recognized means. As such, they are without the protection of law, and are unable to access basic services, participate as a citizen or voter, or transact in the modern economy. Most of those affected are children and adolescents, and many are refugees, forcibly displaced, or stateless persons. 

 

Trusted digital identity is conventionally the result of an identity provision or registration process backed by governments or corporations based on rules that satisfy the identity needs of the services that interact with that scheme. This is often out of reach for marginalised or excluded communities.

 

For many individuals who either do not have a legal identity, or have a need to protect their human rights, this is an impossible barrier. This talk will highlight other models for the use of digital identity recognising that people are best placed to decide how they are identified digitally not governments or corporations. Models that promote inclusion through the ability for everyone to obtain a digital identity based on the proof they have, trust and wish to disclose.

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• Many of the most vulnerable people in the world are without the means of proving their identity and the protection this can afford.

 

• For some, including refugees, the stateless, and other marginalized groups, reliance on national identification systems isn't possible.

 

• New approaches to digital identity where multiple methods of trust are available to individuals when proving their identity are essential, including the portability of identity and trust between schemes as well as across borders.