Cape Town will host an important gathering on digital identity initiatives and innovation in the SADC region at the end of September.
Local digital identity start-up, DIDx is proud to announce that they, together with the renowned Internet Identity Workshop (IIW), will host DID:UNCONF AFRICA, a groundbreaking event set to revolutionise the digital identity landscape in the SADC region.
This two-day open space ‘unconference’ will take place on 25 to 26 September at the Hasso Plattner Design School at UCT, following in the footsteps of its inspiration, the Internet Identity Workshop (IIW), held twice a year in Silicon Valley since 2005.
An unconference is a participant-driven meeting. The term “unconference” has been applied, or self-applied, to a wide range of gatherings that try to avoid hierarchical aspects of a conventional conference, such as sponsored presentations and top-down organisation.
Digital identity underpins most of our interactions in the digital space. In an increasingly digital world, the ability to prove who you are online has become crucial for accessing services, conducting business, and participating in society.
This is where digital identity comes in. Digital identity is a set of attributes that uniquely describe an individual or organisation in the digital realm. It’s the key that unlocks everything from mobile connectivity, digital sign-ups, and online banking to e-health services and even online government services.
“We are excited to bring the first IIW-inspired event to Africa. DID:UNCONF AFRICA is a unique platform for innovation and collaboration in digital identity, offering attendees the chance to actively shape the future of this crucial field,” said Gideon Lombard, DIDx COO.
With numerous separate digital identity initiatives currently underway in South Africa and across the African continent, DID:UNCONF AFRICA serves as an ideal melting pot where diverse industry stakeholders can converge on best practices and align on the way forward.
DID:UNCONF AFRICA aims to bridge the digital identity gap in the SADC region, offering a unique platform for knowledge exchange and networking, ultimately paving the way for greater inclusivity within the digital knowledge-based economy of today.
Focusing on digital identity, including self-sovereign identity and trust-based ecosystems, the event seeks to lay the groundwork for a more secure and user-centric digital future in South Africa and beyond.
The event brings together digital trailblazers, researchers, technologists, government representatives, entrepreneurs, tech startup founders, NGOs, banking professionals, and digital inclusion activists to promote progress, collaboration, and interoperability in digital identity solutions.
DID:UNCONF AFRICA features a more organic, dynamic, participant-driven, co-created agenda, established on the fly during each of the two days of the event.
While this approach requires trust and openness from participants, it often yields richer, more innovative outcomes by tapping into the collective expertise and creativity of all attendees. The open space format ensures that all voices are heard and that discussions remain current and relevant to the rapidly evolving digital identity landscape.
The event will be led by renowned facilitators Kaliya Young and Heidi Nobantu Saul, in collaboration with local experts from DIDx.
Canadian-born Young is one of the world’s leading experts on decentralized and self-sovereign identity technologies. She previously authored one of the quintessential works on the topic, A Comprehensive Guide to Self-Sovereign Identity. She currently serves as an adjunct professor at Merritt College, close to the heart of Silicon Valley, in California, USA.
Saul is a leading specialist in planning, production, and facilitation of ‘open space’ meetings and unconferences. She is the primary producer of the Internet Identity Workshop.
The event will delve into critical topics such as assessing readiness for digital identity at scale in Africa, protective identity systems against surveillance, and economically sustainable digital ID models for citizen services.
Participants will also explore global digital identity standards in the African context and discuss how digital identity can promote financial inclusion. Key themes to be explored include self-sovereign identity, blockchain-based identity, user-centric identity, and digital identity for inclusive development.
But DID:UNCONF AFRICA is more than just an event; it’s a movement towards an inclusive, secure, and innovative digital tomorrow.
The unconference provides a unique free-form opportunity for attendees to engage in meaningful discussions, share knowledge, and collaborate on real-time projects that could shape our digital future in the SADC region and beyond.
Various national and international parties have come on board as sponsors for the event. For organisations looking to align themselves with this initiative, numerous sponsorship packages are still available. Interested parties may contact the organisers at [email protected] or visit https://didunconf.africa/sponsorships for more information on how to support and be a part of this gathering.
