MOSIP’s marquee event – MOSIP Connect – took place between March 5th and 7th this year in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in partnership with NIDP. This event sought to bring multiple stakeholders in the realm of Digital Public Infrastructure under one roof to engage in conversation, debate, knowledge-sharing, technology demonstrations, and collaborations around the building of DPI across the world.
The three days witnessed presentations, roadmaps, workshops, bilateral meetings, and panel discussions that illustrated the pressing need for collaborative work across technology, governance, policy, and research in order to offer the world holistic, secure, and inclusive solutions around foundational ID and service delivery.
The day began with plenary and keynote addresses by Her Excellency Tigist Hamid (Director General, INSA) and Mr. Yodahe Zemichael (Executive Director, NIDP). The day’s breakout sessions included panel discussions where countries, including the Philippines and Morocco, shared insights into their MOSIP-adoption journeys. Discussions also took place on biometrics and quality assurance, and participants were offered an inside look at the work of MOSIP’s architects.
Day 2 explored methods to achieve meaningful change through the meeting of technology and innovative, on-ground solutions, enabling residents’ access to rights and services.
OWF’s Brian Behlendorf’s keynote address on Day 2 highlighted key factors around open source, specifically on open wallets as the future of identity verification, and the immense possibilities MOSIP's collaboration with OWF has to offer. CDPI’s Pramod Varma delivered a plenary session, offering a first-principle’s understanding of the need for credentials and key strategies to leverage them to ease service delivery for governments and the economy. The gathering also got a glimpse of MOSIP’s roadmap in the coming year, gaining insight into all that the project has been working on and will make available very soon.
Day 2 also offered informative talks on specific topics including open-source licensing, liveness detection and fraud management, the evolution of paper credentials to digital ones, and building trust in cross-border identity. Throughout the day, sessions sparked in-depth discussion and debate, answering important questions and concerns around a myriad of themes including security, quality, sustainability, and modalities.
Day 3 explored MOSIP and its ecosystem of technology, country, and academic partners, and their collaborations on working towards a future of digital transformation, where no one is left behind.
The event’s final keynote address and plenary session were delivered by H. E. Dr. Yeshurun Alemayehu Adde, State Minister for Innovation and Technology, Ethiopia and The World Bank’s Dr. Tina George, setting the tone for a broad, multi-lens view on the implementation of DPI around the world.
The day’s sessions included a deep dive into decoding OpenG2P and G2P transfers, the pilot-to-production strategy of MOSIP adoption, challenges around deduplication, and technology talks with MOSIP’s technology partners. Sessions and panels including ones on communication as a tool for building trustworthy narratives around technology and Oregon State University's academic work using GenderMag on MOSIP, developing design guidelines for inclusive technology.
Throughout the 3-day mega event, participants were able to explore a vibrant Solution Discovery space that was bustling with demonstrations, discussions around technology, and networking opportunities that only the coming together of multiple stakeholders could make possible. The exhibition space featured 58 booths, each with its solutions, demonstrations, and/or research findings that were available to experience and explore.
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At this juncture, we at MOSIP find ourselves overwhelmed by the engagement, support, participation, and encouragement expressed by our stakeholders, colleagues, and partners across countries, developers, multi-lateral agencies, and civil society. In partnership with National ID Ethiopia, with media support from Biometric Update and local press, and with participation of countries, partners, and academia, MOSIP Connect has reminded us of why community-building resides at the heart of all we do.
To explore more on MOSIP Connect, visit:
