The Secure Identity Alliance, the global identity and secure eServices advisory body, today announces that ID4Africa, a multi-stakeholder movement that promotes the transparent and responsible adoption of digital identity in the service of development in Africa, has joined the Association as an Advisory Observer.
ID4Africa will support the Association’s work championing the role of trusted digital identities for all in Africa and will provide valuable knowledge transfer and insights on the real-world experiences and best practices that underpin the launch of successful and sustainable identity programmes across the continent.
ID4Africa’s presence as an Advisory Observer is set to further transform the individual expertise and experience of SIA members into collective knowledge that will be utilized to benefit the identity community in Africa. The digital identity movement in Africa aims to deliver against the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.9 – to provide legal identity for all including free birth registrations by 2030.
Dr Joseph J. Atick, Executive Chairman, ID4Africa, will represent ID4Africa, lending his considerable expertise to the Alliance’s workgroup programs. A founding member of the identity industry more than 25 years ago, Dr Atick has played an instrumental role in many of the world’s leading identity programs and is an active partner of many international organizations in identity for development initiatives around the world.
“The social and economic impact of e-ID for African countries is significant and is vital to ensuring that ordinary citizens will be able to claim their rights and benefit from the fruits of development,” says Dr Atick. “The Secure Identity Alliance is perfectly placed to help us enable governments and other organizations in Africa understand the positive impact of digital identity in socio-economic and political development and implement digital identity systems that work for all.”
Welcoming ID4Africa to the Association, Frédéric Trojani, President of the Secure Identity Alliance, said: “Dr Atick is a strong advocate of privacy and the responsible use of identity technology, and brings with him a wealth of hands-on knowledge and expertise in this field. He has been and is involved in a great many programs in Africa. This knowledge will prove invaluable as we continue to evolve programs that support governments in the region become part of the Digital Identity Revolution.”