eSSIF-Lab Final Event: leveraging self-sovereign identities around Europe
More than 80 self-sovereign identity (SSI) experts and members of the Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative including illustrous speakers and the programme beneficiaries, gave their farewell, sharing project results, knowledge and insights while discussing the future of the Internet.
eSSIF-Lab, an EU-funded Research and Innovation project about self-sovereign identities celebrated its final event last Thursday, December 1st, at La Tricoterie in Brussels, counting with over 80 SSI and NGI experts and many more via an online livestream.
The project was designed to advance the broad uptake of Self-Sovereign Identities (SSI) as a next-generation, open and trusted digital identity solution for faster and safer electronic transactions via the Internet and in real life.
Digital initiatives are becoming critical to ensure the safety and security of citizens online, as the Internet is an essential tool in our daily lives – Jorge Gasos (eSSIF-Lab Programme Officer)
The main mission of the event was to highlight and showcase eSSIF-Lab’s beneficiaries and the project’s main achievements since its launch in 2019. It was the perfect opportunity to empower, leverage and consolidate the SSI ecosystem in Europe.
The conference started with the introduction of the Next Generation Internet (NGI) concept by Jorge Gasos, eSSIF-Lab Programme Officer, who explained what this initiative has achieved so far and what are its values, the technologies that are included in its scope, what type of funding the subgrantees can benefit from in every NGI project and what it’s the role and profile of the innovators that shape the Next Generation Internet ecosystem.
After Jorge Gasos’ presentation, Oskar Van Deventer, eSSIF-Lab Scientific Coordinador, talked about actions and milestones the eSSIF-Lab project achieved in helping consolidate and advance the SSI ecosystem in Europe. He also presented some of the best SSI solutions born out of the eSSIF-Lab project and congratulated them for their achievements.
We don’t want to create unicorns, instead, we want to create a European ecosystem of startups working together to create a standard beneficial for all – Oskar van Deventer (eSSIF-Lab Scientific Coordinator)
The attendees had the chance to listen to the event’s keynote speaker Anil John, Technical Director of the Silicon Valley Innovation Program (USA), who spoke about how the Blockchain Research & Development (R&D) systems can transform into Decentralized Identity Deployment.
We share the same approaches to ensure interoperability and solutions, and we also want to make sure that the public funding is used wisely and professionally – Anil John
After these fruitful conversations, the audience saw nine top beneficiaries of the eSSIF-Lab project pitching their solutions and sharing how their technologies can improve the lives of European citizens. They were : Andrea nDanielli from Amlet, Paul Knowles from Human Colossus Foundation, Minh Triet Le from Zenlife, Nick Meyne from Resonate, Marie-Laëtitia Brunet from BCdiploma, Irene Hernández from Gataca, Yanis Kyriakides from eOrigin, and Caspar Roelofs from Gimly.
A reflection on how the SSI shapes the Internet of Humans
During the round table, Joao Rodrigues and Maxime Lemm from the EU Commission Directorate-General for Informatics (DIGIT), Daniel Du Seuil, Convenor of European Self Sovereign Identity Framework (EBSI), and Maya Madrid, EIDAS representative, talked together about the pillars of European Digital Identity and how the European Commission will promote and encourage the use of Self-Sovereign identities in Europe. We want to be a part of #web3 that is fair, privacy-preserving and decentralised” – Joao Rodriguez from@EU_Commission
We want to be a part of #web3 that is fair, privacy-preserving and decentralised – Joao Rodriguez from@EU_Commission
As a final touch, Kaliya Young, famously known as Identity Woman, was involved in the award ceremony praising the programmes achievements and the European Commission’s cascade funding modality. Gataca and Systems Integration Solutions were the winners of the Best SSI Infrastructure Extension eSSIF-Lab and Best SSI Business Solution eSSIF-Lab awards. This was a recognition of their exceptional performance during the eSSIF-Lab project.
The event was the perfect occasion to present eSSIF-Lab’s beneficiaries and results to the world, leverage the European SSI ecosystem and attendees had the chance to listen to and engage with some of the sector’s top European and American experts and thought leaders.
If you need more information or photos, please contact maria.paez@fundingbox.com