Self Sovereign Identity (SSI) is rising to the top of the agenda in many industries. While enterprises and organisations are building their own SSI solutions by implementing the existing standards and protocols, all parties are doing similar work and face similar problems. At the European Blockchain Association (EBA) we are convinced: it is critical for the community to share these learnings and experiences openly. To facilitate this process, the EBA has founded an SSI Working Group which is open to participation from organisations, enterprises and individuals.
We spoke with Martin Schäffner, Founding Member of the SSI Working Group, about the what, why, and how.
Martin, EUSSI is a newly established working group at the EBA. What does EUSSI stand for?
EUSSI stands for European Self-Sovereign-Identity and focuses on digital identity topics within Europe and for European citizens and companies working on digital identities. EUSSI advocates for increased adoption for self-sovereign identity technology across all areas of society and undertakes activities to strengthen policy, provide education and enable adoption for all stakeholders.
What is the purpose and the goal of the working group?
The WG is dedicated to the advancement of digital solutions for identity which conform to the principles of privacy by design like implementing solutions around the different Aries-Frameworks or solutions to integrate IDs. The WG is platform agnostic and supports diverse initiatives including but not limited to Hyperledger Aries, Hyperledger Indy, Ethereum-based SSI and more. This working group aims to serve as an independent platform for businesses and organisations to share experiences and find best-practice approaches for SSI solutions in combination with private or public environments like the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI).
Are you still looking for participants?
Yes, we are always looking for new participants to join the EUSSI working group. Through the semi-decentralized organization of the working group, it is possible to work on different topics distinctively from other projects inside the working group.
How can interested organisations and individuals join the working group?
A: On the working group website interested organisations and individuals find information to what exactly are the goals of the EUSSI and how to get in contact with the working group itself. A look into the EBA Governance Model also provides a lot of information about how a working group is organized.
What can they expect and what is expected of them?
Participants can expect us to highly encourage our participants in achieving their goals by providing a platform for independent collaboration, outstanding technological knowledge, and well-connected members that are open to get the ideas to the right persons. From our participants we expect a strong commitment to their vision and a respectful, open-minded, and structured, self-motivated approach to achieve the goals as well as respect the values of the EBA.
Where does EUSSI stand now and what are the next steps?
The EUSSI is still in its early stages, which means everyone who is interested can still join and move their ideas and projects further. We are looking forward to welcoming many motivated participants in the next couple of weeks. Based on the success in the EUPoS working group we know that our governance model is working and that together we can achieve our joint goals.