Secure Identity Alliance (SIA) Announces Composition of OSIA Advisory Committee

OSIA Advisory Committee is composed of senior-level officials from 10 African countries

The inaugural meeting of OSIA Advisory Committee will take place at Trustech in Cannes, France on 26th November 2019 followed by country-focused presentations at the 'Government Identity' conference track on 27th November 2019

News provided by

Secure Identity Alliance

Jul 29, 2019, 03:00 ET

PARIS, July 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Secure Identity Alliance (SIA), the global identity and secure digital services advisory body, today announced the composition of OSIA Advisory Committee:

Chaired by Nigeria, represented by Mr Engr. Aliyu Abubakar Aziz, Director General/CEO, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)

Côte D'Ivoire, represented by Mr Konaté Diakalidia, Directeur général, Office National de l'Etat Civil et de l'Identification (ONECI)

DRC, represented by Mr Musavuli Mbutho Moussa, Coordonnateur de la cellule technique, Cabinet du conseiller spécial du numérique au près du Chef de l'Etat and Mr Tshikuna Jean Mulumba, Chargé des Opérations PRSDHU, cfef - Cellule d'exécution des financements en faveur des Etats Fragiles - Ministère des finances

Gabon, represented by Mr Aimé-Martial Massamba, Deputy Director, The Official Biometric Identification Project of Gabon (IBOGA)

Ghana, represented by Mr Kingsley Asare Addo, Registrar of Births and Deaths, Head of Civil Registration and Mr Emmanuel Nortey Botchway, Assistant Registrar – Head of ICT

Guinea, represented by Mr Mory Camara, DG ANGEIE (EGov), Member of the Permanent Technical Team ANIES (National Agency for Economic and Social Inclusion) and President of the IIC Council (ID4africa).

With the participation of Mr Ansoumane Camara, Special Advisor Economic, Financial and Fiscal Affairs to the Prime Minister of Guinea for the inaugural meeting

Guinea WURI, represented by Dr Himi Deen Touré, Technical Director of WURI (Programme d'Identification numérique pour l'intégration régionale et l'inclusion en Afrique de l'Ouest) and Mr Ibrahima Sory Keita, Advisor Telecoms & Digital Economy

Lesotho, represented by Mr Tumelo E. Raboletsi, Director, National Identity and Civil Registry Department

Madagascar, represented by Mr Balsama Hellarison Andriantseheno, Coordinateur Général, Secrétariat Général de la Présidence de la République and Ms Salohy Norotiana Randrianarisoa, Director General, Judicial Affairs

Sierra Leone, represented by Mr Mohamed M. Massaquoi, Director General National Civil Registration Authority

Uganda, represented by Ms Judy Obitre-Gama, Executive Director, National Identification and Registration Authority, Uganda and Ms Grace Nanyanzi, Manager, Information Systems, National Identification and Registration Authoritywill take part in the OSIA Advisory Committee and have joined the Secure Identity Alliance as Advisory Observers.

For the first time in history, African countries are directly engaged with the identity industry to define a solution that will make identity systems interoperable without fear of vendor lock-in. In participating in the OSIA Advisory Committee these representatives will contribute to the development of OSIA and best practices around governance of ID systems

The inaugural meeting will take place in Cannes, France on 26^th November 2019. The OSIA Advisory Committee's country representatives will also join the Government Identity track on 27^th November 2019: 'How Governments are facing Identity Needs and Challenges'.

OSIA: A new era of openness

Directly addressing the lack of standardization, the SIA pioneering OSIA initiative (Open Standards Identity API - Application Program Interface) ushers in a new era of openness and collaboration between identity players and industry and governments that will eliminate the interoperability and data sharing challenges created by the current lack of universal technical standards within today's identity ecosystem that have, until now, hampered the evolution of national identity systems.

Developed within the SIA and endorsed by the world's leading identity system vendors, this landmark initiative demonstrates an industry-wide commitment to breaking down the technical barriers to achieving the United Nations goal of establishing a legal identity for all.

OSIA makes it possible for governments and implementing bodies across the world to invest with confidence. Initiating robust identification platforms for their citizens, preserving the value of existing systems while evolving their environments without fear of vendor lock-in.

The OSIA initiative is governed under a formal structure including an independent OSIA Advisory Committee, with work carried out by the OSIA GitHub Community and an OSIA Workgroup.

"OSIA enables seamless connectivity between all components of the identity management ecosystem – independent of technology, solution architecture or vendor – making it possible to integrate previously fragmented systems, databases or registries in a timely and secure manner," said Debora Comparin, Chair of the OSIA Workgroup.

"Open standards are vital for enabling the design of sustainable legal identification systems that eliminate barriers to access and usage, and drive innovation in the delivery of services to citizens - especially to the most disadvantaged groups in society. The OSIA initiative supports a holistic approach to ID systems development allowing governments around the world establish universal coverage for citizens from birth until death, free of discrimination, and facilitate access to services and inclusion. We're delighted that these agencies will be collaborating with the SIA and its members as together we seek to cascade the transformational potential of the OSIA initiative and advance legal identity for all by 2030," said Frédéric Trojani, Chairman of the Board, Secure Identity Alliance.

For more information on the OSIA initiative, go to www.osia.io

Note to Editors:

About the Secure Identity Alliance

Secure Identity Alliance is dedicated to supporting the provision of legal, trusted identity for all, and to drive the development of inclusive digital services necessary for sustainable, worldwide economic growth and prosperity.

We believe legal, trusted identity is the cornerstone of rights protection, social inclusion and digital economic development - and the access point to a wide range of essential public and private services.

We bring together public, private and non-government organizations to foster international collaboration on the issues of legal identity, to help shaping policy and to provide technical and implementation guidance for national and international ID systems.

Its Board Members are De La Rue, Gemalto – a Thales Company, Idemia, IN Groupe and Veridos.

For more information on the Secure Identity Alliance, visit: www.secureidentityalliance.org.

Follow the Secure Identity Alliance at @secureidentity1

SOURCE Secure Identity Alliance