The ID4Africa Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Our journey

About the AGM

The objective of the AGM is to give the Continent a sustainable voice for identity matters. The AGM is normally held towards the end of the fiscal year (typically in June) and represents the Movement’s most extensive channel of impact – physically uniting 1300-1500 key stakeholders from the entire identity ecosystem.

The AGM is a journey that started in 2015 in Tanzania and is continuing year after year in different African countries with themes and topics that evolve to reflect what and where Africa’s need’s will be over time. Through the AGM, African governments jointly explore how digital identity and aligned services can advance socio-economic development in their countries. The AGM consists of two main components – the conference and the expo.

Dr Joseph Atick

Both the conference and expo pay particular attention to the context required for the adoption and deployment of responsible identity systems including the necessary legal frameworks, institutional arrangements, governance, data protection, privacy and human rights.

The Conference:

  • Runs as 3-Day multi-track thematic sessions based on a carefully constructed program which addresses the latest needs of the African community.
  • Is an intense knowledge-sharing platform characterized by a passionate desire to learn and contribute to identity development.
  • Features a large international line-up of subject matter experts and thought leaders, carefully selected based on their expertise.

The Expo:

  • The largest of its kind in the world.
  • Held concurrently and collocated with the conference.
  • Showcases latest innovations, products and solutions from over 120 multinational, regional and local companies.
  • Creates an open and competitive marketplace to serve the diverse and specific needs in Africa.

SEE OUR PREVIOUS AND UPCOMING EVENTS

ID4Africa 2015
ID4Africa 2016
ID4Africa 2017
ID4Africa 2018
ID4Africa 2019

Year

Theme

Significance
2019 IDENTITY ECOSYSTEMS FOR SERVICE DELIVERY In 2019, we are calling attention to the concept that identity needs to be used for it to have impact on development.  It needs to serve the diverse needs of individuals and those that service them, including government agencies and the private sector alike. We are focusing on its potential to create inclusive societies where identity enabled services, that have the potential to transform people’s lives and stimulate economic development, are encouraged through the right regulatory and access policies (including data protection and privacy) to emerge within the ecosystem. We recognize very few African nations, today, can claim to have arrived at this ecosystem framework. Many continue to deal with foundational issues such as the enrollment of populations and harmonization to build the identity assets. The goal of the theme is to share with the identity community a vision of the future, keeping in mind all the messages and lessons learned from the themes of prior years.
2018 HARMONIZATION OF IDENTITY SCHEMES In 2018, the theme made clear that harmonization is a necessity. The multiplicity of approaches to digital identity could result in fragmentation and redundancy of identification assets, unless the various pathways are harmonized to serve one common goal, namely a unique identity for all that serves all functions from cradle to grave. Among the lasting impacts of this theme and its contribution to the culture is the recognition of the important role standards and APIs play and the need to coordinate national initiatives to integrate the identity assets of the various stakeholders or to ensure their harmonized emergence if they are new.
2017 PATHWAYS TO DIGITAL IDENTITY In 2017, we focused attention on the fact that there was no universal pathway, for a country to arrive at its digital identity. There was the recognition that identity concerns all sectors who need to be recognized as stakeholders in any national dialogue regarding the reform of the identification practices of a country. Identity assets (registers, numbers and credentials) can develop within each sector that has points of contact with the population and a legitimate reason to identify its constituents. Some lasting impacts of that theme is a commitment to sectoral inclusion by ID4Africa, which is now manifested in the breadth and diversity of representation of delegations attending the Annual Meeting. ID4Africa is also encouraging the formation of national identity strategy steering committees with multi-sectoral representations prior to any project planning taking place.
2016 THE PRACTICAL GUIDE In 2016, the objective was to focus the identity community on the need to develop practical knowledge that could be used in the African context and subjected to the reality of challenges faced. It was an attempt to depart from theory and what could be achieved in principle in an honest dialogue about setting expectations about the road towards digital identity in Africa.
2015 THE FIRST GOVERNMENT FORUM ON ELECTRONIC IDENTITY IN AFRICA In 2015, the event united all the necessary ingredients for the first time ever for enabling the right ecosystem to emerge for the adoption of e-ID in the service of socio-economic development. It was a trial to test the demand and it was an unqualified success.