Our next call is this FRIDAY, March 15th. It is at 2pm UTC, 10am EDT.
Please note the call time is shifted EARLIER one hour for many others in the world this week. The official Hyperledger calendar is not updated to reflect US Daylight Savings Time, and so that time should be disregarded.
To confirm what time is 10am in the US on March 15th in your own time zone, please visit a time zone converter website.
Dial in info below. On to the agenda!
1. Alfonso Govela Thomae - Metropolis - Blockchain, a tool for metropolitan governance?
Alfonso attended and presented on the Global South panel at the Hyperledger Global Forum last December, which I moderated. We had a tremendous conversation, and he has kindly agreed to present his research here to the Public Sector Group.
Alfonso's research has identified 254 city level blockchain projects!
This is a key opportunity to learn about the trends and projects he has found, as well as open new pathways for collaboration and discussion.
"Some see blockchain as a factor for change in both the economy and society, with the potential to transform industry, services, and social interactions. In the context of the spatial dispersion and social segregation that characterise large metropolises, blockchain has the potential to improve the coordination between the numerous different authorities in any given metropolitan area, contributing towards social and regional cohesion. But will blockchain only bring about technological changes, or will it spark a social revolution? How can blockchain be used in metropolitan governance and financing? What has already been achieved with this technology? What else can be done? How should the technology be used? What lines of policy could be put in place for urban innovation in our metropolises?
In this document, the fifth Issue Paper published by the Metropolis Observatory, we invite Alfonso Govela, an architect and urban planner specialised in digital technology, to answer these questions and help us understand what blockchain is, what it means on a technological, political and social level, what role it plays in transforming society, and whether it can lead to better models of metropolitan governance."
Links to the paper:
English
https://www.metropolis.org/sites/default/files/metobsip5_en_1.pdf
French
https://www.metropolis.org/sites/default/files/metobsip5_fr_1.pdf
Spanish
https://www.metropolis.org/sites/default/files/metobsip5_es_1.pdf
2. White Paper Updates
A time to check in on the White Paper clusters who are exploring Highly Regulated Transactions, International Development applications, and to introduce any other workstreams or topics.
3. A Group Discussion -- the Birth Certificate Challenge
Anyone in the group is encouraged to share a topic that might benefit from our group collectively thinking together. To kick this section off, I will share a topic that I have been thinking about recently, and cannot solve solo.
When we have situations like birth certificate issuing - there are dispersed, lightly supervised legal issuers of birth certificates and no national authority. If/when transitioning to a DLT based system, how can we efficiently and effectively:
- Ensure that all participants are legitimate when there is a weak or non-existent central authority
- Determine who should have access to the certificate data
- Pay for the continued operation of the system
Has anyone seen a functioning solution to the birth certificate problem, or any related one? This is similar to educational certificate programs as well. How do we determine who is allowed to participate, and to deter fraud? Looking forward to your inputs!
4. All other topics
Any other business suggested by the group
Looking forward to seeing you all soon on Friday!