New OpenWallet Forum to Foster Global Collaboration on Secure, Interoperable Digital Wallets
GENEVA – May 28, 2024 – At the WSIS+20 Forum High-Level Event, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Linux Foundation announced their intent to form the OpenWallet Forum, to help drive multistakeholder collaboration and discussions on interoperable digital wallets. The OpenWallet Forum will be hosted by the Linux Foundation and ITU, offering a platform for governments to engage with standards bodies and companies working on digital wallets.
The new collaboration builds on the success of the OpenWallet Foundation, which will remain focused on bringing developers together to work on open source software for secure interoperable wallets. The OpenWallet Foundation hosts core open source components for secure interoperable wallets, ITU will drive supporting multistakeholder collaboration and UNICC will work with the Linux Foundation to provide a full mirror of all OpenWallet Foundation’s “git”-based source code repositories. This collaboration will ensure that the software is available to a global audience. It will further provide a vehicle for channeling software contributions from UNICC partners and affiliates upstream to the OpenWallet Foundation’s repositories.
Detailed information on opportunities to participate will be shared by the OpenWallet Foundation and the ITU closer to the launch of the OpenWallet Forum. For updates and news related to the OpenWallet Foundation, please visit openwallet.foundation.
“Digital public infrastructure is key everywhere, but especially in developing countries,” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. “We look forward to driving multistakeholder collaboration around the development and deployment of globally interoperable wallets that help close the gap between the digital ‘haves’ and ‘have nots.”
“At UNICC, we are dedicated to openness, security, and human-centered approaches in developing digital solutions for our partners within the UN family. Therefore, we are thrilled to partner with the Linux Foundation and contribute to the OpenWallet git-based code repositories in close collaboration with ITU and the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology. This partnership is an excellent opportunity to further promote open source solutions for good by reusing and adapting software developed by UNICC and its partners, with a key potential to advance the Sustainable Development Goals through greater digital cooperation.” said Sameer Chauhan, Director, UNICC.
Albert Rösti, Member of the Federal Council said “Switzerland will continue to support all actors and processes that cooperate constructively to develop and implement our shared goals. We will do this not only through strengthening inclusive dialogue platforms, but also through supporting concrete multistakeholder-partnerships, such as GIGA or the Open Wallet Forum, two initiatives co-lead by ITU and its partners.”
Rolf Rauschenbach, Information Officer E-ID, Swiss Federal Office of Justice commented “The Swiss Government is planning to launch its electronic identity in 2026. It shall be useful, secure and interoperable. For the latter, the we have joined forces at the Governmental Advisory Council within the OpenWallet Foundation. We are looking forward to double down our efforts within the OpenWallet Forum to be hosted by the ITU.”
“As the world’s leading home for collaboration on open source software, hardware, standards, and data, the Linux Foundation deeply cares about digital public infrastructure and views our cooperation with ITU and UNICC as an important building block in the advancement of open source as a public good” commented Jim Zemlin, CEO of the Linux Foundation.
“From the start of OpenWallet 15 months ago we felt that the future of digital wallets should be shaped by a broad multi-stakeholder effort so we provided a space for government officials to speak with each other and the private sector. I am truly excited about our cooperation with ITU and UNICC which is designed to make it as easy as possible for anyone to join this global effort.” commented Daniel Goldscheider, Founder and Executive Director of the OpenWallet Foundation.
About ITU
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs), driving innovation in ICTs together with 193 Member States and a membership of over 1,000 companies, universities, and international and regional organizations. Established in 1865, it is the intergovernmental body responsible for coordinating the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promoting international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, improving communication infrastructure in the developing world, and establishing the worldwide standards that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communications systems. From broadband networks to cutting-edge wireless technologies, aeronautical and maritime navigation, radio astronomy, oceanographic and satellite-based earth monitoring as well as converging fixed-mobile phone, Internet and broadcasting technologies, ITU is committed to connecting the world. Learn more: www.itu.int.
About UNICC
The International Computing Centre (UNICC) is the leading United Nations agency that provides Information Technology and Communications (ICT) services to all the other organizations within the United Nations System. Over the last four decades, UNICC has been continually expanding the services it is providing to its Partners in various parts of the world, and in various areas of ICT, including data science, service management, cyber security. As part of the UN family, UNICC shares its core values including integrity, respect for diversity and professionalism.
About the Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation is the world’s leading home for collaboration on open source software, hardware, standards, and data. Linux Foundation projects are critical to the world’s infrastructure, including Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js, ONAP, OpenChain, OpenSSF, PyTorch, RISC-V, SPDX, and more. The Linux Foundation focuses on leveraging best practices and addressing the needs of contributors, users, and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at linuxfoundation.org
About the OpenWallet Foundation
The OpenWallet Foundation (OWF) provides a safe space for developers to collaborate on standards-based open source components that issuers, wallet providers and relying parties can use to bootstrap implementations that preserve user choice, security and privacy. With the Government Advisory Council, OWF brings the public and private sector together to work towards open, secure and interoperable digital wallets. OWF is an open initiative under the umbrella of the Linux Foundation and headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. For more information, please visit openwallet.foundation.
