On May 7th, I attended W3bsi, an event organized by EBSI (European Blockchain Service Infrastructure), to review the achievements of its ecosystem, which includes over 350 organizations from 30 countries. These organizations are leading the way in using blockchain to enhance the efficiency and reliability of information verification.
The event was especially encouraging given the current momentum in Europe with the recent approval of eIDAS 2.0 and the designation of Electronic Ledgers as qualified trust services, finally enabling the transition from conceptual discussions to practical applications.
This emphasis on action over mere rhetoric was evident from the outset of the event, as Roberto Viola (Director-General for Communications Networks, Content, and Technology) highlighted: "We don’t need a buzzword; we need action."
And this sentiment resonated throughout the EBSI Ecosystem showcase, where 25 projects presented close-to-production pilots developed over the past year using the EBSI infrastructure.
These presentations, conducted through demos, workshops, and panel discussions in several breakout rooms due to the number of presentations being held, demonstrated contributions to EU projects like the EUDI Wallet, signaling substantial progress amid ongoing challenges.
Two showcases I attended worth highlighting are:
🧑🎓 University Alliances | Higher Education Demo
The University Alliances (UNA Europa, ERUA, and FilmEU) explained their work helping students, academics, and staff seamlessly access courses, workshops, and resources at partner universities via blockchain, verifiable credentials, and ID Wallets.
With +50 universities, +800 students, and +15 European countries involved, these alliances showed that are on the cusp of production, envisioning expansion to 8 alliances with 140+ universities in the next few years. We are really excited to see soon students from all over Europe use decentralized identity in their day-to-day!
🛳️ Ferry Travel | Mobility and Travel Demo
Cyclades Fast Ferries, together with ERUA, showcased a live demo of their travel and proximity pilot use case aimed at enhancing the ferry travel experience for EU students through digital and verifiable credentials.
A dev environment was presented for attendees to experience first hand the user experience of leveraging ID Wallets for the travel industry. All an attendee had to do was:
And really good news: Mr. Nikos Triantafyllou, during this demo, confirmed that the pilot is slated for production this summer, promising tangible improvements in passenger experience.
I was thrilled to glimpse all these initiatives live at W3bsi. As the clock ticks towards implementation and compliance for eIDAS 2.0, the collaborative efforts showcased at the event represent significant progress toward a more secure and interconnected future!
gataca