Program

Day 1 / February 24, 2026

Kick-off: African-Focused Digital Identity Program

Theme of the Day:

Activating Digital Identity in Southern Africa: From Foundations to Implementation

This day examines how digital identity is being activated across Southern Africa today - moving from core trust infrastructure and public-sector frameworks to private-sector use cases, emerging agentic identity models, and the convergence of identity and payments. The focus is on what is live, what is constrained, and what is required to scale interoperable identity systems across Africa.

12:30 – 13:00

Arrival & Registration

13:00 – 13:15

Welcome & Framing the Day


    Gideon Lombard
    DIDx

13:15 – 13:45 (Keynote - 30 min.)

Ministerial Address


    Minister Dr Leon Schreiber
    Minister of Home Affairs of South Africa

13:45 – 14:15 (Keynote - 30 min.)

The Need for Proof of Organisational Identity


    Karla McKenna
    GLEIF

14:15 – 14:55 (Panel - 40 min.)

Making Digital Identity Work: Standards, Regulation, and Scale


Speakers:

    Dalene Deale
    Business Growth Hacking
    Gabi Adontevi
    MOSIP
    Karla McKenna
    GLEIF

Moderator:

    Elmo Hildebrand
    PwC

14:55 – 15:25

Networking Break

15:25 – 15:55 (Keynote – 30 min.)

Identity in Content Provenance


    Eric Scouten
    Adobe

15:55 – 16:25 (Keynote – 30 min.)

SSI in Action


    Mahir Şentürk
    Hashgraph Association

16:25 – 16:55 (Keynote – 30 min.)

RICA4U: The Catalyst for Digital Identity Adoption?


    Shaun Strydom
    Contactable

16:55 – 17:35 (Panel – 40 min.)

The Convergence of Identity and Payments


Speakers:

    Lohan Spies
    DIDx
    Ian Thompson
    Q LINK
    Shabir Ahmed
    Mastercard

Moderator:

    Martin Grunewald
    DIDx

17:35 – 17:50 (Closing – 15 min.)

Closing Remarks & Call to Action: What's Next?


Speakers: Gideon Lombard & Heidi Nobantu Saul

18:00

Welcome Reception


A relaxed and engaging environment with complimentary wine and canapes directly following the end of the day. THANK YOU PwC for making this possible!

Wednesday, 25 February 2026

08:30 - 09:30

Coffee, tea and breakfast snacks will be served on arrival.

Arrival & Registration

09:30 - 09:45

Welcome & Introductions

09:45 - 10:30

Agenda Creation

10:30 - 11:30

Session 1

11:30 - 12:30

Session 2

12:30 - 13:30

Lunch

13:30 - 14:30

Session 3

14:30 - 15:30

Session 4

15:30 - 16:30

Session 5

16:30 - 17:30

Closing

18:00 - 22:30

Conference Drinks & Dinner at Middelvlei Wine Estate

Join us for a memorable conference dinner at the historic Middelvlei Wine Estate. Experience the charms of a traditional Cape Dutch setting while enjoying a delicious dinner and award-winning Middelvlei wines.

Thursday, 26 February 2026

08:30 - 09:30

Coffee, tea and breakfast snacks will be served on arrival.

Arrival & Registration

08:30 - 09:30

Women's Breakfast

09:30 - 10:00

Agenda Creation

10:00 - 11:00

Session 6

11:00 - 12:00

Session 7

12:00 - 13:00

Session 8

13:00 - 14:00

Lunch

14:00 - 15:00

Session 9

15:00 - 16:00

Session 10

16:00 - 17:00

Closing

Taking Session Notes

We collect Notes from all of the sessions convened to be shared openly and importantly with other attendees who were unable to attend the session because they were participating in a different session happening at the same time. After the unConference Notes are compiled into a Book of Proceedings that includes all Session Notes, photos and information about the event. It is made available to everyone several weeks after the workshop.

Session Convener:

Before you begin, please identify 1-2 people to take notes for the session.

OR write up a brief summary of your session after the session is complete

Process:

  1. Find Preset Note Forms in the Qiqo Online Collaboration Space (Use the private link you were emailed to access the platform)
  2. Go to the Day 1 or 2 Agenda Button or Tab you will see the Agenda Wall Grid for Day
  3. Scroll down to find your Session # (1-5 or 6-10) and the Breakout Space you are in (A - F)
  4. Click on the 'Access Notes Form' link that corresponds to your session
  5. In the GoogleDoc Form Fill-in:
    • Session Title
    • Name of Convener(s)
    • Name of Notetaker(s)
    • Optional - Names of Attendees
    • Type notes directly into the form or transcribe hand written notes later

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