Many in the DIF community are asking about the upcoming Global Digital Collaboration conference in Geneva. As the date is quickly arriving, we wanted to give a sneak preview of what's ahead.
Table of Contents:
About the GDC Conference
Key Details
- When: July 1-2, 2025
- Where: Centre International de Conférences Genève (CICG), Switzerland
- Cost: Free (registration required)
- Register: https://lu.ma/gc25 (registration is available through any co-organizing partner)
What is the GDC?
Global Digital Collaboration is a landmark gathering bringing together 30+ global organizations to advance digital identity, wallets, and credentials - hosted by the Swiss Confederation.
What makes this conference truly unique is that, from the beginning, it's been co-organized by the participating organizations, who have worked with their communities, and with each other, to form an agenda that will help advance the most critical topics in digital identity.
Rather than being driven by a single organization's vision, the GDC represents a collaborative effort where international organizations, standards bodies, open-source foundations, and industry consortia have jointly defined priorities and sessions that address the most pressing challenges in digital trust infrastructure. This multi-stakeholder approach ensures broader perspectives are represented and creates unprecedented opportunities for alignment across traditionally separate communities.
Why Attend?
- Unprecedented collaboration: This conference's collaborative nature bridges organizations that rarely coordinate at this scale.
- Connect: Connect with peers from government and private sectors to advance standards coordination, cross-border interoperability, and robust digital public infrastructure
- Network with experts: Engage directly with technical leaders, government officials, and industry pioneers shaping the future of digital trust
Who Is Organizing?
The current list of co-organizers can be seen in the header image, with more to be added later this week. As a brief preview, this includes:
International & Government Organizations
- European Commission (DG-CNECT)
- International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
- United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
Standards Development Organizations & Open Source Foundations
- Decentralized Identity Foundation (DIF)
- Eclipse Foundation
- European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)
- FIDO Alliance
- International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
- International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
- Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust (LFDT)
- OpenWallet Foundation (OWF)
- Trust Over IP (TOIP)
- World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
Industry Consortia
- Cloud Signature Consortium (CSC)
- Digital Credentials Consortium (DCC)
- Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF)
Next, we'll look at the exciting conference agenda and highlight key sessions for the DIF community.
The Agenda
The conference is structured across two distinct days, each with a specific purpose. Day 1 features plenary sessions designed to provide comprehensive overviews of global initiatives and sector-specific developments in digital identity. This agenda is nearly finalized and a draft has been published.
Day 2 offers a more interactive format with parallel presentations, technical deep dives, workshops, and collaborative sessions. The preliminary Day 2 schedule will be published next week, but we can share an early preview of the key themes and sessions that should be of particular interest to the DIF community.
Day 1: Global Landscape & Sector Scan
- Morning sessions feature updates from government and industry stakeholders worldwide
- Afternoon sessions explore major use cases across sectors including travel, health, education, and finance
Morning: Opening & Global Landscape
- Opening addresses by leaders from ITU, ISO, WHO, and more
- Regional updates from:
- European Commission
- Switzerland
- United States
- China/Singapore
- Japan
- India
- Korea
- Australia
- Global South
Afternoon: Sector Updates
- 🚘 Driving Licenses
- 🧳 Travel Credentials
- ⚕️ Health Credentials
- 📚 Educational Credentials
- 📦 Trade
- 💸 Payments
- 🏢 Organizational Credentials
- 🪙 Digital Assets
- 🪪 Standards for ID and Wallets
- 🔏 Digital Signatures
- 🔑 Car Keys
Day 2: Technical Deep Dives and Working Sessions
Day 2 features parallel sessions where participants will be encouraged to follow their interests plus share their experience and expertise.
Parallel sessions across multiple tracks including:
- Privacy & Security: Zero-knowledge proofs, unlinkability
- Industry and Organizational Focus: Industry 4.0, Digital Product Passports, European Business Wallet
- Implementation & Deployment: Real-world wallet applications
- Standards & Interoperability: Cross-border credential exchange
- Policy & Regulation: Governance frameworks
- Emerging Technology: Emerging needs around AI and digital identity
- Demo Hour: See wallet applications and more
Learn More and Participate
Get Updates
There will soon be a GDC web site to more easily access event information and schedule. For now, we recommend:
- Follow Global Digital Collaboration on LinkedIn
- And of course, subscribe to the DIF blog for additional updates focused on the DIF community
Ready to Register?
You can also register through any co-organizer available at https://lu.ma/gc25
👉 DIF community members are encouraged to use DIF's dedicated registration link: https://lu.ma/gc25-dif
Tickets are free of charge and grant full access to the entire conference, regardless of the organization used during registration
Hotels & Discounts
The upcoming GDC web site will be updated with the latest information. For now, feel free to use the discount codes on this google document.
Looking Forward
The Global Digital Collaboration conference represents a unique opportunity for advancing digital identity solutions that can work across borders while putting users in control. DIF is committed to ensuring privacy and agency remain front and center in these conversations.
For those in the DIF community and beyond, this is an unparalleled opportunity to shape the future of digital identity in collaboration with global decision-makers and implementers.