The DC4EU Observer Board consolidate leading players of our stakeholders from the education and social security domains. They help guide the work of DC4EU by facilitating networking opportunities and creating a more robust, user-centric approach to decentralized technologies in digital identity.
Gonçal Badenes is the Director of Information and Communications Technologies (CIO) at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) since 2018.
He obtained his MSc and PhD in Physics from the UAB. He has been CIO and Nanofabrication Lab Chief Scientist at the Institute of Photonic Sciences (Castelldefels, Spain) and CMOS Process and Device Integration Manager at IMEC (Leuven, Belgium). He was also a member of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS), collaborator to the management of the National Plan for Electronic and Communication Technologies at the Spanish Ministry for Science and Technology, Spanish National Expert to the 7th Frameworh Programme ICT Program Committee, and has managed a good number of ICT international projects with the participation of international industrial and academic leaders.
ICT computing management
Kruno Miličević was born in Lampertheim, Germany in 1980. He received PhD degree in electrical engineering in 2008. At FERIT Osijek he is currently appointed as a full professor with tenure. He is the co-founder and CEO of the company Random Red Ltd. His competences cover fields of metrology, measurement uncertainty and digital transformation of metrology, including IoT and the possible application of blockchain technology and decentralized architectures. He contributed to 28 diverse projects in these and other related technical fields. He is author of one accepted patent application and 43 scientific papers.
blockchain metrology digitalization
Anda Modre has worked for the State Social Security Agency in Latvia for ten years. She was an information system supervisor for a system related to E-services for several years and started the EESSI project at the end of 2017. Anda was the RINA and Access Point administrator, then the Information System Supervisor and administrator. Since 2020, she has been an EESSI SPOC of Latvia and a Standing Member of the European Commission Technical Commission.
social security A1 digitalization information systems
Inese Ziedina has worked in the State social insurance agency covering a wide range of the EESSI sectors for 20 years in Latvia. She worked for ten years in the business processes and change requests division for national applications, agreements with stakeholders, personal data protection and legislation with deeper profiling into family benefits. In the EESSI team, Inese was responsible for business analysis for all sectors to connect RINA with national applications. She also works at the European data exchange unit as a system analyst focusing on ongoing digitalization processes in the European social security scope.
business processes A1 digitalization data exchange automation
Julian Inza is the President of EADTrust, the European Agency of Digital Trust, a Qualified Digital Trust Service Provider promoting systems for paperless procedures in the private and public sectors. Julian is a speaker at training events on EIDAS, Digital Identity, EUDI Wallet, e-administration, eJustice, eInvoicing, Certified Digitalisation, Electronic Evidence, Digital Diplomacy, Blockchain, Means of Payment, Electronic Banking, Cybersecurity, PSD2, Quantum Computing, Post-Quantum Cryptography, Artificial Intelligence. Among the training courses taught are those leading to the EIDAS Auditor Certification (and the previous levels of expertise in Digital Trust Systems and Trust Service Provider Management). He is the Director of the Digital Trust Laboratory attached to the Garrigues-ICADE Legaltech Observatory. Comillas Pontifical University and the law firm Garrigues signed an agreement to create the Garrigues-ICADE Legaltech Observatory. The Observatory is part of the Faculty of Law (Comillas ICADE) through the Centre for Innovation in Law (CID-ICADE). Julian is also a member of the Board of Directors of AMETIC, President of the Blockchain Commission of this association and a member of the UNE (ISO) standardisation committee CTN 71/SC 307 – Blockchain and distributed registry technologies. he is a certified CISA and CDPSE auditor, both ISACA certifications.
EUDI wallet qualified services crossborder interoperability
Simone Ravaioli is a synesthetic EdTech leader with a portfolio of diverse experiences advancing the global credentialing ecosystem. Day job is to turn credentials into opportunities as the Director of Global Ecosystem and Innovation at Parchment, the leading credentialing platform in Higher Education globally. Night hustle is to build out the global credentialing ecosystem across education and work by contributing and leading work on technical open standards in support of technical (and human) interoperability. Simone Co-Chairs the W3C Verifiable Credentials for Education Task Force and contributes the development of open standards for Learning and Employment Records (LERs) across multiple Standards Developments Organizations. Currently serves as the Chair of the Credential Engine CTDL Advisory Group, Strategic Advisory Council of the Groningen Declaration Network, and advisory board of the Open Recognition Alliance, Erasmus Without Paper, Steering Board of the Learning Economy Foundation and expert in the European Blockchain Service Infrastructure (use case diploma). Simone is an Original Gangster (OG) of Open Badges, a self-proclaimed Serendipity Engineer and Credentialing Mentalist
ecosystem interoperability openrecognition
Prof. Joshua Ellul is an associate professor within the Department of Computer Science and director of the Centre for DLT at the University of Malta which runs a multidisciplinary Master’s in Blockchain and DLT taking in students having a finance, business, legal or technical/IT background. His academic interests span across blockchain and smart contract architecture, virtual machines, and language design, as well technology regulatory issues.
blockchain virtual machines regulation
Benjamin Royer is Research Director at New Design Congress, an international research organisation developing a nuanced understanding of technology’s role as a social, political and environmental accelerant. Focusing on the political dimension of human-computer interactions, Benjamin combines more that 10 years of insider knowledge on the tech, design and consulting industries, together with a sharp critical framework borrowing from philosophy, anthropology and sociology. His work has taken the form of collaborations with Ink & Switch, PEN International, Mozilla, Webrecorder, Protocol Labs, WYNG Foundation and Signal. He has authored The Imperial Sensorium, a postcolonial study of the cybernetic political economy. He is the co-author of Memory in Uncertainty, a landmark report on the discipline of web archiving, which has been featured at the IIPC annual conference and RESAW. Benjamin has also translated Adam Greenfield’s book Radical Technologies, The Design of Everyday Life in French for Presence(s) Editions.
socio-technical infrastructure digital anthropology information security
Cade Diehm is the founder of New Design Congress, an independent research group confronting the gap between what is said to be happening and what is actually happening in digitised societies. With a multi-disciplinary background in information security, interface politics and digital anthropology, Cade and his team study technology macro-scale influence on subculture, livelihood, identity, climate and conflict. Prior to New Design Congress, Cade spent ten years engaged in a design-focused digital security practice in Australia, the United States, Korea, Germany, Singapore and the United Kingdom. He was an information security researcher and head of design & production at the Berlin-based non-profit Tactical Tech, providing security consultation and bringing the NGO’s activism to audiences worldwide. He contributed to early prototypes of the secure messaging app Signal and was Chief Design Officer at SpiderOak, then famously endorsed by Edward Snowden.
socio-technical infrastructure digital anthropology information security
Dr. Rachel O’Connell is the founder and CEO of TrustElevate, a company specializing in child age verification and parental consent. A leading expert in digital identity, she authored the PAS 1296 Age Checking Code, which is now evolving into the international standard ISO 27566 Age Assurance Framework. Her expertise has been instrumental in supporting various initiatives, including the UK’s Verification of Children Online programme, and chairing cross-industry groups developing EU and UK internet safety good practice guidelines. Additionally, her research in online child protection has informed significant legislative developments, including the drafting of the 1998 Child Pornography Act (Ireland) and the 2003 Sexual Offences Act (UK). Leveraging her expertise, TrustElevate offers innovative solutions in age verification, contributing to safer online environments for children and teens on a global scale.
digital identity age verification safer online environments
University of Birmingham Business School and Co-Director of the FinTech MSc Programme. She has been named as ‘Standout #35 Women in FinTech Powerlist by Innovate Finance’ for Policy and Governance 2019/ 2020/2021. In addition, is an Advisory Board member to Incuto, championing access to fair and affordable finance, and an impact council member for We are Group addressing the digital divide. Karen co-leads Agency, UKFin Network+ and INFINITY projects (£12m EPSRC/UKRI/Research England) to optimise trustworthy, responsible, and ethical AI. A member of the Prime Minister’s Champions Group for Dementia, Corporate Digital Responsibility, Radix, IEEE Global Initiative Planet Positive, and The Payments Association, Karen seeks a balance between academia and practice towards an equitable digital society.
FinTech ethical AI digital society
Thea Sommerseth Myhren is the co-founder and CEO of Diwala, spearheading the development of the Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) platform while revolutionising credential issuance and verification across 11 African countries. Thea’s pioneering efforts have driven the adoption of secure digital identity solutions, influencing a shift toward decentralised systems across both private and public sectors to enhance digital inclusivity and economic opportunities. Thea Sommerseth Myhren is also the co-founder of CONFRM, supporting the implementation of the eIDAS regulations, enhancing cross-border trust and digital security throughout Europe in a seamless matter to shape a more secure, inclusive digital landscape and building the essential bridges for the future of digital transactions. Thea holds a Master’s degree in Decentralised Identity Design, applying a creative, user-centric perspective to developing impactful technological solutions.
EUDI Wallet digital trust impact
Alberto López is Deputy Director of the Innovation Lab at Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda (INCM), the Portuguese Mint. Over the last years, he has managed the INCM’s participation in different EU-funded consortia, including PharmaLedger, EBSI-NE and DC4EU and is also involved in internally funded projects related to the use of blockchain and/or digital credentials in public services and administration. He holds a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Zürich and is an Adjunct Professor at the School of Management and Economics of the University of Lisbon. Alberto was Portugal’s representative in the European Blockchain Partnership and, since July 2024, he is Chair of the Assembly of Members of EUROPEUM, the European Digital Infrastructure Consortium for EBSI.
blockchain digital identity verifiable credentials