# DIF APAC Regional SIG (2023)

[](https://hackmd.io/udPQuNxUT--56dCdRUthIQ)

## :triangular_flag_on_post: March Meeting

This call is a collaborative effort between DIF and ToIP Communities and interested parties invovled with Decentralized Identity in the Asia Pacific region

## 💬 Agenda Items

agenda items to discuss in this meeting.

| **Item** | **Presenter** | **Pass Time** |
|---------- |----------------- |-------------- |
| New Member Introductions | Catherine |5mins
Thailand's preparation for a Digital Society-Landscape and Outlook |Sammotic| 20 mins
Recap of the APAC Digital Identity Unconference (https://www.apacdigitalid.org/en)|Ashish|10 mins
Recap of the Thoughtful Biometrics Workshop (https://www.thoughtfulbiometrics.org/2023) |Eric|10mins
Reactions and Updates |Catherine |15mins

## :heavy_check_mark: Meeting Summary

**Members present**
1.Catherine Nabbala
2.Sammotic Switchyarn
3.Victor Fernando
4.Carmen Lam
5.Eric Welton
6.Ashish Tripathi
7.Jean F. Queralt
8. Jo Spenser
9.Aniket
10.John Phillips
11.Joanne Knight
12. Sankarshan
13. Eric Drury

**Minutes**:

Sammotic shared about **Thailand's preparation for a Digital Society-Landscape and Outlook**:
2023 is arguably an exciting year for Thailand. Its government has been executing the "Strategic Plan for Electronic Transactions" over the past few years. Part of it consists of new legislation, a few compulsory standards, a lot of recommendations, and amendments to existing instruments.
It has been noted that trust-service ecosystems are shaping up in both the public and private sectors, paving the way not only for a more digital society but also for new business opportunities.

**Landscape**

**National Plan**
Digital Transformation
-Creating e-government
-promoting digital services
Two Main Agencies overseeing Digital Identity related initiatives in Thailand:
1. Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) which is both private and public.
2. Digital Government Development Agency which is public.

**Key Legislation**
**Personal Data Protection Act
Electronic Transactions Act**
Act on the Facilitation of Request for Permission-An agency may provide electronic means.
Act on the Provision of E-Government Services- An agency shall prepare a digital process for each of its services.”
Act on E-Government-
– eID
– no photocopy required
– 24×7 online channels
– etc

***Latest***
Royal Decree on Digital Platforms
Royal Decree on Identification & Authentication Services

**Standards & Recommendations**
(By Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA))
***Compulsory Standards***
National Payment Message Standard
INCOTERMS
Thai Medicines Terminology

***Recommendations***
Medical Certificates
e-Timestamping
Biometric echnology
Privacy Notices and Consent
Academic Transcripts
Verifiable Credentials
Electronic Signatures
Digital Identity (v3 just out)

*Tentative*: E-Wallets (for credentials)

**Other updates**:
– an ecosystem in an ID ecosystem: https://www.biometricupdate.com/202303/thailands-blockchain-digital-id-infrastructure-an-ecosystem-in-an-id-ecosystem

**The UIDAI (Aadhaar) Act** available from https://uidai.gov.in/images/targeted_delivery_of_financial_and_other_subsidies_benefits_and_services_13072016.pdf Every resident shall be entitled to obtain an Aadhaar number by submitting his
demographic information and biometric information by undergoing the process of enrolment.

**OECD document:** https://www.linkedin.com/posts/11dot2_oecd-draft-recommendation-digital-identity-activity-7044402135819522048-IdPg?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

ToIP has just launched a very short ‘Digital Trust Survey’ - they would like to get responses from a wide range of people, especially those outside the digital ID and digital trust sphere : https://forms.gle/szjDJ4sNWmpcoLWi7

Links shared during the Thoughtful Biomterics Workshop that will be discussed in next month's call:
https://identitywoman.net/biometrics-digital-id/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
https://abolishdatacrim.org/en/bestiary
https://incidentdatabase.ai/

## :end: Close of Meeting
Unfortunately, due to limited time, we were not able to cover all. We shall continue from where we stopped.