Research

A scenic image of a green field in South Africa. There is a house in the distance and some lush trees in the foreground. The sky is blue with a few white clouds in places.

Updates from the field – Tshepo’s diary entry January 2020

This is the second field diary entry from Tshepo, one of our Yoti Digital Identity Fellows. His year-long research project is looking at the digital identity landscape in South Africa, with a specific focus on the national smart ID identity programme from a human rights perspective. ***** My research on digital identity and fraud in South Africa has, so far, been incredibly interesting, with most people keen to share their opinions. Encouragingly, many were also eager to share their insights on a variety of issues around the subject of digital identity in particular. My research kicked off in Gauteng, focusing

5 min read
an image of some box-shaped buildings in South Africa.

Digital ID, smart ID and identity in South Africa

This is the first field diary entry from Tshepo, one of our Yoti Digital Identity Fellows. His year-long research project is looking at the digital identity landscape in South Africa, with a specific focus on the national smart ID identity programme from a human rights perspective. *** South African SmartID Cards play a crucial role in identifying and eliminating digital identity fraud in South Africa. Future developments here will likely have repercussions for the entire African continent, given that South Africa is the most developed country in the region. My Fellowship will examine South Africa’s national digital identity programme from

6 min read
An image of two people sitting at a table. One person is using a smartphone to take a photo of the other, who is smiling at the camera.

#MarginalizedAadhaar: Exclusion in access to public information for marginalized groups

This is the first field diary entry from Subhashish, one of our Digital Identity Fellows. His year-long research project is focused on the challenges and opportunities within marginalised groups most affected by Aadhaar, India’s national digital ID system. *** In this first of a monthly series of field diary entries, I will be highlighting the challenges and opportunities relating to access to public information for marginalized groups in India. Documentation collected in my research so far includes interactions with two major groups — marginalized communities and other stakeholders that are key to all the digital identity discourses.  The first group included

an image of a person perched on the left-hand side of a light brown stone wall in Argentina. Behind them is a wall that has been painted bright blue. On either side of the pictures are two painted tree trunks.

Who are you when you're looking for a job?

This is the first field diary entry from Paz, one of our Digital Identity Fellows. Her year-long research project is focused on unravelling what digital identity, and identity in general, means to the unemployed and under-employed individuals receiving support from public job centres and local labour NGOs in Gran Buenos Aires and Mar del Plata in Argentina. *** What do you do when you’re job hunting? Do you go out into the streets and hand over your printed CV to anyone that wants it? Most likely, I presume, you do not. Instead, you probably decide to use the internet, and

7 min read
An aerial image of lots of people, gathered in one area. They are all facing a central point which is in the middle of the image. The text on top of this background image reads: Digital identities as a force for good.

Meet the 2019 Yoti Digital Identity Fellows

Earlier this year, after an extended period of ­research and evaluation, we announced the launch of a new Social Purpose Strategy. With an unashamed grassroots focus, each activity is designed to help us better understand, support and empower individuals and organisations working on critical issues of identity, primarily in the Global South. A flagship activity from the Strategy is a Fellowship Programme which we launched in April. Over a two-month application period we invited proposals for research, media, policy or development solutions based on four key themes related to identity or digital identity. With a preference for applicants from the

7 min read

Announcing the Yoti Fellowship Programme

We are excited to announce the launch of the Yoti Fellowship Programme, one of the signature activities from our new Social Impact Strategy. From today we will be inviting applications from individuals interested in helping unlock the potential of digital identities with a particular focus on local, grassroots issues. In return, Fellows will be offered generous financial and logistical support, expenses and a chance to have their findings shared with the wider world. See our Head of Social Impact Ken Banks chatting about the Fellowship Programme here.   Yoti Fellows: Filling the knowledge deficit The majority of the digital identity

5 min read