With the everyday expansion of blockchain technology, global institutions have also been showing an interest. In recent news, the United Nations has approved a major project focused on blockchain technology as well as artificial intelligence (AI).
On Wednesday, the United Nations Internet Governance Forum’s (UN-IGF) secretariat approved the establishment of “Dynamic Coalition.” The initiative aims at developing blockchain standards for application in various domains including public services and emergent technology like AI.
Notably, the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) serves to bring people together from various stakeholder groups as equals, in discussions on public policy issues relating to the Internet. While there is no negotiated outcome, the IGF informs and inspires those with policy-making power in both the public and private sectors.
In its official press release, the UN-IGF stated that the Dynamic Coalition on Blockchain Assurance and Standardization is going to be supported and hosted by the Government Blockchain Association (GBA). The Government Blockchain Association (GBA) is an international nonprofit association helping government, public sector professionals, and organizations around the world to understand, implement, and benefit from blockchain technology related technologies and capabilities.
According to the announcement, the initiative is going to be jointly led by UN Joint Staff Pension Fund chief information officer Dino Cataldo Dell’Accio and GBA executive director Gerard Dache.
Reportedly, the coalition is going to prioritise the development of general and industry-specific blockchain standards for AI along with substantial focus on upgradation of communication infrastructure. Simultaneously, the initiative will work on increasing the efficiency of supply chain, digital identity, and economic development and investments. Keeping up with the sustainable goals in mind, the coalition will work on environmental stewardship, and will focus on public services such as voting, health care, and education.
As per the sources, the group has already begun work on piloting blockchain standards. Additionally, they have already developed the Blockchain Maturity Model which will serve as a “roadmap” for organizations looking to “develop trusted blockchain solutions.” The agency has developed this model to also serves as a litmus test for blockchain systems to ensure they provide industry best practices and are not just a “hyped prototype” with no real function or solution.
Considering the UN-IGF’s vision for the public sector via the coalition, there are ongoing blockchain pilots looking at how the technology can be used to improve voting and credit unions. Reportedly, the coalition will work on each of the listed domains throughout the year.
It will then publish the results of the various pilot programs to promote the use of blockchain technology and ensure that these systems are “high quality and interoperable.” Additionally, the group is responsible for submit proposals for workshops and panel discussions for the UN-IGF’s annual meetings.
While this coalition marks a significant step for the blockchain industry, the interest of UN in the sector is noteworthy. However, previously other wings of UN have looked forward to decentralised aspects amid finding optimum ways to fulfil their goals of benefiting masses.
In December, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced its partnership with the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), an open-source, decentralized protocol, to pilot a digital cash disbursement system. The collaboration between both organizations was to facilitate the process of sending money to Ukrainians struggling to survive amid the war induced crisis.
Elsewhere, several nations and global institutions have showed significant interest in blockchain technology in recent times. While some nations like United States, Turkey, etc have adopted it for government systems, other nations like Philippines have joined hands with blockchain organisations to foster Web3 adoption. Overall, as the technology progresses, more agencies would look up to to the domain but recent step from the UN puts it well-paced with the increasing advancements.