New hackathon aims to unlock fresh possibilities for Bhutan’s digital ID. Bhutan’s National Digital Identity (NDI) system is built to give people full control over their personal information, without needing help from big companies or central authorities. Now, this idea is being tested in the country’s first international hackathon on decentralised identity, which began yesterday at Dungkar Dzong in Paro.
The three-day hackathon brings together 70 participants from Bhutan and abroad. Their goal is to build useful apps using Bhutan’s blockchain-based NDI system.
Organised by the GovTech Agency with support from the Ethereum Foundation, participants are building apps and tools that use the Bhutan NDI platform.
“The launch of the NDI has created several opportunities. This is exactly what we are doing through this event, bringing in all the global and local innovators to gather and trying to build an innovative solution leveraging on Bhutan NDI,” said Jamyang Sonam, Organiser, GovTech Agency.
Ten local and three international teams were selected. They are guided by experienced mentors in blockchain and digital identity.
“The NDI hackathon will prepare Bhutanese hackers for global blockchain projects because it is going to teach them some of the fundamental reasons why you use blockchain in the first place,” said Austin Griffith, Mentor.
“Participants will get to know the technical details of Bhutan NDI and how to use Bhutan NDI to develop their products and services. And with these skills, I believe the participants can explore further to develop more products even at the international level,” said Kinzang Dorji, Mentor.
Projects range from improving public services to protecting user privacy.
“We will be integrating NDI. Every person has their own identity, so skilled artisans will also have their own identity. So, with the help of the NDI, we can prove that a product is authentic and that the product comes from skilled artists who are Bhutanese,” said Tshering Dorji, a participant.
“One of the biggest problems we are trying to solve right now is how we can use NDI to improve digital democracy. We were inspired by broad listening from Taiwan’s former digital minister. What that does is we use an application where we can really listen to all the voices of all the citizens and they can use this using a privacy-preserving way using the NDI,” said Sharfy Adamantine, another participant.
“I came to this hackathon to be part of this team and be part of this ecosystem that improves on NDI and makes full use of this technology,” said Karma Zoepa Yoezer, also a participant.
The event is also helping Bhutanese developers connect with international networks and opportunities.
“You meet new people here, and then you discover new talents. If some projects want to hire them, so that can also happen. So, international participants here might identify some local talents in Bhutan, and they can introduce them to other projects that might need similar talents,” said Aya Miyaguchi, President, Ethereum Foundation.
The hackathon wraps up tomorrow, with teams showcasing their final products. Organisers say this is just the beginning of exploring what Bhutan’s NDI system can do.
Karma Samten Wangda, Paro
Edited by Kipchu
