Yoti has for now suspended the launch of its 2020 Digital Identity Fellowship program, said Ken Banks, head of social purpose at Yoti in a blog post, citing uncertainty around COVID-19 lockdowns.
While Yoti has decided to postpone the launch of the 2020 program, it will keep on supporting last year’s fellows as their research is shifting from fieldwork to remote work. An update is likely to be announced in the autumn.
The Digital Identity Fellowship program was launched last year when it received more than 120 applications from over 30 countries. Four of the 54 proposals shortlisted were from India, and proposed research on and enhancements to the country’s national Aadhaar biometric identity system.
Last year’s winners were South African researcher Tshepo Magoma, Chilean development practitioner Paz Bernaldo, Indian digital storyteller, researcher, and documentary filmmaker Subhashish Panigrahi, who started the fellowship in October 2019. They spent a year working on digital identity and identity-related issues in South Africa, Argentina, and India.
