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 The Porvoo Group is an international cooperative network whose primary goal is to promote a trans-national, interoperable electronic identity based on PKI technology (Public Key Infrastructure) and smart cards and chip ID cards, in order to help ensure secure public and private sector e-transactions in Europe. The Group also promotes the introduction of interoperable certificates and technical specifications, the mutual, cross-border acceptance of identification and authentication mechanisms, as well as cross-border, online access to administrative services.
As its name suggests, the Porvoo Group was established in the Finnish city of Porvoo in April 2002. Following the joint initiative by one of the eEurope Smart Card Charter chairmen and the Director General of the Finnish Population Register Centre, the founding meeting took place at Hotel Haikko Manor during the international conference held in conjunction with the Public Identity Project of the Smart Card Charter operating under the eEurope 2002 programme.
The Group has seen constant expansion. The majority of its members represent their respective national authorities but representatives of the business community as well as the European Commission and the UN have also contributed to its work. At present, some 30 countries from Europe, the United States, Canada and Asia have representatives in the Group. Porvoo Group conferences have been attended by as many as approximately one hundred delegates.
The Porvoo Group is a pro-active, European-level electronic identity “interest group”, widely recognised as a significant and relevant contributor to informed public dialogue in this area.
The 10th conference was again held in Porvoo in autumn 2006, during Finland’s EU Presidency. The anniversary conference was one of the events related to the Finnish Presidency.
The Porvoo Group meets twice a year
The Porvoo Group's two-day conferences are held every six months. The conferences always include a comprehensive presentation by the hosting country on the situation of the Information Society and the electronic identity in the said hosting country. In addition, the participating countries present their country updates. The primary objective of the conferences is to bring under discussion “Best practices” in the PKI technology, present on-going PKI projects, follow the progress of standardisation and biometrics in the field of electronic identity, discuss various studies concerning the EU Directive governing electronic signatures and draft statements and proposals to the European Commission when deemed necessary.
The permanent secretariat coordinates the function of the Group
The joint Chairs of the Porvoo Group are Head of Registration, Ms Tuire Saaripuu from the Certification Authority Services of the Finnish Population Register Centre and the Chairperson of the Organising Committee of the member country hosting the next Porvoo Group conference.
The Finnish Population Register Centre constitutes the permanent secretariat of the Group. The secretariat manages communications between conferences and jointly organises conferences together with the hosting country organisation. The secretariat also handles media relations pertaining to the conferences together with the hosting country organisation.
The Porvoo Group's conferences
Porvoo 1: Porvoo, Finland, April 2002
Porvoo 2: Dublin, Ireland, November 2 002
Porvoo 3: Oslo, Norway, May 2003
Porvoo 4: Issy-les-Moulineaux at the gate to Paris, France, in connection with the 4th Worldwide Forum on e-Democracy, September 2003
Porvoo 5: Tallinn, Estonia, May 2004, www.id.ee/porvoo5
Porvoo 6: Rome, Italy, November 2004, www.nestor.uniroma2.it/porvoo6
Porvoo 7: Reykjavik, Iceland, May 2005, http://porvoo7.fjarmalaraduneyti.is/
Porvoo 8: Brussels, Belgium, 13-14 October 2005,
http://www.porvoo8.rrn.fgov.be/porvoo8/home.php
Porvoo 9: Ljubljana, Slovenia 11 - 12 May 2006, http://porvoo9.gov.si/
Porvoo 10: Porvoo, Finland 2 - 3 November 2006, http://www.porvoo10.net
Summary of the current status of electronic identity in Europe, the USA and Asia
Porvoo 11: Coimbra, Portugal 24 - 25 May 2007, http://www.ama.pt/porvoo/
Porvoo 12: Grosseto, Italy, 18 - 19 October 2007, http://www.porvoo12.net/
Porvoo 13: Hurtigruten (Tromsø - Trondheim), Norway, 9 - 10 April 2008, http://www.brreg.no/porvoo13/
Porvoo 14: Cardiff (Wales), The United Kingdom, 23 - 24 October 2008, http://porvoo14.dvla.gov.uk/
Porvoo 15: Vienna, Austria, 27 - 28 May 2009, http://porvoo15.a-sit.at/index.php
Porvoo 16: Charleville-Mézières, France, 25 - 26 March 2010, http://www.ants.interieur.gouv.fr/evenements/?lang=eng
Further more, please visit the section Releases and www.vaestorekisterikeskus.fi/en -> Current issues.
Porvoo Group logo:
Porvoo Group logo, rgb
Porvoo Group logo, cmyk
Use of the Porvoo Group logo
Documents:
European Health Insurance Card (EHIC): towards simplification for healthcare professionals, Article by Marc Lange
Common specifications for eID interoperability in the eGovernment context
Summary of existing authentication schemes (draft)
Proposal for a multi-level authentication mechanism and a mapping of existing authentication mechanisms
eID Interoperability for PEGS
Privacy Enhancement for eIDs (draft of a discussion paper)
Paper on TLS-Federation (final version)
Rough writeup of a more concrete eID Interoperability Scenario
Review and Analysis of Current and Future European e-ID Schemes, by Siddhartha Arora, M.Sc. thesis, Royal Holloway, University of London
Thomas Myhr's report: Regulating a European eID
NIST Special Publication
The permanent secretariat of the Porvoo Group: porvoo.group@vrk.fi
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