06 Apr INATBA at Year 1: There’s Never Been a More Important Time for Blockchain
By Dr. Julie Maupin
Julie Maupin, chair of INATBA board
What a difference a year makes! On April 3rd, 2019, we gathered in the beautiful EU Residence Palace in Brussels to celebrate the founding of INATBA together with then-Commissioner Mariya Gabriel and the DG-Connect Team. It was truly awe inspiring to see this exciting new organization come to life after months of planning and preparation. We launched with the enthusiasm and support of 106 founding members from across the blockchain space. Today, most of those same members, and approximately 70 new ones who have since joined our ranks, are enduring “shelter in place” orders due to the global spread of Covid-19. As we reflect back on all that INATBA has accomplished over the past year, we must therefore also look forward to the work that lies ahead of us.
Crises have a way of calling out the best in people. We can be proud that this is also happening within INATBA. Our Healthcare, Social Impact, and Governance Working Groups have all quickly mobilized to contribute to global efforts to combat the spread of Coronavirus and to ease its devastating impacts on our lives, our governments, and our economies. Other working groups are successfully pivoting their workstreams to enable members to advance critical efforts more effectively in a remote fashion. And INATBA’s executive leadership is laying plans to help members more rapidly connect with the governmental and private sector organizations who desperately need their technological solutions to surmount this crisis.
Our founding charter calls upon us to “enable more decentralised, trusted, user-centric digital services, and stimulate new business models benefiting society and the economy.” There has never been a time when it was more necessary to have this thriving and globally interconnected network of leaders committed to serving society through new technologies. The blockchain and distributed ledger technologies we build every day are borderless, empowering, privacy protecting, and connective. In short, they are uniquely positioned to make a difference in the current environment.
Let us therefore face this crisis together, and in doing so make clear once again what INATBA is all about.
Julie Maupin is chair of INATBA’s Board of Directors. She wrote on behalf of the board.