Ayra Community,
TL;DR:
- We are opening participation in an Ayra Card Proof of Concept and preparing to launch the Ayra Card Working Group.
- Upcoming elections for Councils and Board positions are approaching, with campaigning starting in March.
- A new conversation with Glenn Gore of Affinidi explores why trust breaks down at the systems level.
Hello everyone!
As we begin 2026, Ayra is moving from shared understanding into more hands-on coordination. Over the past months, members have helped clarify how the Ayra Card Protocol, trust registries, and conformance fit together in practice. We are now creating more structured opportunities to test those ideas and learn together.
There are two immediate opportunities for members to engage: a focused Ayra Card Proof of Concept and the launch of the Ayra Card Working Group. Both are intended to move work forward through early validation and shared learning.
As always, Ayra’s progress depends on member participation. Whether through proofs of concept, working groups, office hours, or one-on-one conversations, we encourage you to engage and help shape what comes next.
Keep being awesome!
Darrell O’Donnell
Executive Director
darrell.odonnell@ayra.forum
Workstream Updates
📇 Business Workstream
This month, the Business Workstream is working to get members more involved with the Ayra Card. The focus is on hands-on exploration and testing ideas early.
We are working on two things right now. First, a small Proof of Concept will help us see how coordination works in real situations. Second, we are getting ready to launch the Ayra Card Working Group, where members can help set direction and priorities. Both efforts aim to encourage active participation and shared learning across organizations.
🪪 Ayra Card Working Group — Call for Participants
Ayra is preparing to launch the Ayra Card Working Group, and we’re inviting members to get involved from the outset.
The draft charter outlines the proposed scope, objectives, and structure of the Working Group and is available for review ahead of kickoff.
🔗 Review the draft charter and express interest
If you’re interested in contributing, whether from a technical, governance, policy, or ecosystem perspective, we encourage you to review the charter and consider participating.
🧪 Ayra Card Proof of Concept
Ayra is launching a limited Proof of Concept (PoC) to explore how multiple organizations can coordinate high-assurance, person-authorized interactions using the Ayra Card Protocol.
This PoC is open to a small number of member organizations and requires time and an executive sponsor, no cash contribution. The brief outlines the scope, timeline, and participation details.
Members interested in helping validate real-world business value are encouraged to review and engage.
Upcoming Business Office Hours:
- Tuesday, February 3 • 6:00 pm PST / 9:00 pm EST / 1:00 am UTC
- Wednesday, February 4 • 8:00 am PST / 11:00 am EST / 3:00 pm UTC
⚖️ Governance Workstream
Governance is focused on transitioning all members to the Swiss Ayra Association entity in time for Ayra’s 2026 General Assembly on May 26th, with outreach to all member classes beginning this week. To formalize membership, an individual or organization must sign a new member agreement and, for the Business classes, pay membership dues.
The first Board meeting of the year is on Tuesday, January 27th.
🗳️ Upcoming Elections: Councils & Board
A reminder that elections for Ayra Councils and Board positions are approaching, with campaigning scheduled to begin in March.
Strong governance depends on active participation from our members. Whether you’re considering standing for a role or supporting others in the community, now is the time to start thinking about how you’d like to contribute.
We’ll continue to share updates and key dates, but please mark this on your radar and help spread the word.
🛠️ Technical Workstream
The Technical Workstream is focused on making Ayra Cards and trust registries work together in practice, with an emphasis on conformance, interoperability, and reuse of existing standards. Members are exploring proofs of concept, preparing for future pilots, and contributing to shared tooling and development environments.
If you have a use case, a component, or an idea you want to test, join the Technical Office Hours or reach out to get involved.
Upcoming Technical Office Hours:
- Tuesday, January 20 • 6:00 pm PST / 9:00 pm EST / 1:00 am UTC
- Wednesday, January 21 • 8:00 am PST / 11:00 am EST / 3:00 pm UTC
We encourage you to participate, bring questions, and share feedback by either filling out this form or requesting access to the agenda items and notes document (link) and adding an entry for the relevant date. You can also reach out to christine.martin@ayra.forum
These conversations play a key role in shaping alignment across the technical workstream and supporting a collaborative, inclusive engineering culture within Ayra. As always, strengthening member connections is central to our community-building efforts. Standing office hours are available each week, and you can find all upcoming sessions in the Ayra Activity & Events Calendar.
🎙️Featured Conversation: Trust Beyond Identity
Recently, Darrell O’Donnell talked with Glenn Gore, CEO of Affinidi, about why trust keeps breaking down in digital systems, even though identity technologies, credentials, and privacy tools are improving.
Their conversation emphasizes a key insight from Ayra:
Trust often fails not because tools are missing, but because systems are fragmented, governance is unclear, and organizations struggle to work across several boundaries.
Instead of focusing solely on identity, the conversation treats trust as a systems issue that requires shared context, compatible governance, and cooperation across different groups.
This view shapes Ayra’s work and guides how the Ayra Card helps reveal trust assumptions, dependencies, and breakdowns in real-life situations.
🇺🇦 Community Highlight: LFDT / IEEE Ukrainian DLT Forum
In December, Ayra Executive Director Darrell O’Donnell spoke at the IEEE Ukrainian DLT Forum, hosted by LFDT Kyiv, as part of the session “National and Ecosystem Approaches to Digital Identity and Wallets.”
The discussion explored how national initiatives and ecosystem-driven models can coexist, scale, and interoperate, particularly in the context of digital identity wallets. Darrell shared Ayra’s perspective on governance-first trust infrastructure and the importance of aligning technical innovation with institutional and cross-border trust frameworks.
🌏 Ayra at the World Economic Forum: Connected Future Initiative
Ayra was represented at the World Economic Forum through the Connected Future Initiative, where our Executive Director, Darrell O’Donnell was invited to participate alongside global leaders shaping the future of digital cooperation.
Ayra’s participation ensures that digital trust, governance, and interoperability remain central to conversations about emerging digital public infrastructure. By contributing practical, ecosystem-driven insights, Ayra continues to advocate for trust frameworks that scale across sectors and jurisdictions, not just technologies in isolation.
👥 Engaging with Ayra
If you have not yet subscribed to the Ayra Activity and Events Calendar, you can do so here: Ayra activity and events calendar. Please note that most activities at this point are Member-only and will require your registration to be approved.
We are reaching out to Members for one-on-one conversations, and hope you can take some time out to freely share any feedback and raise questions. We look forward to engaging discussions and thank our Members for their commitment to supporting Ayra on its journey. Please feel free to reach out to us directly at any time.
If you’re a Member and haven’t checked out the Member Portal yet, we recommend that you do so. If you haven’t seen your invite, reach out to christine.martin@ayra.forum.
If you are part of an organization that would like to apply for Ayra Membership, we invite you to complete the Ayra Membership Application Form: Link to Application Form. Please reach out to us for any questions on your Membership application.