On 9 and 10 June 2026, Amsterdam hosted Identity Week Europe 2026, the world’s largest identity event, bringing together more than 4,000 attendees, 250 speakers and 250 exhibitors at the RAI Exhibition Centre. The conference covered a wide range of themes including biometrics, digital travel credentials, verification and authentication, secure credentials, digital onboarding, border control and eIDAS cooperation, reflecting the growing complexity of the global identity landscape.
Aptitude was represented by Florent Tournois, coordinator of the Aptitude consortium, who participated in three sessions covering seamless travel, interoperable borders and mobile identity. All these topics sit at the core of what Aptitude is building and testing across 13 countries with more than 141 partners.
On the first day, F. Tournois joined the seamless travel panel alongside Annet Steenbergen, Lisette Looren de Jong (Ministry of Justice and Security), Nick van Straten (KLM Royal Dutch Airlines), Olivier Palliere (Flughafen Zürich AG), Nargis Zamaray (Schiphol Airport) and Stephan Schipmann (Mülhbauer ID Services), moderated by Annet Steenbergen. The session explored the advancement of biometric technology in enabling touchless journeys, the evolution of digital travel credentials and the role of AI in streamlining the pre-travel process.
F. Tournois also took part in the panel “Interoperable Borders” alongside Marco Fais (European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training, CEPOL), moderated by Michelle Wilson (Blue Cavalry Solutions). The discussion addressed the practical changes travellers will experience at European borders in the coming years, the phases of implementation of digital identity systems and the trust challenges between countries, agencies and citizens.
On the second day, F. Tournois participated in the panel “Mobile Identity” alongside Loffie Jordaan (AAMVA), Etienne Plouvier (mDL4EU), Mallikarjuna Potta (PayPal), Nicola Betz (Government Digital Service), moderated by Guy de Felcourt (Grenoble Ecole De Management). The session examined how individuals can prove claims such as age or qualifications without revealing sensitive personal data, the role of biometrics and hardware security in protecting mobile identity, and the challenges of interoperability and adoption of mobile driving licences.
Identity Week confirmed what Aptitude is experiencing in practice: Europe is moving from standards to deployment, and the challenge is no longer to define digital identity but to make it a reality for citizens across the continent.
Learn more about Identity Week Europe here.
