Memdeklaro

History

Memdeklaro is a non-governmental and non-corporate project that provides a web-based system for creating a self-declaration of identity. The project began in November 2024 as a public-domain initiative focused on self-asserted identity and individual freedom. It is available free of charge and does not require registration, a subscription, government identification, or involvement by a third-party identity provider.

The project describes itself as a philosophical initiative concerned with freedom of identity and universal access to self-declared identification. Its stated rationale is that conventional identity systems can exclude people who lack government-issued identification or cannot safely use it. Memdeklaro therefore distinguishes self-declaration from government-issued identification and from identity credentials whose claims are verified by an external authority.

Identity model

A Memdeklaro declaration is a self-attested identity credential, meaning that the information it contains represents claims made by the holder rather than claims verified by a third party authority. Users can choose the name they wish to be called and can include personal beliefs in the declaration, such as identifying as a conscientious objector. The declaration specifically does not mention citizenship, place of birth, or parentage.

The project associates this model with decentralized identity (DID) and self-sovereign identity (SSI). These approaches seek to give individuals greater control over identity information and reduce reliance on centralized identity providers. Memdeklaro treats self-attestation as one component of the broader decentralized identity ecosystem, alongside technologies such as public key cryptography, decentralized storage, and verifiable credentials.

Technology

The Memdeklaro generator operates locally in the users web browser. Information entered into the form is not transmitted to a server and is not stored in a central database. The project states that it does not use a blockchain or IPFS to store declarations. Users must download and store their self-declaration locally on their device.

The generator can also be downloaded and operated offline. A completed declaration can be saved digitally, printed at home, or produced as a physical card by an external printing service. A PDF version can be imported into digital wallets such as Google Wallet or Apple Wallet. The system supports machine-readable information through Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) encoding and can optionally generate a PDF417 barcode. A QR code representing the declaration can also be included in the generated PDF.

Memdeklaro can optionally generate a decentralized identifier and a JSON-LD verifiable credential. In this configuration, however, Memdeklaro does not act as a trusted issuer and does not cryptographically sign the credential. The project describes the resulting credential as self-attested or self-issued; users who require a cryptographically signed credential must sign it themselves and manage or upload it to their own compatible digital wallet.

Open source

Memdeklaro is released into the public domain, allowing its software to be examined, downloaded, modified, and forked without restrictions. The project does not itself print or distribute physical identification cards. Instead, users are responsible for saving, printing, storing, and, where applicable, cryptographically signing their own declarations. Because the web application does not retain copies of declarations, a lost declaration cannot be recovered from Memdeklaro and must be generated again.

Purpose

The project describes its purpose as enabling individuals to self-declare their identity without requiring authorization from a centralized identity provider. The self-declaration is written in Esperanto and displays the Esperanto flag, Jubilee symbol and artwork of a peace dove in the sky. Its stated motto is Unu mondo, unu homaro (One world, one humankind)