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An introduction to Memdeklaro, the humanitarian alternative to government ID

Learn more at https://github.com/memdeklaro

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Memdeklaro is a philosophical project that empowers people to self-declare their own identity, supporting the three freedoms: freedom of name, freedom of belief and freedom of association.

Memdeklaro supports a world where people are judged only on their character, beliefs and actions, not on where they were born, who they were born to, or what their birth culture was. A world where individuals have power over their own lives - the power to leave corrupt governments, hostile cultures and abusers, and thrive in a self-chosen community.

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Memdeklaro is a self-declaration of identity, which does not require a centralized authority. It is filled out and printed by the holder themselves.

Memdeklaro can be used digitally or as a paper business card or plastic card.

It contains a self-chosen first name, self-chosen surname, date of birth, photo and signature.

It does not contain a birth place, citizenship or stateless status, or parents' names. This protects dissidents, conscientious objectors, and adult victims of child abuse or cult abuse.

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Why use a self-declaration?

More daily life necessities are requiring proof of identity every year, from housing, jobs and healthcare to sim cards, mail and libraries and volunteer work.

Unfortunately only government-issued ID is accepted, which gives the state a monopoly on identity.

This is dangerous, because millions of people worldwide are unable to get government ID, often due to their circumstances of birth, rather than their actions as an adult.

Nation-states often refuse to print birth certificates, national ID cards and passports for people. The United Nations no longer issues Nansen passports, the Red Cross rarely issues Emergency Travel Documents, and stateless passports exist by law but are rarely issued in practice.

There is no way to appeal or independently earn a legal identity as an adult through your own efforts. This creates a vicious circle where it is illegal to not have ID, but no jurisdiction agrees to print ID for you.

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How to use Memdeklaro?

Memdeklaro is for everyone and does not require third party permission. All you need to do is download the open source template from https://memdeklaro.surge.sh/, or from https://github.com/memdeklaro, add your name and photo, and use it digitally or print it out as a business card or plastic card.

As it is a self declaration, it is not issued by a centralized authority nor stored in a database. You are the authority over your own life.

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A disclaimer - ID requirements do more harm than good and are not necessary.

Government ID requirements are relatively new. For most of human history, self-declaration was the norm and caused no issues.

People did not need a signed certificate from the King in order to live their lives. People could travel from place to place without hindrance, with the goal of finding somewhere to belong, where they could prove their worth, work hard and build a good life.

For most transactions, it should be enough to simply introduce yourself with your self-chosen name, use a password or key, or pay in a bearer instrument like cash or Monero.

The world would be freer and more prosperous if people could build a reputation based on their actions and personal beliefs, rather than be condemned to their circumstances of birth, without a way to earn freedom as an adult.

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For further reading about the state monopoly on identity, take a look at articles such as "Passports Were a Temporary War Measure" by Speranta Dumitru, "During World War II, we did have something to hide" by Hans de Zwart, "The Little-Known Passport That Protected 450,000 Refugees" by Cara Giaimo, and "With each person left living on the streets, we are losing as a society" by Petr Baroch.

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Other non-government ID projects include World Passport by WorldCitizenGov.org and DigitalCourage.de

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Memdeklaro is in the public domain. Visit https://github.com/memdeklaro for more information.