About the forum

The PreserveEU Forum is a key event that fosters discussions on the future of digital preservation within the European Union. The event brings together Qualified Trust Service Providers (QTSPs), experts from the European Commission, and industry leaders to explore innovative solutions, share experiences, address challenges and opportunities in digital preservation.

With his expertise in digital transformation, Tolis is always seeking opportunities, to transform the way European citizens interact with the public services offered by the EU Member States as well as the European Institutes, Bodies and Agencies (EUIBAs). Tolis assists the private and public sector within EU and 3rd countries, to establish citizens-centric, interoperable services of great value.

Background

Tolis graduated as an Electrical and Electronics Engineer from the University of Patras, Greece and following a successful career in Greece and Germany, he started working for the European Commission and specifically in DG DIGIT, in 2011.

Since then, Tolis has coordinated several projects in Research and Education domains and since 2019  he is the Solution Owner of the electronic identities and digital signing services in the European Commission. The past 4.5 years, Tolis and his teams are working intensively to boost the penetration of Trust Services inside the EUIBAs via the EU Sign service, as well as in the EU Member States. He is also the driver of the technical, mutual recognition of Trust Services between the EU and 3^rd countries under European Commission’s Digital Act strategy. Tolis is the founder of European Commission’s Third Countries Trust List Programme (TCTL), which aims to offer a well documented, streamlined process for any 3rd country seeking interoperability of their Trust Services with those offered in the EU.

Viky Manaila is an international expert in the field of electronic signatures, digital identity and digital transformation processes, who has successfully promoted the electronic business globally. Viky has successfully contributed to standardization work for the global acceptance of European Trust Services, a study of existing trust services that operate in different regions of the world and their possible mutual recognition or global acceptance. 

The eIDAS Regulation and corresponding standards go beyond EU boundaries, proving that interoperability and cross-border legal recognition are the keys for global electronic commerce and transactions.

Viky has detailed in-depth knowledge of regulations, technologies and policies in digitisation and digital identities in the EU and third countries. She is member of different high level working groups set up by the European Commission, ETSI (www.etsi.org ), World Economic Forum,  aimed at aligning policy and operations around trust identity, digital signatures and cross-recognition.

Viky Manaila is also President for Cloud Signature Consortium.

Hooked on computers at 12, coding by 14, and founded my first business in university. I took my passion for Document Management to the next level in 2006 by starting Docbyte, now a leader and Qualified Trust Service Provider for Information Processing and Preservation. I'm driven by the challenge of turning complex legislation into smart tech solutions. Off-duty? You’ll find me on a motorcycle, bicycle, or enjoying the good life with my friends and family.

Cristina Vega is the Vice President of Product at TrustCloud, a leading Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP) specialising in secure digital transactions. With a dynamic career spanning from project management to her current leadership role, Cristina has driven strategic initiatives to ensure TrustCloud’s services remain at the forefront of compliance and innovation.

Cristina’s leadership is marked by her commitment to aligning TrustCloud’s offerings with European regulatory frameworks, such as eIDAS, while also exploring new frontiers in digital identity and preservation. Her work has been instrumental in developing TrustCloud’s Digital Identity Wallet, a solution that supports secure, cross-border digital transactions and contributes to the EU’s vision of a unified digital ecosystem.

Her expertise lies in developing secure, scalable products that meet the rigorous standards of digital trust and ensuring seamless integration for clients across diverse sectors. Cristina is also dedicated to fostering collaboration within the digital trust community and advocating for technological advancements that promote security and transparency in the digital age.

As a referent of the Federal Office for Information Security, Ulrike Korte is responsible for the Development of the BSI Technical Guideline 03125 “Preservation of Cryptographically Signed Documents” and for BSI publication regarding Biometric Template Protection and TR-ESOR .

BackgroundDr.

Ulrike Korte studied mathematics with a focus on “algebraic number theory” at the WWU Münster and “Coding and Cryptography” with Prof. Massey (ETH Zurich, Switzerland).
After completing her doctorate at the University of Münster she was employed by Informatik GmbH & Co. KG as Head of Software Engineering and Senior Consultant for New (Cryptographic) Security Technologies until 2004.
Since 2004 she has been working at the Federal Office for Information Security.
She is project manager of the BSI Technical Guideline 03125 “Preservation of Evidence of Cryptographically Signed Documents” (TR-ESOR)” as well as (co-)author of numerous scientific publications and of the preservation standards of ETSI TS 119 511 and ETSI TS 119 512 in the ETSI technical committee ESI (Electronic Signatures and Infrastructures) and as an expert of in the CEN Technical Committee CEN/TC 468/WG 1 "General concepts for preservation of digital information" involved in the development of the “TS electronic-archiving-service”.

As Product Manager at Governikus, Benny Birnbaum is responsible for the TR-ESOR-compliant solution DATA Aeonia (formerly Governikus LZA) for the long-term preservation of electronically signed data.

In 2016, Benny Birnbaum joined Governikus from the German Navy, where he has most recently served as an IT officer for four years. The graduate computer scientist initially took over the so-called core system for signature creation as part of Governikus Service Components (now Governikus Suite).

In 2018, his focus shifted to DATA Aeonia, where he’s continually working on improving the user experience of this essential part in the lifecycle of electronic signatures. The main goal is supporting preservation and electronic signatures as one of the crucial means in the transition to a trustworthy and easy-to-use, pan-European digitalized infrastructure. To ensure meeting practical real-world demands in the best way possible, close collaboration with public service representatives on all levels serves as an important source of insights (from small communities to the federal level).

Additionally, he’s member of the ETSI technical committee ESI (Electronic Signatures and Trust Infrastructure). Most recently, he’s been contributing to ETSI ESI work as rapporteur of the crypto-related specifications (eAlgoCat schema and Algo Paper), of which soon machine-readable versions will be published to support implementers and cross-border communication – a unified QES-space – even more.

In his spare-time, he’s interested in number theory and primality proving.

Steffen Schwalm has more than 15 years experiences in design, implementing and rollout of trustworthy digital ecosystems based on digital identities and trust services in high regulated industries in Europe. He works as Senior Manager Digital Identity and Trust at msg.  His main subjects are:

• Legal Compliance and Governance (e.g. eIDAS, eIDAS 2.0 etc.)
• Decentralized digital identities and Wallets
• Trust Services incl. Preservation
• Certification and Audit
• DLT and Blockchain

Steffen Schwalm takes part in international standardization at ISO, ETSI, CEN and is author of numerous scientific publications. Since long time he supports shaping European digital identity and trust framework in several European Consortiums and projects.

Davide Coletto is an entrepreneur and executive with over 20 years of experience in document management, compliant storage systems, and advanced international technology. He currently serves as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Namirial S.p.A., a leading company in the electronic trust services market, offering comprehensive and cutting-edge solutions ranging from digital signatures and electronic identification to digital archiving, electronic invoicing, and cybersecurity.

In his role, Davide oversees research and development activities, supervises strategic projects, and ensures the quality and security of the services offered by Namirial. His in-depth knowledge of the eIDAS regulation—which governs electronic trust services within the European Union—allows him to keep the company’s services compliant with the highest standards, ensuring maximum reliability and security in digital processes.

Aleksandr is a Senior Analyst Developer with six years of experience in the digital signature field, focusing on secure and compliant eSignature solutions.

At DIGIT, Aleksandr contributes to the open-source Digital Signature Service (DSS) library, helping to make electronic signature creation and validation more accessible for implementers while ensuring compliance with eIDAS regulation and European standards (such as ETSI).

Background

Aleksandr began his studies at Northern (Arctic) Federal University in Arkhangelsk, Russia, before moving to Luxembourg in 2016. He completed a Master program in Information and Computer Sciences at the University of Luxembourg. In 2018, he joined Nowina Solutions, becoming a part of DIGIT projects, including work on DSS. His contributions have supported the implementation of the MRA (Mutual Recognition Agreement) framework for establishing trust between the EU and 3rd countries, as well as he implemented the first open-source solution for validating XMLERS (XML Evidence Record Syntax), as part of DSS library, to support the mass adoption of the EU digital preservation service.