Look Who it Was Random video

The Invisible Man | Toufic El-Rjula | TEDxAmsterdam

3,012 views · Published 3 December 2018 · 9:26 · Indexed 30 October 2026

Channel: TEDx Talks · 2018 · Nonprofits & Activism

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Fleeing Kuwait as a 5 year old boy at the start of the Gulf War, Toufic “Tey” El-Rjula's birth certificate was destroyed. He had no identity, he became "Invisible." Years later, after experiencing the financial crash in Dubai in 2008, he moved to The Hague in The Netherlands, where he became a Blockchain Senior Analyst for wikistrat.com, as well as a Bitcoin miner.  But, in 2014, Tey was forced to move into a refugee camp in The Netherlands, after his work permit was terminated. Living in the camp for two years, he came in touch with Syrian refugees who were unable to verify the authenticity of their documents, or had lost important ones such as land titles or academic certificates while fleeing their homelands. He met 1000's more 'invisible humans", just as he had been. Using Bitcoin to get some decent food was just the start, Tey’s experiences have inspired him to leverage Bitcoin and Blockchain technology to create secure digital identities so that no-one need be Invisible ever again.
Today,  Tey is CEO and co-founder of Tykn.tech, a start-up that is working with the International Red Cross and leading project Zinc (Zero INvisible Children), to solve the paper-based identity problem in disaster areas. He is active as a public speaker and educator on digital currencies and Blockchain technology, a global moderator at Bitcoin.com, and candidate for an MSc Digital Currencies at the University of Nicosia.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

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