Events

The Council of Europe adopted Convention 108, the first legally binding international instrument related to data protection. To mark this date, the European institutions and bodies and the Member States of the Council of Europe will, for the 6th time, celebrate European Data Protection Day on 28 January 2012.

The event will give the EDPS and Data Protection Officers an opportunity to raise awareness among EU staff and any other interested persons about their rights and obligations regarding data protection. These rights and obligations are set out in the EU Data Protection Regulation, the implementation of which is supervised by the EDPS.

To mark the event, a video message from Peter Hustinx, EDPS and Giovanni Buttarelli, Assistant Supervisor will be circulated to EU staff members and made available on the video page of the website. The video will focus on privacy and data protection as fundamental rights and highlight the everyday processing of personal data and the risks.

The EDPS will also participate in the 5th International Conference "Computers, Privacy & Data Protection" organised by academics from all over Europe. The review of the European Data Protection Framework, Copyright enforcement and privacy, Privacy and the transborder flow of personal data are just some of the panels in which the EDPS will be participating.

The EDPS will also take part in the celebration events organised by the European Commission and the Council, as it does every year.

The 33rd Annual Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners took place on 1-3 November 2011  in Mexico City and was titled ‘Privacy: The Global Age’. 

The main focus of the conference was to explore ways for building the relationships and tools necessary to protect the data of individuals beyond national borders.

The activities in Mexico City started on 31 October with a preconference entitled ‘Privacy as Freedom’, followed on 1 November by two events organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, Canada.

The conference was a great opportunity for data protection stakeholders in Europe to meet colleagues from Canada,  the United States,  Latin America, Australia, New Zealand,  China, Japan and other jurisdictions  around the world.

The closing session adopted a few resolutions, amongst which the so-called Mexico Declaration. This declaration urges selected stakeholders to effectively cooperate in order to confront the new challenges. One of the main challenges is how to effectively enforce data protection in a world of 'big data'. The list of distinguished speakers included Peter Hustinx, EDPS, and Giovanni Buttarelli, Assistant Supervisor who moderated sessions of the conference.

More information on the Conference website.

The office of the European Data Protection Supervisor will take part to the Festival of Europe organised in Brussels by the European institutions and the city of Brussels.

From 11.00 am to 3.00 pm, staff members of the EDPS will welcome visitors at their information stand in the European Parliament premises (ASP Building, "Main Street").

Visitors will have the opportunity to learn more about the protection of their personal data and test their knowledge in a quiz. Within the correct answers, a random draw will award 20 USB sticks  of 8 GB to participants.

Visit the EDPS stand to learn more about your data protection rights!

The Member States of the Council of Europe and the European institutions and bodies will celebrate European Data Protection Day for the fifth time. This date marks the anniversary of the Council of Europe's Convention 108 on the protection of personal data, the first legally binding international instrument related to the field of data protection.

The event will give the EDPS and Data Protection Officers the opportunity to focus on raising awareness among EU staff of their rights and obligations regarding data protection - these rights and obligations are set out in the EU Data Protection Regulation , the implementation of which is supervised by the EDPS.

To mark the event, a one-day information stand will be set up on three consecutive days in the main EU institutions:

• Council: 26 January 2011; 11.00 - 15.00
  Justus Lipsius Building, Atrium
• European Commission: 27 January 2011; 11.00 - 15.00
  Berlaymont building , main entrance hall (Piazza, close to the restaurant)
• European Parliament: 28 January 2011; 11.00 - 15.00
  ASP building, main street

Visitors will be invited to participate to a quiz on data protection in the European administration. Within the correct answers, a prize draw will award 20 secure USB keys.

A video message of Peter Hustinx, EDPS, and Giovanni Buttarelli, Assistant Supervisor, outlining the main priorities and developments in the field of data portection in 2011 has been circulated to EU staff members and made available on the Videos page of the website.

The EDPS will also participate to a serie of events, including the three-day annual Conference "Computers, Privacy & Data Protection" ("CPDP 2011") organised by academics from all over Europe, and a celebration event jointly organised by the European Commission and the Council of Europe in Brussels.

The 32nd Annual Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners will take place on 27-29 October 2010 in Jerusalem. The title of the conference is “Privacy: Generations”. It refers to a new generation of technologies (like mobile devices, biometrics, RFID and cloud computing) and to a new generation of users posting personal information and communicating with friends and colleagues on social networks. This may in turn require a new generation of governance relating to privacy issues.
The programme reflects this focus on new issues and includes many of the subjects that are currently being widely discussed, such as privacy by design, accountability, behavioural targeting and the right to oblivion. The list of distinguished speakers includes three representatives of the EDPS: Peter Hustinx, Giovanni Buttarelli and Rosa Barcelo.
The activities in Jerusalem will start on 26 October with an event organised by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) marking the 30th anniversary of the OECD Privacy Guidelines.

More information on the Conference website.