As I return from the IAPP Global Privacy Summit 2024 in Washington, D.C., I do so with a whole new perspective and appreciation for the community that is this association we all enter into and derive so much from on a daily basis. Having only joined the IAPP a little over a year ago I found it truly invaluable to meet with and learn from privacy professionals from across the global network. I met colleagues who have been attending this annual gathering for more than 20 years and who remember the IAPP when it was only beginning to grow into its international name. 

Now, we find ourselves at the crossroads of another watershed moment in the global privacy journey with the release of the American Privacy Rights Act discussion draft on the heels of Summit. The significance of the possibility of federal privacy legislation in the U.S. can't be understated, and having reviewed the text, the proposed uplift in the rights of individuals and how their personal data is collected, managed and protected would be significant.

A takeaway from Summit was the symbolism of the total solar eclipse that occurred in the U.S. in the days following the event. The movement of the moon to temporarily block the sun's rays on Earth, for me, was in many ways a metaphor for the movement of technology across the privacy landscape — the increasing overlap between the worlds of security and privacy, blanketing us all with new risks and solutions in deploying and enhancing privacy and security practices within our privacy programs.

Another takeaway was the need to embrace and welcome the artificial intelligence community in order to understand and balance the discourse around ethical and responsible AI adoption. Without a diverse and informed quorum debating the merits or concerns of AI governance, we run the risk of adverse selection skewing our policy making.

In our own APAC region, we are in the midst of preparing for the 19th annual Privacy Awareness Week in Australia, followed closely by Privacy Week in New Zealand. These are opportunities for the local privacy community to gather, recognize colleagues' work throughout the year, celebrate their organizations for upholding and embedding robust privacy frameworks, and for regulators to share and highlight themes they see as emblematic of the current tone of their jurisdictions.

In Sydney, 6 May, the IAPP's Sydney KnowledgeNet Chapter will welcome and host Australian Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind for a keynote presentation in support of the Privacy Awareness Week theme of "Power up your Privacy." A subsequent panel discussion will focus on "powering up your privacy program for emerging and evolving technologies — examining the impact, influence and intersections for privacy programs of emerging and evolving technologies within organisations." The following week, the IAPP Wellington KnowledgeNet Chapter will convene a similar gathering and will host New Zealand Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster for a keynote presentation in support of Privacy Week's "Busting Privacy Myths" theme.

I'm looking forward to seeing as many of my IAPP colleagues as possible leaning into their privacy week activities and loading up on networking and content opportunities. This is a great way to maximize your IAPP experience and to contribute for the benefit of others.