How many of you are going to Jersey, Channel Islands, later this month? Sure, it's kind of famous for its cows, but later this month the real headliners will be the people converging there for the 46th Global Privacy Assembly. Taking place from 28 Oct. to 1 Nov., the GPA is hosted by a different data protection authority each year. There are open sessions, as well as sessions exclusive to DPAs.
The theme of this year's conference is "The Power of i" — no, not the latest Apple product. It will explore how to "respect and balance the power of information with the need for citizens across the world to have power, control and dignity over their personal information."
The IAPP has a role to play in the open agenda of the GPA, as do a number of Canadians. Here's a quick look:
- IAPP President and CEO J. Trevor Hughes, CIPP, is on a panel about regulatory cousins, which will address the challenge of overlapping policy domains and how regulators manage organizations playing one regulator against another.
- IAPP Director of Research and Insights Joe Jones will join "The Advantages and Challenges of Data Transfer Tools," looking at the mechanisms for transferring data across borders.
- Privacy Commissioner of Canada Philippe Dufresne will join an accessible privacy panel focused on protecting vulnerable and socially marginalized groups in a digitized world. He'll also take part in a debate on data minimization.
- Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner Patricia Kosseim will speak about the societal impact of privacy education in the session during "Education from the ground up."
- Meanwhile, Chairperson of the Jersey DPA Elizabeth Denham will join a panel on AI challenges to discus ethics, human rights and whether AI complements or conflicts with data protection.
This is just the public lineup, but I would not be surprised if there are Canadians presenting in the closed sessions as well. I think it can be interesting to see what topics are the greatest priorities for the regulators, as well as what joint efforts and statements come out of their discussions. Being a fly on the wall would beat watching the grass grow — unless you're a Jersey cow of course.
So, book your ticket to Jersey if you can to cheer on the IAPP, the Canadians and others — as long as it doesn't blow your IAPP training budget, of course. Perhaps you can get a deal by flying in early, via Guernsey — it's only an hour ferry from there. I'm sure Guernsey's Office of the Data Protection Authority Commissioner Brent Homan, another Canadian, wouldn't mind taking you in.
Anyway, speaking of interesting events, did you know October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month? Last week I talked about the privacy connection to Right to Know Week, and I feel similarly about this. Privacy professionals, whether you're going to Jersey or staying local, why not use it as an occasion to flog the shared goals of safeguarding information and preventing breaches? You've got all month.
Have a great weekend.
Kris Klein, CIPP/C, CIPM, FIP, is the managing director for Canada for the IAPP.