Greetings from Brussels/Salutations de Bruxelles!

This week we reached a new milestone here at the IAPP: We announced our first Francophone web conference for our French-speaking members, and Francophone data protection community at large. Personally, I am delighted to see this realized in my capacity as Managing Director of the IAPP European office here in Brussels. It has been on our agenda for some time, and in my meetings with members and non-members alike over the last year and half it has been suggested and discussed at length. 

In my experience of working with international associations, tackling the diversity of languages spoken is no easy feat; Europe is a testament to that in more ways than one. It requires multiple resources, a different focus, and a brave new way of looking at the interconnected world with its diverse culture. Take Europe for instance: The Francophone community stretches from France, across Belgium and Luxembourg, down to Switzerland. And let’s not forget French Canada, as well as parts of Africa and the Middle East, where French is the working language of choice.

The registration for our inaugural French webinar went live Tuesday and if you are interested in attending you can find it here; it will be held 13 Oct. Entitled “Les 10 conséquences pratiques les plus importantes du RGPD," we have brought together a team of regulatory experts in Chantal Bernier, former Privacy Commissioner of Canada, now Counsel for Global Privacy and Cybersecurity at Dentons; Florence Raynal, head of the Department of European and International Affairs at the CNIL and a key figure to the current presidency of the WP29; and Yann Padova, Commissioner for French Regulatory Commission of Energy and former secretary general of the CNIL. 

This is a very promising line up, and I expect the discussion to be insightful. With the advent of the GDPR and the countdown to its entry into force, regulatory views are increasingly critical and influential as to how companies and data protection professionals view ongoing data protection and privacy challenges. The web conference will focus on the top 10 largest operational impacts, taking account of new obligations and the implications of EU jurisdictions on entities collecting and processing EU citizen data, so that you can begin tackling the most important issues right now.

For those of you interested in hearing more on the top 10 operational impacts of the GDPR, we are running an English language web conference with some of our top legal minds 22 Sept., more information can be found here.

Speaking of the GDPR in September, we've brought back by popular demand our two-day "GDPR Comprehensive" training series in London on 22 and 23 Sept., with another stellar line-up of accomplished data protection experts to help you navigate the changes the GDPR will bring to your working life. If you can’t be there in person, we are live streaming the training and all registrants will receive access to the recorded training modules post-event. In my mind, that’s especially a real plus, as it allows you to view the training on your own time from the location of choice; only last week I tuned into the New York modules and found them very informative. This particular series has been very successful to date, beyond our expectation, and it remains current and relevant; the IAPP European office continues to receive ongoing inquiries on becoming GDPR conversant. 

With that in mind, I would like to point out that this will be the last in the GDPR Comprehensive series for the foreseeable. If inclined, this could just be the tonic to kick start your run into the end of the year after the summer break.

Finally, a special thank you to all of you out there who continue to write in wanting to get involved in writing for our publications and getting involved in the organization. We certainly welcome your contributions and enthusiasm, without which the IAPP would not be the growing organization it is today. So, thank you, and keep sharing your thoughts and needs with us. We are and remain committed to a global approach and delivery, and it is with your help and support that we continue to do so, striving to meet the expectations of a growing community.