The APDCAT, internationally recognized for spreading the culture of privacy with fun activities in libraries

The Catalan Data Protection Authority (APDCAT) has won the Global Privacy and Data Protection Awards 2024 awarded by the Global Privacy Assembly (GPA), the international forum that brings together more than a hundred data protection authorities from all over the world.

Specifically, among 37 candidacies presented, it has been recognized internationally in the category of Education and public awareness for the project 'Who are you? Data that talk about you'. The project, promoted together with the libraries thanks to the support of the Library Service of the Department of Culture of the Generalitat and the Provincial Council of Barcelona, ​​aims to promote the culture of privacy based on materials, resources and activities designed for children, young people and adults

The director of the APDCAT, Meritxell Borràs, has collected the award in Jersey, as part of the closing ceremony of the 46th Global Privacy Assembly. Borràs highlighted the collective effort of the APDCAT team which, despite having limited resources, has made an initiative of these characteristics a reality, which is now recognized internationally. He added that the Authority has committed to promoting reflection and debate on privacy based on gamification techniques, and recalled that the second edition of the project has recently been launched.

This is the first time that the APDCAT has been distinguished within the framework of the GPA, for its work of promoting and raising awareness so that citizens take care of personal data and defend data protection rights. The award in this category is directly related to the work carried out by the GPA's Digital Education Working Group (DEWG), in which APDCAT also participates. In this sense, the DEWG has promoted tools for data protection authorities to promote digital education and has helped to share experiences in this common space between authorities.

Second finalist candidacy

In addition, the GPA has distinguished a second project that the APDCAT has submitted to these awards. Thus, the Authority has been a finalist in the Proactive Responsibility category with the 'DPD network' project, among the 8 nominations submitted from around the world. It is the first learning and collaboration network of data protection representatives in Catalonia, promoted by the APDCAT to promote exchange and cooperation between the people who ensure that organizations comply with the data protection

It is a pioneering network, the first of its kind in Catalonia, and in its first year of existence it already has nearly 240 members. 'DPD online' revolves around the web platform dpdenxarxa.cat, which has recently been renewed, and a new app that improves the user experience and promotes the exchange of knowledge and interaction.

In the category of Proactive Responsibility, the GPA distinguishes initiatives that have to do with the actions of the control authorities to promote the proactive responsibility of organizations that process personal data. This is a concept included in the data protection regulations which implies that, proactively, organizations must apply technical and organizational measures to adequately protect the personal data they process, as well as demonstrate that they comply with the legislation in this matter.

Five categories

The Global Privacy Assembly is an international forum that brings together more than a hundred data protection authorities from around the world, to discuss and adopt agreements and recommendations aimed at governments and international organizations.

The awards aim to distinguish the best initiatives driven by data protection authorities around the world. This year, there are five categories in total:

• Education and public awareness
• Accountability
• Dispute resolution and enforcement
• Innovation
• People's choice