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The Catalan Data Protection Authority (APDCAT) launches "DPD en xarxa", the first learning and collaboration community for data protection officers (DPO) in Catalonia. Thus, the platform www.dpdenxarxa.cat was born with the aim of contributing to spreading the culture of privacy in Catalonia, at the hands of the representatives of the Catalan public organizations who ensure compliance with the regulations, ant to promote the cooperation and collaboration between them and sharing knowledge and expertise.
The new platform will bring together the DPO from the more than 1,700 entities that are part of the APDCAT's scope of action, which includes public administrations such as the Generalitat, councils, public and private universities, and professional associations, among others. It is also open to DPO from public and private entities that provide services to the Catalan public sector as data processors.
The figure of the data protection officer is mandatory in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation in public institutions, and in some private ones according to their characteristics. He ensures that the organization that has appointed him complies with the data protection regulations, with autonomy and independence. It also advises the organization's management and staff on this matter, and attends to citizens' requests regarding the rights they have in relation to their personal data processed by the organization.
During the presentation, the director of the APDCAT, Meritxell Borràs, recalled that since the beginning of her mandate as director, she has believed it essential to support DPO to promote rapprochement and avoid isolation in their organizations. This is why the creation of this network is one of the actions planned in the Strategic Plan drawn up this year by the APDCAT, with awareness, training and innovation as central axes. Borràs pointed out that the APDCAT provides the tool and dynamism, but he recalled that it also requires the participation and commitment of the DPO, who will be its center.
On the other hand, the data protection officer and manager of strategic projects of the APDCAT, Joana Marí, explained the resources available on the new platform and its configuration. Likewise, the legal advisor and DPO of the University of Lleida, Òscar Martínez, has highlighted the opportunity that it represents for the DPO of the Catalan public sector to have a network of these characteristics for joint work and the exchange of knowledge in this matter. Also to develop and strengthen the talent of DPO in the Catalan public sector, to spread the culture of data protection among citizens and to place data protection among the priorities of Catalan public institutions.
A pioneering network
The dpdenxarxa.cat platform is the first of its kind in Catalonia, and in Spain. It hosts online training, news to stay up-to-date on data protection, useful resources to spread the culture of privacy and ensure compliance with the rule, a library with documentation on relevant topics of interest, such as artificial intelligence, as well as the regulations involved.
It also includes spaces for participation, forums and working groups, arranged by topic, to share and resolve doubts, contribute new knowledge and promote synergies between the DPO of Catalonia. It is born as a "living" tool, which will be shaped by mutual work, and the concerns and needs that arise on a day-to-day basis.
The Catalan Data Protection Authority has presented 'DPD en xarxa', the learning and collaboration community of data officers from Catalonia, driven to promote training, communication, the exchange of expertise and group work between the people who ensure compliance with data protection regulations in Catalan public sector organisations.