Invitation for participation in the international conference “GDPR 3 years on: The experiences and challenges of the European SMEs”
Join us via link https://lnkd.in/eQT8gN8
We invite you to online participation in the international conference “GDPR 3 years on: The experiences and challenges of the European SMEs”, which will be held on May 25, 2021, starting at 11 am. The conference is organized by the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency together with partners in the ARC project, Data Protection Commission Ireland, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, and in cooperation with the Croatian Chamber of Economy, within the EU project ARC – Awareness Raising Campaign on data protection for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), co-financed by the European Union’s “Rights, Equality and Citizenship” programme. We are also marking the third anniversary of the full implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation.
There are 22 million SMEs in the EU who form the core of the EU enterprise policy. 9 out of every 10 enterprises in the EU is an SME and they are understood to generate two out of every three jobs. Given this, it is a policy objective of the European Commission to promote entrepreneurship and improve the business environment for SMEs. We are honored and delighted that Mr Olivier Micol, Head of Unit Data Protection, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission will participate at the Conference as a keynote speaker, and in this way will give us support in our efforts to help SMEs to comply with the GDPR.
PROGRAMME:
11:00 – 11:15
- presentation of the promotional ARC video
- introductory speeches:
- Ms Nataša Tramišak, Minister of Regional Development and EU funds of the Republic of Croatia
- Mr Zdravko Vukić, director of Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency
- Mr Dražen Lučić, Head of Department for Information Security, Croatian Chamber of Economy
11:15 – 11:25 keynote speech, Mr Olivier Micol, Head of Unit Data Protection, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission
11: 25 – 12:25 – panel discussion in English “The impact of the GDPR across the industries: state of play and future developments”
Moderator: Mr. Tihomir Katulić, Ph.D., Asst. Prof. Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb
Panelists: Mr. Igor Vulje, Deputy Director of the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency, Ms. MB Donnelly, Assistant Commissioner at Data Protection Commission Ireland (DPC), prof. Dr. Paul de Hert, Vrije Universiteit Brussels – Tilburg University, Mr. Paolo Balboni, Ph.D., ICT Legal Consulting, professor of Privacy & Cybersecurity Law at Maastricht University, Ms. Marija Bošković Batarelo, lawyer, Parser compliance, and Mr. Marijan Bračić, Data Privacy Manager, Business Intelligence
12:25 – 12:35 – break
12:35 – 13:35 – panel discussion in Croatian “How the General Data Protection Regulation impacts the Croatian small and medium-sized enterprises”
Moderator: Ms Sanja Smiljanić Grubišić, journalist, Croatian National TV
Panelists: Mr. Zdravko Vukić, Director of the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency, Ms. Dijana Kladar, lawyer, Ms. Natalija Parlov Una, certification auditor of information security and privacy (TÜV NORD), Mr Tihomir Katulić , Ph.D., Asst. Prof. Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Mr. Igor Barlek (GDPR CROATIA)
13:35 – 13:50 – Q&A
The aim of this conference is to raise awareness of the importance of personal data protection among micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, but also among the general public.
Experts in the field of data protection, information security, representatives of regulatory bodies and members of the EU ARC project Supervisory Committee will discuss the challenges and doubts faced by Croatian and European SMEs in harmonizing business processes with the GDPR:
Mr. Zdravko Vukić, Director of the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency, Mr. Igor Vulje, Deputy Director of the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency, Ms. MB Donnelly, Assistant Commissioner at Data Protection Commission Ireland (DPC), prof. Dr. Paul de Hert from Vrije Universiteit Brussels – Tilburg University, Mr. Paolo Balboni, Ph.D., ICT Legal Consulting, professor of Privacy & Cybersecurity Law at Maastricht University, Ms. Dijana Kladar, lawyer, Ms. Natalija Parlov Una, certification auditor of information security and privacy (TÜV NORD), Mr Tihomir Katulić , Ph.D., Asst. Prof. Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Mr. Igor Barlek (GDPR CROATIA), Ms. Marija Bošković Batarelo, lawyer, (Parser compliance) and Mr. Marijan Bračić (Business Intelligence).
The first panel discussion in English ”The impact of the GDPR across the industries: state of play and future developments” will be moderated by Mr Tihomir Katulić, Ph.D., Asst. Prof. Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, while representatives of supervisory bodies, IT sector and GDPR experts will discuss the impact of GDPR across the industries. What are the experiences and findings of the Croatian DPA, Irish DPA and Vrije University Bruxelles during the implementation of the ARC project, aimed to support SMEs in their effort to comply with the GDPR? How can DPAs help SMEs to reach better data protection compliance? Do SMEs need more practical and easily manageable tools for GDPR compliance? What is it like to be a regulator in the era of AI and society transformation? Does GDPR slow down and holds back the development of IT technologies and innovation? Can the GDPR, the ePrivacy Directive and the new regulations in the field of Artificial Intelligence respond to the challenges in the age of big data, IoT and Industry 4.0? Is there an adequate IT solution to align business with GDPR? How will the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act affect small and medium-sized enterprises? Want to be a part of this interesting discussion? Follow us and ask your question! Sign up for free online participation
The second panel discussion in Croatian entitled “How the General Data Protection Regulation impacts the Croatian small and medium-sized enterprises” will be moderated by Ms. Sanja Smiljanić Grubišić, HRT journalist and editor of the show Consumer Code, and will discuss topics in the field of data protection that are relevant for Croatian entrepreneurs. What is the level of data protection awareness among SMEs three years after the full implementation of the GDPR? What problems do they most often encounter and what are their doubts when harmonizing with the data protection legal framework? What is the role of the data protection supervisory authority and should SMEs be afraid of penalties? Are citizens even aware of their rights of personal data protection and do they exercise them? These are just some of the questions that the panelists will answer. Sign up for free online participation
The importance of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Republic of Croatia is reflected in the fact that small and medium-sized enterprises make up more than 99% of the total number of all enterprises. The conference “GDPR 3 years on: The experiences and challenges of the European SMEs” will focus on the experiences and needs of small and medium-sized enterprises in the implementation of the GDPR, which during the COVID-19 pandemic became the most vulnerable part of the economic system in Croatia and in the European Union.
In order to provide SMEs with the necessary support in complying with the GDPR, Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency has been coordinating the implementation of the EU project ARC-Awareness Raising Campaing for SMEs since March 2020. (data protection awareness campaigns for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises), co-financed by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme. This significant project is being implemented by AZOP in cooperation with the Data Protection Commission Ireland and the University Vrije Bruxelles. The ARC aims to support SMEs in aligning with the GDPR through the implementation of various project activities, such as holding advisory activities and developing educational materials tailored to the specific needs of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Project activities will run until March 2022. The Croatian Chamber of Economy provides support to AZOP in the organization and implementation of all activities.
