Generating and fostering global partnerships is one of the EDPS’ strategic objectives, to face the challenges of globalisation and promoting high international data protection standards. To achieve this goal, the EDPS organises an annual workshop dedicated to data protection within International Organisations.
The decision to organise the 2024 edition of the International Organisations Workshop on Data Protection (IOW) together with the World Bank is an important step towards enhancing the IOW’s global dimension. The event will take place on 23 and 24 September 2024 in Washington, D.C. at the World Bank Headquarters.
The IOW was first organised by the EDPS in 2005 and brings together International Organisations with the aim of sharing experiences and best practices in the field of data protection. Since then, the importance of these workshops has grown consistently, serving as a forum to discuss regulatory developments at international level and to analyse their implications for International Organisations. Every year, the EDPS organises the workshop together with a different International Organisation.
The IOW 2024 will be the first edition of the workshop convened outside of Europe. By hosting the workshop across the Atlantic, the organisers aim to reinforce the global nature of the International Organisations’ network by making it more accessible to representatives based in the Americas and outside Europe. This greater diversity will enrich the discussion and foster a more comprehensive understanding of global data protection challenges and opportunities, ultimately facilitating the exchange of ideas and best practices for addressing these challenges.
The 2024 IOW will provide a platform for exploring new cooperation opportunities among International Organisations. With this event, the EDPS aims at fostering a conducive environment for identifying common goals, synergies, and areas for collaboration, supporting the development of new projects and initiatives aimed at advancing data protection practices on a global scale.
This edition of the IOW is an opportunity to take stock of the past editions and explore future perspectives for this initiative and the International Organisations’ network more generally. In addition, the EDPS aims at discussing the work done and perspectives for a specific taskforce on data transfers to and among International Organisations, including on the development of a model administrative arrangement for data transfers from EU Institutions to International Organisations.
In the year of its 20th Anniversary, this initiative underscores the EDPS’ reinforced commitment to enhancing the global dimension of the IOW to act as a catalyst for promoting the implementation of data protection principles worldwide.