Successful conclusion for the First Annual Privacy Forum

The First Annual Privacy Forum - a two day Forum of excellent discussions, innovative research presentations and policy debates - concluded with great success.

Held in  Limassol, Cyprus, the event was co-organised by the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) and the European Commission Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT), with the support of the Department of Computer Science of the University of Cyprus.

APF’12 was endorsed as an official event of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The 1st Annual Privacy Forum’s objective was to create a space for dialogue between representatives of industry, researchers and policymakers. The Forum’s inaugural year  has proved a great success, with approximately 70 delegates participating.  

Steve Purser, Head of ENISA’s Technical Competence Department, points out the Agency’s role:

"As far as privacy in the EU is concerned, we are moving from the policy and legislative phase to the implementation phase and this is where ENISA can make a real difference."

DG CONNECT, through the presence of Trust and Security Policy Coordinator, Rosa Barcelo emphasizes that, "We need a regulatory environment that protects individuals’ privacy in a changing technological environment, while at the same time stimulating growth and innovation."

Co-Chair of APF’2012 Prof. Marios Dikaiakos, University of Cyprus, expressed his satisfaction with the productive discussions that have taken place:

"Data Privacy is one of the key socio-technical and policy challenges in the Information Society, with important ramifications for the development of the Internet economy. The University of Cyprus was delighted to contribute to the organization of this successful event that brought to Cyprus world experts in data privacy, in collaboration with ENISA, DG CONNECT and under the auspices of the Cyprus Presidency of the European Council."  

With privacy becoming an ever more debated issue, both the timing and themes of the event were well chosen. This was illustrated by the highly focused discussions that followed each session, as well as the support offered to the conference by leading organisations in ICT, such as the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and the Cyprus Telecommunication Authority (CYTA).  

Background:

Privacy is a fundamental need and a basic right. The European Commission proposed in January 2012 a reform of the EU's data protection rules to strengthen online privacy rights. ENISA’s work can be consulted here http://www.enisa.europa.eu/activities/identity-and-trust