Third Annual MDB Privacy Symposium
MDBs and Privacy: Progress and Pathways
Will Higginbothom, Counsel ([email protected]) and Ari Garscadden, Operations Officer ([email protected]), Business Risk and Compliance Department, International Finance Corporation
The third annual MDB Privacy Symposium was held at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) headquarters in Washington D.C. on October 1-2, 2019. The theme of this year’s symposium was MDBs and Privacy: Progress and Pathways.
Jointly hosted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the privacy symposiums are an opportunity for privacy professionals to promote discussion and debate amongst peers on a variety of privacy-related topics relevant to the MDB community. The first symposium took place in March 2018, shortly before the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) took effect and just as privacy was gaining prominence in the public consciousness. Following the success of the first symposium, IFC and EBRD decided to make it an annual event occurring each fall.
“The confluence of privacy and development is challenging space. How, for example, do we balance privacy good practices against the constraints and conditions in places where we do much of our work? How do we do what’s right without imposing requirements on our partners and vendors so onerous as to effectively defeat our own mission? These questions and how we address them are what make this event so important for the MDB community,” commented Jennifer Trotsko, IFC’s Chief Data Privacy Officer.
This year, a record 40 representatives from 17 MDBs, including a majority of ALIFDO member institutions, traveled to Washington, D.C. for two days of thought-provoking ideas and discussions on how international organizations can manage personal data responsibly.
Designed to be as interactive as possible, this year’s symposium facilitated knowledge sharing among the institutions around two main themes: (i) what MDBs have done so far to address privacy risks, and (ii) how MDBs plan to address privacy concerns of stakeholders. The symposium centered on practical sessions covering topics such as privacy in vendor risk management and how to design privacy awareness campaigns.
In addition to practical discussions and a mock data breach exercise, a highlight of the event was a keynote address by Marc Rotenberg, President of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a research and advocacy organization founded in 1994 to focus public attention on emerging privacy and civil liberties issues. Marc spoke about emerging global principles and concerns in data privacy and artificial intelligence, as well as privacy matters of specific concern to international organizations. “Data protection remains a key objective for international organizations, particularly for the collection and use of sensitive data” said Marc. He also proposed the use of privacy enhancing techniques to minimize or eliminate the collection and use of personal data.
The next MDB Privacy Symposium will be held at EBRD headquarters in London in October 2020.
Any ALIFDO reader interested in learning more about, participating in or presenting at the next MDB Privacy Symposium is invited to contact the authors at the email addresses listed above.
Jointly hosted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the privacy symposiums are an opportunity for privacy professionals to promote discussion and debate amongst peers on a variety of privacy-related topics relevant to the MDB community. The first symposium took place in March 2018, shortly before the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) took effect and just as privacy was gaining prominence in the public consciousness. Following the success of the first symposium, IFC and EBRD decided to make it an annual event occurring each fall.
“The confluence of privacy and development is challenging space. How, for example, do we balance privacy good practices against the constraints and conditions in places where we do much of our work? How do we do what’s right without imposing requirements on our partners and vendors so onerous as to effectively defeat our own mission? These questions and how we address them are what make this event so important for the MDB community,” commented Jennifer Trotsko, IFC’s Chief Data Privacy Officer.
This year, a record 40 representatives from 17 MDBs, including a majority of ALIFDO member institutions, traveled to Washington, D.C. for two days of thought-provoking ideas and discussions on how international organizations can manage personal data responsibly.
Designed to be as interactive as possible, this year’s symposium facilitated knowledge sharing among the institutions around two main themes: (i) what MDBs have done so far to address privacy risks, and (ii) how MDBs plan to address privacy concerns of stakeholders. The symposium centered on practical sessions covering topics such as privacy in vendor risk management and how to design privacy awareness campaigns.
In addition to practical discussions and a mock data breach exercise, a highlight of the event was a keynote address by Marc Rotenberg, President of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a research and advocacy organization founded in 1994 to focus public attention on emerging privacy and civil liberties issues. Marc spoke about emerging global principles and concerns in data privacy and artificial intelligence, as well as privacy matters of specific concern to international organizations. “Data protection remains a key objective for international organizations, particularly for the collection and use of sensitive data” said Marc. He also proposed the use of privacy enhancing techniques to minimize or eliminate the collection and use of personal data.
The next MDB Privacy Symposium will be held at EBRD headquarters in London in October 2020.
Any ALIFDO reader interested in learning more about, participating in or presenting at the next MDB Privacy Symposium is invited to contact the authors at the email addresses listed above.