The Data Protection Commission (DPC) has launched a week-long celebration to mark International Data Protection Day.
International Data Protection Day, also known as Data Privacy Day, is celebrated annually on January 28 by more than 50 countries across the world including Ghana. The purpose of the day is to raise awareness and promote privacy and data protection best practices.
To mark this year’s day, the Data Protection Commission has launched a Data Protection Week in Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional Capital, as part of efforts to create awareness on data handling and the laws governing it.
This year, the day is celebrated under the theme ‘data governance for a safe digitized space’.
The DPC has over the years commemorated the day with week-long national awareness activities including free awareness training, free webinars, roadshows and public education.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Executive Director of Data Protection Commission, Patricia Adusei-Poku, said her outfit is keen on scrutinising the work of data controllers.
In this vein, she said the Commission, from this year, will ensure implementation of data protection laws to the letter.
She also emphasised on the fact that privacy is a fundamental human right and therefore individuals have the backing of the data protection law to exercise their rights to be informed about how their personal data is used.
The Data Protection Commission is an agency under the Ministry of Communication and Digitalisation.
About the day
Data Protection and Privacy Day is a day that focuses on educational initiatives originally dwelling on raising awareness among businesses as well as users about the importance of protecting the privacy of their personal information online, particularly in the context of social networking in this new era.
The educational focus has expanded over the years to include families, consumers and businesses. In addition to its educational initiative, Data Privacy Day promotes events and activities that stimulate the development of technology tools that promote individual control over personally identifiable information; encourage compliance with privacy laws and regulations; and create dialogues among stakeholders interested in advancing data protection and privacy.
The international celebration offers many opportunities for collaboration among governments, industry, academia, nonprofit organizations, privacy professionals and educators.
