"Privacy is Your Business" International Privacy Video Competition

1.    The Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Mr. Roderick B. Woo, launched today (9 May) a "Privacy is Your Business" International Video Competition targeted at secondary school students.

2.    "Secondary school students are the main users of social networking site and they appear to give away a significant amount of personal information via this medium.  We are keen to understand whether or not privacy is something students consider in their daily activities, and to encourage them to start thinking about the information that they disclose and the impact that this may have on their life."  Mr. Woo said.

3.    The competition is organized at local and international levels.  At local level, the competition is jointly organized by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, and the Office for Personal Data Protection, Macau.  To serve the education purpose, a series of seminars and workshops will be held to enable young people to learn more about data privacy, creativity and film production skills.  Local prizes include a Sony laptop, a Sony video camera, a Sony PS3 with games, and other electronic items.

4.    Local winning entries will automatically enter the international competition, which will be judged by the Privacy Commissioners of Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.  The international competition is hosted by the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities (APPA) as part of Privacy Awareness Week 2008, which will be held from 24th to 30th August 2008.  Privacy Awareness Week is an annual promotion to raise awareness of the importance of protecting privacy in the Asia Pacific region.  The theme for 2008 is "privacy is your business".  International prizes include a video camera and gift vouchers.


5.    To enter the competition, students are invited to create a video about any aspect of data privacy, such as their opinion of its relevance in today’s society, how it does or doesn't affect them in their daily life, or perhaps the influence that the internet has had on privacy.

6.    The Competition closes on 25 July 2008.  The winners will be announced during Privacy Awareness Week 2008.

7.    Last year, "Privacy Awareness Week 2007" organized "Privacy is Your Business" writing competition.  Yeung Kuen (Precious Blood Secondary School) from Hong Kong won the second-place in international prize and came in first for the Hong Kong and Macau award.

8.    "This is an opportunity for students to express their ideas on an important issue, and possibly win some great prizes at the same time," said Mr. Woo.

9.    Further details of the competition and Privacy Awareness Week in general, are available at www.pcpd.org.hk or www.privacyawarenessweek.org.




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