1.    With a view to promoting awareness and understanding of, and compliance with the requirements under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (“the Ordinance”), the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (“the PCPD”) will roll out a new series of business and community education programmes.

2.    The programmes include a series of professional compliance workshops on data protection (“the Workshops”) and public seminars (“the Seminars”) on the proper use of technology to safeguard personal information.

3.    As regards business education, the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data Mr. Allan Chiang said, “Recent incidents of corporate malpractices in the use of personal data have brought the community awareness and understanding of the provisions of the Ordinance to an unprecedentedly high level.  The professional compliance workshops are tailored to meet the needs of executives dealing with personal data in different work contexts.”

4.    The Workshops will be conducted in an interactive manner by PCPD’s own or commissioned trainers.  They cover a wide range of topics including:
i.    Legal Seminar on Data Protection
ii.    Train the Trainers in Data Protection
iii.    Data Protection and Data Access Request
iv.    Data Protection in Banking/Financial Services
v.    Data Protection in Human Resource Management
vi.    Data Protection in Direct Marketing Activities
vii.    Data Protection in Property Management Practices

5.    In promoting the Workshops, the PCPD has solicited the support of 23 professional organizations and trade associations (listed appended below) who will introduce the Workshops to their members.  “I am pleased that our initiative has been widely recognized.  This reflects that data protection has become a vital component to the success of business in building employee trust and customer loyalty as well as enhancing corporate image.  I am grateful to these organizations for their support,” said Mr. Chiang.

6.    As regards community education, seminars on “Protection of Personal Data Privacy - Proper Use of Technology in Daily Life” will be conducted with the support by the Internet Professional Association, Information Systems Audit and Control Association China Hong Kong Chapter Limited and Online Service Providers Alliance.  “This is a response to the popular demand for education on the protection of personal data privacy in the use of Internet and advanced communications products, including social networking” Mr. Chiang said.

7.    The Seminars will be held every month on different topics such as “Stay Alert during Online Chitchat – traps and risks of disclosing personal data on social networking websites or discussion forums”, “How to make use of new apps to protect our money and personal data” and “How can business corporations protect personal data”.

8.    The above Workshops and Seminars are on top of PCPD’s regular public seminars on personal data protection, the frequency of which has been increased from once per month to three times per month since February 2011.

9.    Details of the Workshops and the Seminars are available on the PCPD website (www.pcpd.org.hk/english/activities/workshop.html).

Supporting organizations of Workshops (in alphabetical order):
-    Chartered Management Institute (Hong Kong Branch)
-    The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce
-    The Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong
-    Communications Association of Hong Kong
-    Employers' Federation of Hong Kong
-    Federation of Hong Kong Industries
-    Hong Kong Association for Customer Service Excellence
-    The Hong Kong Association of Banks
-    The Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies
-    Hong Kong Bar Association
-    Hong Kong Computer Society
-    The Hong Kong Confederation of Insurance Brokers
-    The Hong Kong Federation of Insurers
-    The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce
-    Hong Kong General Chamber of Small and Medium Business
-    Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants
-    The Hong Kong Institute of Housing
-    Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management
-    Hong Kong Institute of Marketing
-    The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers
-    Hong Kong Retail Management Association
-    Information Systems Audit and Control Association China Hong Kong Chapter Limited
-    The Law Society of Hong Kong