Today is International Human Rights Day. It is also a celebration of the right to privacy.

Established by the General Assembly of the United Nations, this celebration takes place every year on the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 1948. The Declaration sets out the inalienable rights to which every human being is entitled - irrespective of race, colour, religion, sex, language, opinion, origin or wealth. We take this opportunity to signal that the right to privacy is also fundamental to human freedom and dignity.

This year, the celebration of International Human Rights Day is taking place under the theme “Our rights, our future, now”. The theme is close to the Personal Data Protection Office, which through its activities seeks to draw attention to the importance of individuals' rights, especially their right to privacy, in their daily lives.

Many threats and potential breaches can be prevented by being careful. The motto of this year's celebration reminds us that the protection of human rights starts with the small steps we take every day in our communities. We all influence the reality around us, for example by controlling the content we publish on social media, rectifying incorrect information, protecting children's privacy, reporting breaches to the relevant authorities or countering misinformation. The creators of the slogan point out that the future needs to be taken care of today and each of us can be part of a global movement for human rights.

On the occasion of Human Rights Day, the Personal Data Protection Office emphasises that national data protection authorities must protect fundamental rights, including by undertaking new functions.  This is exemplified, among other things, by the willingness of the supervisory authority to undertake new tasks regarding data brokering and the registration of data altruism organisations under the EU Data Governance Regulation (DGA) and the national Data Governance Act recently drafted by the Minister of Digital Affairs.

This is an important celebration for us. Therefore, in order to raise awareness of its importance among children, today we organised a webinar as part of the ‘Your Data - Your Concern’ programme for students in grades 7-8 of primary and secondary schools on “Human Rights and Personal Data: What do you need to know?”. The initiative serves to highlight the right to data protection and privacy in everyone's life.

In addition, we are taking part in a number of events to mark the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

• Mirosław Wróblewski, President of the Personal Data Protection Office participated in a conference of the Ombudsman for Children in connection with the campaign ‘More respect for the young image’. The Polish SA is a partner of the campaign, which aims to support the youngest in their rights related to the right to protection of personal data, including image. Children's personal data require special care and the Polish SA seeks to support the protection of children's personal data in the actions taken;
• The representatives of the Polish SA also participated in the 15th Warsaw Human Rights Seminar. This year's edition is devoted to the topic The Role of the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights in Strengthening Democratic Institutions;
• The Personal Data Protection Office trains Data Protection Officers during a meeting organised by the Church  Data Protection Officer at the Polish Episcopal Conference and the ‘Bona Fama’ Institute. The training took place at the Caritas Centre in Warsaw, and was devoted to current issues related to the protection of personal data in the context of current legislation.