As part of the implementation of the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Strategy for Creating an Enabling Environment for the Development of Civil Society, the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM) and the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection organized the second cycle of training for representatives of the highest government bodies, local government bodies and representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs). Lecturers from the Sector for Education and Certification presented the area of personal data protection. During this cycle, three trainings were held for representatives of these target groups – on November 24, a training was held at the Ministry’s premises for representatives of the highest government bodies (60 attendees), on November 26, a webinar for local self-governments was held in organization of SCTM (95 attendees), while on November 28, a webinar organized by the Commissioner was held for representatives of CSOs (60 attendees). The obligation to harmonize all regulations with the provisions of the Law on Personal Data Protection was further emphasized, as was the obligation to designate a Data Protection Officer. Among the most frequently asked questions regarding the designation of a DPO were how to act when a person has a conflict of interest, whether more than one person can handle these obligations, and whether separate offices of the Government of Serbia must designate their own Data Protection Officers. In the part on data handling by local self-governments, the application of personal data protection measures was discussed when publishing the results of the subsidy public competition, while ensuring transparency of the procedure.
In the previous training cycle, lecturers from the Sector for Reporting and Analytical Affairs presented the obligations and field of Free Access to Information to these target groups (obligations from the Information Booklet and Annual Report submission). The Action Plan for the implementation of the Strategy for Creating an Enabling Environment for the Development of Civil Society in the Republic of Serbia recognized the prospect for CSOs to receive funds from public authorities in an amount that would classify them as public authorities under Article 3, point 10 of the Law on PDP, and obligating them to prepare an Annual Report. As this is a novelty in the Law, it was considered important that CSOs acquire the necessary knowledge to comply with this legal obligation.
A great contribution of these trainings is also the inclusion of local self-governments and local civil society organizations, in response to relevant challenges in smaller communities.
