On 17th October, the Union of Associations of Pensioners of the City of Skopje (UAPCS) and the Civic Resource Centre (GRC) held an information session dedicated to the Law on Personal Data Protection.
The expert in this field, Arben Gudachi, introduced the representatives of pensioners’ associations with their obligations as associations, with the implementation as well as with the rights as users of personal data.
“In this age of digital communication, we are constantly sharing our personal data in various places. It is of great importance to be aware of our rights and obligations when exchanging such data. This is a new reality for all of us” – said Nadezhda Topalovska from the Union of Pensioners’ Associations of the City of Skopje.
Gudachi instructed the attendees that personal data is any information with which a natural person can be identified, for example: name and surname, social security number, residential address, etc.
Some data is considered sensitive by its nature, such as racial or ethnic origin, political views, religious or trade union organisations, as well as genetic, biometric data or data about sex life or orientation.
Eftim Mishovski, president of the Association of Military Pensioners in Skopje, shared a positive experience of protecting this type of data through his successful intervention.
“As the president of the householders’ council, I had a situation in which one of the tenants misused personal data from the list of tenants. I reported the abuse in due time and after a long process of checks I can share a successful conclusion from the Agency for Personal Data Protection” he added.
If the organisations believe that their right has been violated, they can submit a Request for determination of violation of the provisions of the Law on Personal Data Protection to the Personal Data Protection Agency (PDPA).
The participants were familiarized with the steps and stakeholders involved in the implementation of this Law. The key role of the personal data protection officer in the organisation was also emphasized. He is determined based on his professional qualifications and practices in the field of personal data protection. The personal data protection officer may be an employee of the organisation or perform work on the basis of a service contract.
Practicing the provisions of the Law is not simple for organisations. “Smaller organisations face implementation challenges because they don’t have enough resources to hire officers,” complained Ramzi Redzep, a delegate from the Chair Pensioners’ Association.
During the implementation of various projects and events, CSOs collect basic data about the participants. They must be kept properly according to the time period specified by the donor, until the purpose for which they were needed is fulfilled.
Information sessions of this type are of great importance for CSOs when implementing this law in their activities.
The event was organised within the project “EU support of the Civil Society Resource Centre – Phase 2”, financed by the European Union, and implemented by the National Civil Society Development Foundation – Civic Resource Centre, the Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation, Media Plus, Shtip and Association for Democratic Initiatives – ADI, Gostivar.
