Data protection in the humanitarian sector

Description

In February 2020, CartONG had the opportunity to give its first dedicated training in data protection to 13 member organizations of the German network of humanitarian and development organizations (VENRO – the equivalent of Coordination Sud in France), focusing in particular on the constraints and practices of field operations. The main goal of the 2-day training for the participants was for them to reach a good level of understanding of the GDPR principles and concepts applied to the humanitarian sector (and of responsible data more generally speaking), as well as its related stakes and opportunities. They learned to evaluate the degree of maturity of their own organization in terms of responsible data management, and how to protect data throughout the many steps of the data cycle. They also got an overview of the tools and methods that can be used to improve data security. This training was followed by remote telephone coaching sessions for the participants interested. 

Two years later, we renewed this experience, this time using an online format. A group of 16 participants coming from 14 german organizations and a variety of backgrounds and positions met 6 times over 2 weeks to learn, reflect and discuss about Data Protection. The objectives of this training were to obtain a good overview and understanding of the concept of data protection applied to the aid sector, evaluate the maturity of each participant’s organization on the topic, learn how to protect data and get an overview of the tools and methods that can be used to improve data security. In the end, we sought to engage everyone in their responsible data journey and demonstrate how each and everyone can be an active actor on the subject. In the first semester of 2022, CartONG continued to support the participants via individual coaching sessions organized at their request.