Awards for data protection activities presented

Katarzyna Szymielewicz, Konrad Ciesiołkiewicz, PhD, the Panoptykon Foundation and the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights are the winners of this year's eighth Michal Serzycki Award for their work on the protection of personal data and the right to privacy.

The awards were presented by the President of the Personal Data Protection Office Mirosław Wróblewski, at a ceremony held at the Office's seat as part of the Personal Data Protection Day.

In the person category, the award went to Konrad Ciesiołkiewicz, PhD, for his contribution and commitment to the development of civil society and the promotion of children's rights, as well as his activities as a lecturer and initiator of social projects that have contributed to real changes in the field of education and social dialogue.

In accepting the award, the laureate pointed out that in trying to protect the youngest from the dangers lurking on the Internet these days, we come across situations in which, in doing so, we may not be able to protect the principles of democracy. As Konrad Ciesiołkiewicz stressed, in this context ‘we are losing the battle against time’.

In the category of ‘organisation’, but also in the category of person, the award was given to the Panoptykon Foundation and its President, Katarzyna Szymielewicz - for many years of work to protect privacy and freedom in the digital age, raising public awareness of the dangers of technological surveillance, as well as for building a strong, independent organisation defending human rights in Poland and Europe. The award was received by Katarzyna Szymielewicz and Wojciech Klicki, monitoring and advocacy specialist. In her speech, Katarzyna Szymielewicz stated that an important role of the foundation is to enter into dialogue with the authorities when creating laws and then to explain these laws to both the media and citizens - which is often the most difficult. She also pointed out that ‘data is power, power over discourse’.

In the organisation category, the award was also given to the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights for its long-standing work to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe, as well as for its expert approach to protecting people whose rights have been violated and supporting the development of civil society. The award was received by Maciej Nowicki, President of the Foundation, and Małgorzata Szuleka, Secretary of its Board. Maciej Nowicki emphasised that, at the moment, the most important perspective of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights's work is that of the rule of law, which nowadays also means focusing on surveillance cases, on the protection of privacy.

As the President of the Personal Data Protection Office, Mirosław Wróblewski, pointed out in his laudation for all the laureates, ‘their activities have one common denominator - intervening in cases that violate citizens’ rights and freedoms, combating abuses, condemning illegal actions, fighting for subjectivity and rights (in particular children and the protection of their image) in the age of the information society, in a word, defending freedom and dignity, which are the foundation of a democratic state of law’.

During the ceremony, laudations were also given by journalist Ewa Siedlecka, PhD, Wojciech Wiewiórowski, European Data Protection Supervisor, and Paweł Rabiej, Rector for Development and Strategy at Korczak University.

Agata Serzycka, spouse of Michał Serzycki, Adam Krzywoń, Deputy Ombudsman, and Włodzimierz Chróścik, President of the National Council of Legal Advisers, honoured the ceremony with their presence.

The second part of the event featured an expert panel on ‘Image protection vs. technology development - where to draw the line?’, chaired by PhD, Miroslaw Gumularz, chairman of the Social Expert Panel to the President of the Personal Data Protection Office.

The Michal Serzycki Award was established in 2018 by PhD, Edyta Bielak-Jomaa, then President of the Office for Personal Data Protection. The award is given to individuals and organisations that promote the protection of personal data and privacy rights through their educational and informational activities.

Michał Serzycki (1971-2016), who served as the Inspector General for Personal Data Protection from 2006 to 2010, was the initiator of many educational and social activities. It was on his initiative that the programme ‘Your data - Your concern’ was created, which still operates in Polish schools today, educating the next generation of conscious users of modern technologies.