19/03/04

Federal Privacy Commissioner, Malcolm Crompton is urging individuals interested in privacy to submit a paper about privacy to an international competition that will earn the winner(s) $US 3,000 cash and the opportunity to present the paper at the 26th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners.

"Australians interested in privacy should submit a paper to the competition,' said Mr Crompton. "Australians bring a unique perspective to the issue of privacy and I'm very keen to see the creative solutions that Australians have."

The award, open worldwide to individuals and co-writing partners, 18 years of age and older, from industry, law, government, academia, and public interest groups, including students, is granted annually by the Morrison & Foerster Foundation ("MoFo Foundation").

This year, the author(s) of the winning paper will receive a $US 3,000 cash award. In addition, the individual(s) will receive an invitation to present his or her paper at the 26th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners which will be held in Poland on September 14-16, 2004, and a stipend of up to $US 2,000 for associated travel expenses. The paper will also be published in the International Review of Law, Computers, & Technology and by the International Association of Privacy Professionals. It is also likely that the winning paper will be published in other international privacy/data protection publications.

Federal Privacy Commissioner, Malcolm Crompton is on the selection committee that chooses the winning paper.

What Criteria are used to select the winner? To be considered for this award, individuals must submit papers that describe in detail one or more possible solutions to resolving the issue of global data transfers. The proposed solution must include a description of a commercially reasonable enforcement regime. The solution should offer a common sense approach to simplifying and facilitating cross border transactions and should provide for genuine privacy protection consistent with widely accepted international privacy principles (such as the 1980 OECD Guidelines).

The solution outlined in the paper should be truly global in scope and not limited to transactions between two regions of the world such as Europe and North America.

Submission Procedures and Deadlines: To receive an application form and a complete description of the rules and procedures, please send an email to crich@mofo.com Written submissions and completed application forms must be received by May 15, 2004. Individuals will be notified of the Selection Committee's decision by July 31, 2004.

Who was Barbara Wellbery? Barbara Wellbery, a partner at Morrison & Foerster LLP, was one of the leading experts on international privacy issues. In the privacy community, Barbara was well respected for her professional excellence, in-depth knowledge of privacy issues, and strong commitment to fostering international understanding of differing privacy approaches around the world.

Barbara was the chief architect and principal negotiator of the safe harbor privacy accord with the European Union. This accord is emblematic of how Barbara worked to promote greater international understanding of privacy issues and resolve seemingly intractable differences of opinions. Her success was due in large measure to her commitment to finding ways to integrate elements from different approaches to create viable and practical solutions.