The project

At the latest since the introduction of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018, the topic of data protection has repeatedly been part of the public discourse. The right of every individual to the protection of his or her personal data is already enshrined in Article 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The GDPR only concretises this protection.

The General Data Protection Regulation contains rules on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data. It aims to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons – in particular their right to the protection of their own personal data.

In other words, the GDPR describes our personal rights to informational self-determination. We ourselves should be able to determine the disclosure and use of our personal data. And these rights lead to duties and regulations that have to be complied with by the company and the organisation.

But especially in the professional environment, data protection is seen by many people as a hindrance. Data protection is often associated only with restrictions and prohibitions. And that is a real shame, because it serves to protect the personal data of all of us.

In order to understand the importance of data protection in organisations in the education sector and their employees, an anonymous online survey was also conducted between December 2022 and the end of March 2023. The survey was aimed at employees and staff in adult and vocational education and training, child and youth work as well as education and training in general.

You can find the article on the survey results and the detailed analyses [here on our website]

The GDPRism project aims to support organisations and staff in adult education in data protection compliant planning and implementation of projects. The target group of the project is therefore basically employees who are responsible for planning and implementing projects and educational offers. In addition to administrative staff, this also includes trainers and teachers from vocational and adult education. In developing the content, the project also specifically addresses organisations running projects in the ERASMUS+ environment. Nevertheless, the project results have a general validity and can also be used by other organisations and institutions.

By building expertise and competences within the organisation, the project supports the target group in digital transformation

In order to anchor data protection as a central topic in everyday professional life, the essential basics must first be taught. What is data protection actually? What do we mean by personal data? What rights and obligations does the General Data Protection Regulation entail for me and my organisation? This content is prepared in the form of an e-learning module that enables people from adult education to acquire the basic knowledge and apply it in their own organisation.

This learning unit is complemented by a guide for handling project data and participant data. This guideline describes the data protection-compliant implementation of a project using an ERASMUS+ project as an example.

In addition, the project will document and make available concrete guidance, checklists and best practices that will help to take into account data protection regulations in everyday life. This includes, for example, the selection of suitable online tools for lesson preparation, delivery and follow-up according to data protection criteria.

The project has been in the design phase since October 2022.
The duration of the project is 18 months and therefore ends on 1 March 2024.
Individual results will, however, be made available as soon as they are completed.

Parallel to the development of the content, a survey will be published at the end of 2022, through which we want to ask about the current status quo and the personal assessment of our target group.