Running for the board of the MyData Global organisation
The MyData Global organisation is about to be founded, on November 15th 2018. You can still join, before 12pm CET on Nov 15th, with membership starting at the low price of EUR 10 per annum. You should, as MyData is a very interesting initiative that promises to be transformative in the digital economy.
On the very first general meeting (see registration here), the MyData community will elect board members for the new MyData Global organisation. I have decided to run for one of the seats on the board, and include basic candidacy information below.
My primary motivation in running for the board of MyData is to ensure a strong civil society in the human-centric data economy.
Profile
I (Paul-Olivier Dehaye) am the founder and president of PersonalData.IO, a Geneva-based nonprofit focused on personal data empowerment. In order to increase awareness of personal data issues at the individual level, I have worked extensively on the unraveling of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
I have used the visibility that followed to promote MyData principles in many fora over the past year, such as the European Parliament (3x), the UK House of Commons, the Council of Europe and countless media appearances (see here).
I have built an extensive network of skilled people who want change in the personal data economy and are ready to act. It is change that I feel MyData can help deliver.
My action through PersonalData.IO is now concentrated on data-related social justice issues (employment, discrimination, etc). We work with many different civil society players such as journalists, academics, labor unions, educators, etc. We hope our tools and my deep expertise and analytical skills can have a transformative effect in these areas.
I am on the board of two other organisations:
- the Advisory Board of MediaConsent, an Australian company focusing on the reuse of social data images and management of intellectual property rights;
- the US-based Acceptable Ads Committee, working to establish “Acceptable Ads” standards for operating criteria of adblockers.
Motivation
My primary motivation in running for the board of MyData is to ensure a strong civil society in the human-centric data economy.
Over the past few years, the MyData community has contributed significantly to fostering a positive and culturally-sensitive discussion around difficult issues, often about power distribution in the personal data ecosystem. The principal venue for this was its annual conference. The next step is in creating a rich and vibrant network of Hubs to make this vision and atmosphere resonate more locally.
Even if not elected to the board, I am excited to continue helping, in any way I can, MyData succeed.
However I feel a board position could help in promoting the MyData vision through more targeted vectors, such as:
- existing Legal networks around Conventions 108 and 108+ (the truly international data protection instrument, a softer GDPR), as well as international organizations in Geneva;
- existing Tech networks promoting collaboration (tech meetups, for instance);
- Social movements such as the feminist or green movements, labor unions, anti-discrimination activities, etc that would gain from incorporating personal data into their usual advocacy.
I am committed to diversity and inclusion objectives and pledge to do the hard work to ensure MyData remains a welcoming environment as it grows.
Alternate
My deputy would be Esko Reinikainen (The Satori Lab).
Thank you for considering voting for me!
