Interview Mabel de Vries (jury member Dutch Privacy Awards)

Purpose of the Privacy Awards

The Dutch Privacy Awards aim to recognise and encourage innovative and practical solutions in the field of privacy. According to Mabel de Vries, Privacy Awards jury member, the presentation is not necessarily about advanced technology, but also about awareness and application. De Vries: "Thoughtful privacy solutions are often associated with large companies, but the Awards show that they are accessible to anyone with a vision, regardless of scale or resources."

The nominees represent a diverse group: from large organisations to smaller initiatives with refreshing ideas. The aim is to make privacy more accessible and inspire people to take action. Innovations can be based on existing technologies improved with a creative approach. According to De Vries, these Awards show that even smaller, well-thought-out initiatives can have a broad impact. "Anyone who has an idea and expertise or a network and says, 'I'm going to work on a better solution myself, because doing nothing is no longer an option', can come to us."

In addition, the Awards contribute to cooperation and knowledge sharing. The awards ceremony encourages people and organisations to contribute to better data protection and increasing privacy awareness. "In particular, the collaboration between organisations and diversity of small-scale ideas that do have broad applicability is what we actually want to encourage."

What does privacy mean to you?

De Vries talks passionately about her years of involvement in privacy issues, including in her board position at the Dutch Association of Data Protection Officers (NGFG). She sees privacy not as an abstract legal concept, but as something that directly affects individuals. According to her, the right to be left alone is central, and that does not have to be complicated at all. For De Vries, privacy simply means: "The right to be left alone and to decide who gets access to me and my data."

Mabel de Vries draws her personal motivation from experiences in the field, in which she is confronted time and again with the daily issues of data protection. De Vries advocates solutions that are understandable, approachable and practical, stressing that sub-optimal measures are still better than doing nothing. De Vries also understands the limited resources of smaller organisations, but she encourages them to take action anyway within their means.

Click HERE for an overview of the nominated organisations.

This interview previously appeared here: Interview Mabel de Vries (Juror Dutch Privacy Awards) - PONT Data&Privacy