This is Privacy Awareness Week - a Pacific Rim regional event held each year to raise awareness about privacy issues.

The focus for the New Zealand event this year is on what New Zealanders think about privacy now and in the future. This will include views of the public, young people, business, the health sector and government sectors. Some of the highlights of the week will be:

• § the results of a national public opinion survey on privacy (release on Sunday 2 May, under embargo for publication until 12.01am Monday 3);
• § a new online tool that people can use to test their risk of identity theft (release on Tuesday 4 May);
• § a one-day privacy forum on Wednesday 5 May, with key speakers giving their picture of privacy in the future;
• § survey results on how government agencies use portable storage devices (PSDs) - have things changed since last year? (release during Commissioner's introductory speech to privacy forum on 5 May).

Privacy Awareness Week highlights and events

Monday 3 May

Results from a UMR public opinion survey on privacy in New Zealand

The survey includes general concerns about privacy; questions on social networking; and attitudes to government and business use of personal information.

Tuesday 4 May

New identity-theft online tool

We are launching a new free online tool to help New Zealanders protect themselves against identity theft.

Wednesday 5 May

Privacy Forum: The Future of Privacy

This one-day forum on 'The Future of Privacy' is taking place at the Intercontinental, Wellington. Sessions start at 9am. The Forum programme is at http://www.privacy.org.nz/assets/Files/PAW/Forum-programme-2010-Final-Version.pdf

Sessions start at 9am with an introductory speech by Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff, including survey results on how government agencies use portable storage devices (PSDs).

Media are welcome to attend the forum at any time - just introduce yourself at the registration desk, and let us know what you need.

Guest speakers include:

• Jon Macdonald (CEO, Trade Me) - opening the forum at 9.15;
• Keynote speaker (Sir Geoffrey Palmer (President of the Law Commission) - 9.30-10.30 - talking about the Law Commission's current Review of the Privacy Act;
• the Privacy Commissioner's youth advisory group, discussing their views of privacy and also introducing the materials that they have been developing (10.30am);
• Nat Torkington (Independent Consultant) and Clifton Chan (State Services Commission) on the challenges to privacy of cloud computing (10.50am);
• A debate on breach notification between Hon Lianne Dalziel and Kathryn Dalziel (11.40am);
• Professor Colin Bennett (University of Victoria, British Columbia) discussing different models of enforcement that can work in the privacy field - how Privacy Commissioners can get agencies to behave (2.05pm); and
• The user's guide to data mining, with Metlstorm (aka Adam Boileau) and Mike Seddon (Telecom) (3.20)

The final session will include key speakers from Google, Netsafe, the Law Commission, SSC and Trade Me where each will share their picture of privacy in the future.

Government agency use of PSDs: a year on - 2010 survey results

In her welcome speech to the Privacy Forum on 5 May (9am), the Privacy Commissioner will launch the results of the survey of government use of 'portable storage devices' (PSDs) such as USB sticks, cell phone and iPODS. The survey updates last year's PSD survey results. (http://www.privacy.org.nz/portable-storage-device-survey-report-200/)

ENDS

For more information please go to www.privacy.org.nz or contact Cathy Henry on 021 509 735.

For more information about international privacy events during Privacy Awareness Week, go to www.privacyawarenessweek.org