Call for Workshops 2027
CPDP gathers academics, regulators, civil society, and industry under the title What We Owe the Future. The Concept Note and Suggested Topics below outline the context and thematic directions of CPDP 2027.
Workshops are well-attended, interactive and participatory sessions where organisers explore topics in depth with an engaged audience. Last year, CPDP hosted 37 workshops. CPDP 2027 invites sessions that complement the panel programme by addressing the same critical themes through dynamic formats, emphasising hands-on engagement and exchange between all participants. Formats may include roundtables, debates, moot courts, quizzes, tutorials, simulations, tool demonstrations, or creative activities.
A key objective for organisers is to create a reciprocal learning experience, where they learn from participants as much as participants learn from them; this two-way exchange is an essential selection criterion.
Workshops are selected via this open call and are included in the main programme of CPDP, promoted via our communication channels. However, workshop organisers are not considered official conference partners; to gain partner status, an organisation must also host a panel.
Workshops are open to academics, industry professionals, policymakers, civil society organisations, and NGOs. Commercial organisations must be affiliated with CPDP 2027 as a sponsor to organise a workshop (see our sponsorship page).
Practical Reminders
- Conference registration is not included in the workshop fees. All workshop organisers and facilitators must register separately for the conference.
- Proposals must clearly differentiate from traditional panel formats and relate to the topics outlined in the Call for Panels.
- Organisers are encouraged to prioritise diversity in perspectives, geography, gender, and disciplines.
- Workshop organisers are responsible for paying the workshop fee.
- Workshops are generally open to registered CPDP participants on a first-come, first-served basis. Any restrictions on attendance must be based on clear, neutral criteria, approved by the CPDP Programming team in advance, and communicated in the programme and registration materials.
For questions about eligibility or guidance on submissions, please contact jonas@privacysalon.org
What We Owe the Future
Concept Note
The governance of the digital world is fragmented and faces difficult challenges. Technologies that shape our lives develop faster than the means – or even the will – to regulate them for the protection of privacy and other fundamental rights.
What We Owe the Future invites reflection on this contribution. Building on this, it looks ahead to what the future demands of us. What will the next twenty or more years need, and how should we help to build it? What do we owe to those who will inherit the world we shape today? Which principles must endure, which protections cannot be bargained away even when the pressure to relax them is strong, and what responsibilities do the custodians of the present bear towards the future?
The year 2027 marks the twentieth anniversary of CPDP. For twenty years, the conferences have stood at the forefront of efforts to understand and contribute to improving the prospect for governance in this fast-moving digital age. As a community of academics, regulators and policymakers, civil society, industry and legal practitioners, CPDP has cast a bright light on issues, practices and rules, and has offered a forum for debate and the exchange of knowledge across a global landscape. What is worth celebrating is not the annual conference itself, but twenty years of bringing this community together and sustaining it through a period of momentous change.
The people whose lives will extend far into that future should help to design the way forward. CPDP 2027 therefore launches CPDP 20: The Next Generation, which include a team of early-career researchers from across disciplines who will co-curate the programme and help identify its most pressing questions. This team will identify connections across fields and help to explore issues on the horizon, bringing knowledge and fresh perspectives to bear on developments and their likely consequences that will need to be addressed by policy, governance and other action.
Suggested Topics
The GDPR in transition – As the EU is reopening parts of the data protection framework, what will be the next developments?
Cybersecurity and resilience –How are cybersecurity obligations reshaping responsibility, markets, resilience, and the technological methods used to ensure compliance in the EU and beyond?
EdTech and the digitalization of education – How can we balance the use of technology for the benefit of students and teachers while protecting their fundamental rights?
Digital sovereignty and power relations – How is digital sovereignty reshaping relations between the EU, other states and private actors, and what are the implications for society and technological development?
The rights of the next generation – As child-focused digital regulation expands, how can protection, privacy, participation, and parental responsibility be balanced?
Law enforcement and data – As AI, facial recognition, and cross-border access to data transform criminal investigations, can data protection and oversight keep pace?
Artificial intelligence at a crossroads – As AI regulation, societal impacts, and business models evolve, what kind of AI development should we pursue?
Technology in war and conflict – As technology reshapes warfare, surveillance, and intelligence, what are the implications for fundamental rights, the laws of war, and the responsibility of private actors?
Surveillance by Design – As tracking and profiling become embedded in everyday digital infrastructures, how can pervasive surveillance be prevented from becoming the default?
Data Protection Officers in transition – What should the role of DPOs be, how do they interact with supervisory authorities, and how can independence and expertise be preserved?
The geopolitics of digital governance – As digital regulation becomes increasingly intertwined with trade, strategic interests, infrastructure, standards, and technological dependencies, how are geopolitical dynamics reshaping the global digital order and Europe’s place within it?
Fees and Rooms
380€ per 75-minute slot
- Registration fees are not included in the workshop fee.
- Double slots: available on request, subject to Programming Committee approval, at double the standard fee. Full-day rentals may also be considered.
Room Setup
Workshop rooms seat 30 participants and are equipped with a 40-inch screen with HDMI connectivity. Microphones are not available in any room.
Room layouts will be either group-work tables or a roundtable configuration.
Please indicate your preferred setup in your submission!
Additional Notes
Recording Options: Recording logistics are not provided for any of the rooms, as interactive workshop formats are challenging to record and not all participants may consent to being recorded.
Equipment: All rooms have a screen with HDMI connection, and a flipchart with markers. All other equipment needs to be foreseen by the workshop organisers.
In-Person Engagement only: To maintain the interactive nature of the conference, we do not provide infrastructure for remote facilitators or participants.
Proposal Review: All submissions are subject to review by the CPDP Programming Committee, which may suggest changes or decline proposals to ensure adherence to guidelines.