Privacy Notice for the Data Spaces Symposium 2027

DATA AI AND ROBOTICS DAIRO (BDVA), 
established in AVENUE DES ARTS 56, BRUXELLES 1000, Belgium
Contact: info@bdva.eu 

Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V., acting as legal entity for its Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering ISST and its Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT, Hansastraße 27c, 80686 München, Germany (Fraunhofer), the Coordinator. Contact: legal@isst.fraunhofer.de 

GAIA-X EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR DATA AND CLOUD (Gaia-X),
established in AVENUE DES ARTS 6-9, BRUXELLES 1210, Belgium
Contact: info@gaia-x.eu 

INTERNATIONAL DATA SPACES EV (IDSA),
established in EMIL-FIGGE-STR. 80, 44227 DORTMUND,Germany
Contact: info@internationaldataspaces.org 

Hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Organizers”, the entities listed above provide this Privacy Notice to inform participants, guests, speakers and moderators (hereinafter collectively referred to as “you”) about the processing of personal data in connection with the Data Spaces Symposium 2027, taking place at The Egg in Brussels, Belgium, on 9–10 March 2027 (hereinafter the “Event”). 

1. Controller

The Organizers have entered into a joint controllership arrangement in accordance with Article 26 GDPR, defining their respective responsibilities regarding compliance with data-protection obligations. In particular, BDVA and Gaia-X are responsible for the organisation of the Event in terms of logistics (tools, venue, catering, audiovisual services, etc.), whereas IDSA and Fraunhofer are responsible for the content side of the Event (sessions, online platform, communication, etc.). 
 The main point of contact for exercising data-subject rights is info@gaia-x.eu. This does not affect your ability to contact any of the Organizers regarding the processing of your personal data. 

2. Categories of personal data and data sources

In the course of hosting the Event, whether online or in person, the Organizers will process your personal data to prepare, organise and host the Event as set out below. 

2.1 Registration for the Event

We process the following personal data of participants, speakers and moderators,  
as provided by you during the registration process, for the preparation of the Event: 

We process these data to keep track of registrations and to allow us to keep you updated about details relating to the Event (such as topics, speakers, and schedules).  

If you have separately consented, your contact details may be retained in the Organizers’ event database so that we may contact you about similar future events. You can withdraw this consent at any time by sending an email to events@dssc.eu. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal. 

2.2 Attendance at the Event

The Organizers will keep a list with the names and affiliations of confirmed participants.

Photography and videography may take place during the Event. Where the Organizers rely on consent for identifiable photographs or recordings, consent will be requested separately and may be refused or withdrawn at any time with future effect. General panoramic or audience shots taken to document the Event may be processed on the basis of the Organizers’ legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) to document, promote and report on the Symposium, provided that such interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Agreeing to this Privacy Notice does not, by itself, constitute consent to photography or videography. You may contact the Organizers regarding photography or recording at events@dssc.eu, info@internationaldataspaces.org, info@gaia-x.eu, info@bdva.eu or legal@isst.fraunhofer.de. 

3. Purpose and legal basis of the processing of personal data

3.1 Data processing due to the performance of a contract (Art. 6 Sec. 1 lit. b) GDPR)

Personal data processed as part of your registration and participation in the Event will be processed where necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are party (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). This includes processing your registration, contacting you for organisational purposes and enabling your participation in the Event. 

3.2 Data processing due to legitimate interests (Art. 6 Sec. 1 lit. f) GDPR)

We also process personal data where necessary for our legitimate interests in documenting and promoting the Event and in gaining insights into its impact and ways to optimise future events. The legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, except where such interests are overridden by your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms requiring protection of personal data. 

3.3 Consent (Art. 6 Sec. 1 lit a) GDPR

Where you have consented to specific processing of your personal data, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(a) GDPR. This may include receiving communications about similar future events and, where applicable, identifiable photography or videography for which consent is requested. 

You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting events@dssc.eu or the relevant Organizer using the contact details in section 7. 

3.4 Terms of Use for the use of Microsoft Office 365 Components at Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft by External Parties and Data Protection Information

Acceptance of the invitation and the use of the Microsoft Office 365 components made available by the Fraunhofer Institute shall be deemed a binding declaration of acceptance of the annexed Terms of Use without deviations. If you are acting for a company or an organization that cooperates with Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, you further confirm thereby that you are authorized to accept the annexed Terms of Use without changes. 

4. Disclosure of personal data

4.1 External service provider

The Organizers may use service providers for event logistics, photography, filming, cloud services, video conferencing and registration/ticketing. Where a service provider processes personal data on behalf of an Organizer, appropriate data-processing arrangements will be put in place in accordance with applicable data-protection law. 

The registration process is administered by the following Organizer: 

Gaia-X European Association for Data and Cloud AISBL   
Avenue des Arts 6-9
1210 Brussels 
Belgium 

4.2 Other recipients 

Images and recordings may be published for post-event reporting and promotion on media channels operated by the Organizers, including social media platforms such as Facebook, X/Twitter and LinkedIn, in accordance with the legal bases described above. 

5. Data Retention

Personal data collected for registration and event participation will be retained for a maximum of 12 months after the conclusion of the Event, unless a longer period is required by law or necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims. Where you have separately consented to receive communications about similar future events, the relevant contact data may be retained for that purpose until you withdraw your consent or the data are no longer needed for that purpose. Data will then be deleted or anonymised, subject to any applicable legal retention obligations. 

6. Rights of the data subject 

You have the following rights in regard to your personal data:  

You have the right to access your personal data (Art. 15 GDPR), request rectification (Art. 16 GDPR) or erasure (Art. 17 GDPR), ask us to restrict processing (Art. 18 GDPR), and request data portability where applicable (Art. 20 GDPR). 

If we process your personal data on the basis of legitimate interests, you may object to that processing on grounds relating to your particular situation (Art. 21 GDPR). Following an objection, we will stop the processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims. Contact: info@bdva.eu, legal@isst.fraunhofer.de, info@gaia-x.eu or info@internationaldataspaces.org. 

Where the processing of your personal data is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time and without giving a reason (Art. 7(3) GDPR). Withdrawal applies with future effect and does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal. Personal data may continue to be processed where this is required to comply with applicable legal obligations. 

To exercise these rights, or if you have any questions or complaints about data protection, please contact us using the details in section 7 of this Privacy Notice. The Organizers may need to verify your identity and will review your request in accordance with the GDPR and other applicable legal requirements. We aim to respond within 30 days of receiving your request. Requests to withdraw consent will be actioned without undue delay. 

In addition, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority (Art. 77 GDPR).  

As the Organizers are established in Belgium and Germany, the competent supervisory authority may differ depending on the circumstances of the processing and the Organizer concerned. The Organizers can provide further information on the relevant supervisory authority upon request.

7. Contact

The Organizers responsible for processing your personal data can be contacted at info@bdva.eu, legal@isst.fraunhofer.de, info@gaia-x.eu and info@internationaldataspaces.org. For data-subject rights, the main point of contact is info@gaia-x.eu. For Event-related consent and registration matters, you may also contact events@dssc.eu.