This year, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) celebrates its 20th anniversary. Throughout the year, different events and activities have been marking this event.

One key undertaking is the release of 20 initiatives in 2024 in the form of commitments and actions to promote new approaches and innovations that will bolster individuals' rights to privacy and data protection:

1. A concept paper on the essence of fundamental rights to privacy and the protection of personal data;
2. The EDPS becoming a leading employer for talents in the EU;
3. An initiative introducing the public to the faces behind the EDPS: “Meet Team EDPS”;
4. The launch of a pilot campaign to improve privacy on EU institutions’ websites;
5. Orientations on “Generative Artificial Intelligence and personal data protection”;
6. A concept paper on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the field of criminal justice and law enforcement in the EU;
7. The launch of a Data Protection Officer Certification Course for EU Institutions, Bodies, Offices and Agencies (EUIs);
8. A campaign to raise EUIs' awareness of how to manage personal data breaches;
9. A position paper on the future of cross-regulatory cooperation;
10. A series of five videos: “Data Protection ExPLAINed”;
11. A compendium of major EDPS interventions before the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU);
12. Expansion of the EDPS' capabilities in technology monitoring and foresight;
13. Improved public access to the EDPS’ data protection audit and inspection reports;
14. Evaluation and disclosure of previously unreleased documents from the last two decades;
15. Co-hosting the 2024 edition of the International Organisations Workshop on Data Protection;
16. Strengthened data protection through stronger cooperation between the Data Protection Officers (DPOs) of the European institutions, bodies, offices and agencies (EUIs);
17. Stronger supervision of the justice and home affairs interoperability framework;
18. Guidance for co-legislators on key elements of legislative proposals;
19. A call for applications to support independent research projects on privacy and data protection;
20. A more transparent window into data protection complaints and resolutions.

Another key event in the anniversary year was the European Data Protection Summit organised by the EDPS in Brussels on 20 June 2024. It brought together privacy experts, technology specialists, policymakers, and other influential voices to discuss how data protection can safeguard democratic society. Under the title “Rethinking Data in a Democratic Society”, the summit discussed the role of data protection, its possibilities and limitations as well as its successes and missed opportunities in contributing to the development of the foundations of democratic societies.