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Commissioner Milan Marinović and Deputy Commissioner Sanja Unković participated in the International Forum of Ombudsmen and Independent Authorities engaged in human rights protection, held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The Conference’s main topic is climate change and the protection of human rights. The Commissioner was one of the panelists on a panel dedicated to free access to information related to climate change. In addition to the Commissioner, panelists from Georgia, the Philippines, Mexico, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and a representative of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Serbia participated in this panel, which aroused great interest. As part of the visit to Azerbaijan, in addition to participating in the said forum, the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner held a series of bilateral meetings with representatives of other independent authorities.

On Wednesday, September 18, 2024, the accredited lecturers of the Commissioner's Office, Marin Cetinić and Aleksandra Lakićević, held a training session on the application of the Law on Personal Data Protection to employees of the company "Mona Fashion doo". The training was implemented at the initiative of the said company, and it was attended by 13 employees from all sectors of the "Mona" company who come in touch with personal data processing.

The topics covered in this training were personal data processing via the so-called "loyalty" cards, data collected directly from customers through "online" sales, and video surveillance systems in the company's retail stores. The entire training session was marked by the exceptional activity of the participants, and after the end of the training in the long discussion that followed numerous ambiguities were resolved regarding the principle of data minimization in data collection, the application of the principle of customer data accuracy, as well as the potential ways of customer identification. At the end, the participants of the training were provided with distinctive examples of inspection supervision from the extensive Commissioner's practice.

A series of personal data protection trainings for police representatives continued on September 12 and 13 in the police departments of Smederevo (31 employees) and Valjevo (81 employees). The lecturers on the subject of data protection were the representatives of the Commissioner's Office, Marin Cetinić and Marko Milošević, and the Ministry of Interior delegated Dragan Obradović, this authority's Data Protection Officer. OSCE Mission to Serbia supports the training sessions within the framework of its project activities.

Police members were familiarized with the provisions of the Law on Personal Data Protection and referred to these provisions from the scope of the police, pointing out the inconsistencies of these regulations. The lecture presented the evolution of Ministry of Interior protection measures through examples from the Commissioner's practice, focusing on the importance of these measures, especially the use of individual and strong passwords, and the importance of log files for accountability in acting. One of the more important topics that interested the policemen was including a diagnosis in medical certificates for sick leave to determine the capability of working with and without a weapon. Around 800 policemen have attended the training so far, and the remaining police departments in Serbia are planned to be visited by the end of the year.

In cooperation with the Chamber of Healthcare Institutions of Serbia, accredited lecturers from the Commissioner's; Office Nataša Mirjanić, Marin Cetinić, Marko Milošević, and Aleksandar Kocić Ranđelović held trainings on the application of the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance and the Law on Personal Data Protection for employees in Healthcare Institutions in Gornji Milanovac (September 2), Užice (September 4), Valjevo (September 9) and Šabac (September 11). The trainings were attended by 85 people, including health workers and lawyers in healthcare.

These trainings aim to point out the most common mistakes in handling requests for free access to information, with examples from the practice of the Commissioner, and to eliminate doubts in applying the Law on Personal Data Protection. Filling out control lists and records of processing activities forms were simulated with the training participants, and the discussion answered participants' questions. Among the more interesting ones to single out is the application of data processing principles in healthcare institutions engaged in (tourist) accommodation services, such as Spas, clarifying the adequate legal bases for data processing and which data can be processed for which purpose. In cooperation with the Chamber of Healthcare Institutions, from the spring of 2024, the lectures covered healthcare institutions from most of the administrative districts of Serbia, while during October and November, it is planned to hold healthcare training in Pirot, Pcinj, Jablani, Toplic and Niš districts.