The think tank Forum d’Avignon, dedicated to culture and creative industries and their dialogue with economy, and its partners met on 19 September 2014 during the Forum d’Avignon@Paris, the first cultural forum 100% Data to discuss four issues: ethics, fairness, the transparency of the State and public authorities with regard to the sharing of data, and the opening-up of networks and infrastructures.

Subsequent to the event, the Forum d’Avignon has published a series of thoughts about the current situation concerning data:

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- Now a major issue, a currency and a driving force of a data-driven society, personal data constitutes the digital DNA of each individual. It reveals information on an individual’s cultural values and private life. Protecting personal data from manipulation is a key democratic issue,

- The culture of data is a positive opportunity, for which an ethical framework must be defined so as to enable the development of research in the general interest, while protecting the dignity of each individual. This transparency may also enhance a company’s competitiveness and reputation in relation to those who refuse to adopt such an approach,

- It is necessary to inspire the trust of all individuals in the use and security of their personal data, and the collective research carried out on it, to ensure respect for human dignity and cultural diversity. The solution is, by its very nature, universal, supported by and elevated to the level of international conventions,

- Lastly, humanity has already succeeded in reconciling research on the human genome and the protection of individual liberties through the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights, ratified on 11 November 1997. “Digital DNA” deserves similar consideration. 

The forum has also developed the “Towards universal ethics on the use of personal data”, a Preliminary Declaration of Digital Human Rights, which was signed by 200 people from all over the world. The Decalaration was backed by the Council of Europe and UNESCO.