ALMOST 50 charities and non-profit groups have come together in Thornbury to learn how to prepare themselves for changes in data protection law.

The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), which come into force across the EU on May 25 this year, will change the way personal data can be collected, used and transferred personal data, with organisations needing to be fully aware.

But with information on the changes not widely broadcast, Thornbury Volunteer Centre and the town’s mayor Cllr Helen Harrison arrange for Brightman, a change management consultancy based in Bristol, to offer free workshops to organisations in the area.

Among the 48 small, volunteer-led organisations and large county-wide initiatives taking part were Thornbury Arts Festival, the Thornbury and District Stroke Support Group, Thornbury and District Museum and Thornbury in Bloom.

Delivered over two identical training days held on Tuesday and Thursday this week, the workshops were kicked off by Brightman director Romy Hughes, who pointing out that the obligations of the GDPR will continue to apply even after Britain leaves the EU, having already been incorporated into UK law.

She said: “As a new regulation, there is still a lot of confusion about how to be compliant with the GDPR.

“We noticed that charities in particular didn’t have the resources or the time to prepare for the GDPR, so we organised these events to help as many local charities as possible.

“We are thrilled with the high levels of interest and engagement at both events, despite the dry nature of the topic! Both days were filled to capacity and played host to some really great debates.”

Cllr Harrison said: “It’s been a very good turnout and it’s great to see so many local organisations taking this change in regulation seriously, wanting to make sure they are protecting themselves, their volunteers and their supporters.

“A big thank you to Brightman for offering the events to these organisations, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to access this sort of information, and to the Ship who also provided the venue.”

Anyone who runs a registered charity who was unable to attend the event, but would like access to materials that were on offer are asked to visit www.brightman.uk.com/helping-hands.