We successfully organized the annual General Assembly of EDRi in Heraklion, Crete for 2024

Last month, and specifically on May 17-19, a big dream of Homo Digitalis from the first years of its foundation became reality! We co-organized in Greece, for the first time, the annual General Assembly of European Digital Rights (EDRi)!

For three days the heart of digital rights protection and promotion was beating in Heraklion, Crete, with representatives from more than 60 organizations of the EDRi network being there!!!

Three days full of discussions, workshops, exchange of ideas and important celebratory moments, during which participants were given the opportunity to learn more about Cretan tradition, with lessons in traditional dances, local Cretan cuisine from the years of the Minoan Civilization and moments of relaxation on the Dia island.

The GA was a huge success, and this is of course due to the unique contribution of the people who contributed to its organization!

A huge thank you to the President of Homo Digitalis, Elpida Vamvaka, who successfully guided us in this difficult project, to the members of the organization who were the secret ingredient of success, in alphabetical order, Angelina Barla, Adamantia Volikou, Vassiliki Giannaki, Yannis Spanakis, Giorgos Sarris, Kiki Syntichaki, Manos Papadakis, Niki Georgakopoulou, Tania Scrapaliori and Haris Daftsios, as well as to our employees Lamprini Gyftokosta and Eleftherios Chelioudakis who gave all their energy and passion! Also, we could not fail to thank the unique team of the EDRi Office, namely Claire Fernandez, Guillermo Peris, Jean Duclos and Nevena Krivokapic.

It is important to emphasize that during the GA, our members Angelina Barla, Giorgos Sarris, Niki Georgakopoulou and Haris Daftsios, also gave a workshop on the proposed European legislation on combating the trafficking of child exploitation material on the internet (Regulation to Prevent and Combat Child Sexual Abuse – Child Sexual Abuse Regulation – CSAR).

At this point we would like to thank the non-profit organization Bizrupt for the use of its office space for the festive event of the General Assembly on Friday 17 May, the Charitable Foundations Andreou and Maria Kalokairinou for the pro bono use of its Social Space for the hosting of the General Assembly on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 May, the Cretan Cuisine Festival Association for the unique traditional dishes that they provided us with free of charge, and the Lazaros and Manolis Chnaris Folklore Club for the Cretan Traditional Dance classes and the related performance that they provided free of charge.

We would like to express our gratitude for this unique support from the above-mentioned organizations, who have shown in practice with their attitude once again, their unreserved support for the work of the EDRi network organizations, regarding the protection and promotion of Human Rights in the modern digital era. We are honoured to have them as our partners.

Finally, we would also like to thank local businesses for their excellent services throughout this project, namely Gea Holidays, Siganos Executive Food Events, Notos Brewery, Avanti Sailing, Yannaris Grill, Veganato, Guernica Bar, Taverna Xylouris, Plaisio Print, and Creta Oil.

by Homo Digitalis

We give a lecture on AI ACT at company bora

Tomorrow, June 20, Homo Digitalis will give a talk-seminar on AI Act before the workforce and partners of the company bora.

Specifically, Homo Digitalis’ AI & Human Rights Manager, Lamprini Gyftokosta, in a 1-hour web presentation in English, will take a deep dive into the important provisions of the new legislation and discuss relevant compliance challenges with the audience!

Many thanks to bora for the kind invitation to host this seminar, and especially to Anastasios Arampatzis, Joe Pettit & David Turner!

You can learn more about bora here.

If you would also like to invite Homo Digitalis to provide a relevant seminar to your employees, you can express your interest at info@homodigitalis.gr

by Homo Digitalis

Homo Digitalis speaks at the 2nd Colour of Surveillance Conference

Homo Digitalis has the great honour and pleasure to speak at the 2nd European Colour of Surveillance Conference “Liberation Practices in times of Fascism”, which this time is being held on 26 & 27 June in Berlin by the organisations Equinox Initiative for Racial Justice, International Women* Space and Weaving Liberation!

Specifically, Homo Digitalis’ Director of Human Rights & AI, Lamprini Gyftokosta, will give a speech in the framework of the Workshop “Blue: the colour of surveillance In Greece: lessons from challenging Migration Tech” during the second day of the conference!

We would like to thank the organizers for the kind invitation and hospitality!

You can learn more about the conference programme here.

 

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

by Homo Digitalis

We want access to essential services to be guaranteed offline too!

In the beginning of June, Homo Digitalis joined a large number of orgsanisations calling the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament to guarantee access to essential services offline!

Public administration, banks and energy suppliers, as well as employers, health providers and more, have moved online, and counters, mail services and phone lines are disappearing. Yet, more than 40% of Europe’s population still lacks basic digital skills, preventing them from accessing certain essential services. There is an urgent need to guarantee multichannel (incl. off-line) access to all essential services.

Yu can sign the related open letter here.

The coordinator of this action is Lire et Écrire, a Belgian based literacy organization. Since 1983, the organization provides free literacy trainings and research on illiteracy and literacy processes.

by Homo Digitalis

Homo Digitalis is a member of the Europeana Network Association (ENA)

Homo Digitalis is now a member of the Europeana Network Association (ENA)!  ENA is under the auspices of the Digital Library Europeana, which offers access to millions of books, maps, audio recordings, photographs, archival documents, paintings and films, as well as other materials from national libraries and cultural institutions in the 27 Member States of the European Union. ENA is a strong and democratic community of people working, studying or interested in digital cultural heritage and the use of new technologies in education and the arts.

Homo Digitalis is involved in three different working groups: The EuropeanaTech Community, the Europeana  Education Community και the Europeana Copyright!

Despite the fact that we have already been in contact since 2018 and have participated in events and presentations of Europeana’s work, it is a great honour and pleasure for Homo Digitalis to be now an official member of ENA!

In these working groups we will be represented by our Co-Founder, Eleftherios Chelioudakis.

by Homo Digitalis

We submitted our report to the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education regarding the use of AI in education

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Ms Farida Shaheed is preparing her upcoming report for the UN General Assembly in October 2024 on the promotion of the right to education based on artificial intelligence tools.

Homo Digitalis, after completing a tour of schools and conversations with teachers, students and parents, believes that the contribution of civil society with a practical look at this issue is important!

For this reason we have submitted our report before her on Monday 27 May. We would like to thank Anastasios and Viliy Karagiorgou and Lamprini Gyftokosta for their important contribution to the drafting and filing of this report!

by Homo Digitalis

We spoke at an event hosted by KEPSIPI in the context of the Erasmus+ Digital Learning and Social Intervention programme

On Thursday 23rd of May we had the pleasure to participate in the event organized by KEPSIPI in the framework of the Erasmus+ Digital Learning and Social Intervention project and to talk about digital learning and the importance of personal data for social workers from Greece, Belgium, France, Luxembourg and Romania and the challenges of using AI tools in the field of social intervention. We would like to thank Ms. Margarita Moraitou for the invitation and her efforts to highlight this issue both nationally and European-wide.

Our Director for AI and New Technologies, Lamprini Gyftokosta, spoke representing Homo Digitalis at the event.

You can learn more about the work and activities of the Centre for Mental and Pedagogical Health here.

by Homo Digitalis

Homo Digitalis' participation in CPDP 2024 was a great success

For another year, and consistently since 2019, Homo Digitalis was present at the internationally renowned Computers, Privacy & Data Protection (CPDP) conference in Brussels!

We are honored that the organizers chose us to participate in the conference podcast series, with our Director for AI & Human Rights, Lamprini Gyftokosta, analyzing our pending cases before the Data Protection Authority in Greece, and our significant successes so far!

Also, another very nice moments of ours at the event, is EDRi’s award from the Center for AI and Digital Policy (CAIDP) “AI Policy Leader in Civil Society” regarding our joint campaign ReclaimYourFace, of which Homo Digitalis is a co-founding member!

Of course, it is always unique for us to see our members actively participating in the conference and have a dynamic presence in discussions, panels and other events both with their Homo Digitalis hat and that of their professional capacity Thank you very much for proudly representing Homo Digitalis at this conference every year!!!

by Homo Digitalis

Our very own Eleftherios Chelioudakis is now Executive Director at Homo Digitalis

Who said dreams don’t come true?

After more than 6 years in the role of co-founder and Secretary of the Board of Homo Digitalis, and his voluntary contribution to the organization’s activities, Eleftherios Chelioudakis takes on a new role, that of Executive Director of Homo Digitalis.

This is yet another big and important step for Homo Digitalis on the road to its sustainable development and the emergence of its strategic role in the protection of Human Rights in the modern digital era.

More info about his profile

Eleftherios is a lawyer with deep specialization in emerging technologies. For more than 8 years, he has been providing his expertise in research projects and legal cases involving personal data protection, privacy, intellectual property issues (copyright, trademarks, and industrial property), e-commerce, and cybersecurity.

With a dual academic background in legal studies and computer science, Eleftherios possesses interdisciplinary knowledge and practical expertise to successfully tackle complex challenges. He has worked with international law firms, foreign academic institutions, private companies, civil society organizations, European Union bodies, and international organizations.

Academic Background

  • Advanced MSc in Digital Humanities, KU Leuven Computer Science Scool (Cum Laude), 2019
  • LL.M in Law & Technology, Tilburg University Law School (valedictorian – Cum Laude), 2017,
  • LL.B, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens Law School (Very Well), 2014,
  • Harvard Law School, CopyrightX, 2018,
  • European University Institute and University of Pittsburgh Law School, Artificial Intelligence and Law, 2019
  • University of Crete, Advanced Course on AI (ACAI) Summer School, AI for Multi-Agent World, With a scholarship from the European Association of AI (EurAI), 2019,
  • University of Ferrara, Advanced Course on AI (ACAI) Summer School, Statistical Relational Artificial Intelligence (StarAI). 2018.

Languages

  • Greek (mother tongue) και English (IELTS 8), German (B1), Chinese (HSK2)

Participation in Academic and Professional Networks – Associations

  • Member of the Piraeus Bar Association (Lawyer at the Court of Appeals)
  • Member-Observer of the Council of Europe Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI), representing Homo Digitalis
  • Member of the AI for Sustainable Development Goals (AI4SDGs) Think Tank at the Center for Long-term Artificial Intelligence (CLAI)
  • Member and Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP) at the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), with certifications: Certified Information Privacy Professional Europe (CIPP/E), Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM), and Certified Information Privacy Technologist (CIPT)
  • Member of the International Association for Artificial Intelligence & Law
  • Member of the Pool of Experts of the European Data Protection Board
  • Member of the Data Protection Experts Network (EDEN) of Europol
  • Member of the Internet Privacy Engineering Network (IPEN) of the European Data Protection Supervisor
  • Member of the Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, and the Digital Welfare State Community of Practice at the Centre for Human Rights and Global Justice, New York University School of Law, representing Homo Digitalis
  • Member of the Advisory Board of the Jean Monnet Chair in Mediterranean Digital Societies and Law at the Polytechnic University of Turin, representing Homo Digitalis
  • Member of the Scientific Network-International Observatory on Vulnerable People in Data Protection (VULNERA) of Vrije Universiteit Brussel & the Future of Privacy Forum, representing Homo Digitalis
  • Member of the Justice, Equity, and Technology (JET) Table at the London School of Economics and Political Science, representing Homo Digitalis
  • Member of the External Advisory Board of the Horizon Europe Research Program EITHOS (European Identity Theft Observatory System)
  • Member of the Working Group of the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) on Artificial Intelligence & Cybersecurity (work concluded in 2020)
  • Member of the External Advisory Board of the Horizon 2020 Research Program PopAI – A European Positive Sum Approach towards AI tools in support of Law Enforcement and safeguarding privacy and fundamental rights (work concluded in 2023).

Publications

Speeches in Conferences (some few examples)

  • InfoLaw, 2024, ΑΙ: From Theory…to practice
  • 8th Data Privacy & Protection Conference 2024, Homo Digitalis’ actions before the Hellenic DPA: A brief overview of cases on Metadata Retention, Biometric Databases and AI Systems,
  • RightsCon, 2023, How to beat a Centaur? A closer look into technology-led border management in Greece,
  • 2nd Quo Vadis AI International Conference, 2022, Artificial Justice, Supervision and Rights,
  • RightsCon, 2022, “Breaking the digital baton: counter-power in the age of high-tech policing,
  • European Commission’s (DIGIT) Legal Interoperability Team, Better Regulation for Smoother Implementation (BLSI) Series, 2021, Digital-ready policies and the support of new technologies in policy activities,
  • The remote Chaos Experience (rC3) organized by the Chaos Computer Club, 2021, The ReclaimYourFace Campaign: EU, ban biometric mass surveillance,
  • EDEN Conference organised by Europol and the Academy of European Law, 2021, (Doin’ it right) Making sure good cops are hunting bad guys – not any other way around”,
  • Computers, Privacy and Data Protection (CPDP), 2021, The Effective Supervision Of Law Enforcement Authorities: A Reality Or A Myth?,
  • 11th Hellenic Conference on Artificial Intelligence (SETN 2020), Special Event on Artificial Intelligence, Ethics and Law, When European Criminal Justice meets Orwell: Assessing Risk Assessment tools,
  • Computers, Privacy and Data Protection (CPDP), 2020, AI and Migration Control: New Tools in the Service of Fortress Borders,
  • Twelfth International Workshop on Juris-informatics (JURISIN 2018), “AI Risk Assessment Tools: A judge’s best friend?

 

by Homo Digitalis